Sharing here first! _ I’m excited to finally share a recipe I’ve been working on for quite awhile.
This pays tribute to Tetsu’s Devil and Coffee Chronicler hybrid recipes. I find these alterations are worthwhile. For me this more consistently achieves the hybrid balance between v60 nuance blended with the body of an immersion brew. The key here is allowing for a traditional bloom phase and a prolonged immersion tempered by just a bit of ice to drop the temp during immersion.
Ratio: 1:15
Coffee: 20.0g
Water: 305mL (This will nicely fill an 11-12oz mug)
Grinder starting points
Around 600 microns
Comandante: 18-22 clicks
Ode Gen 2: 5.3
Starting water temperature: 201F (207F if using melodrip for bloom)
Brew Time: 4:05
- Bloom Pour — 0:12 Switch is closed Pour 55mL Leave Kettle off heat source after pour
- Swirl then wait — 0:30 (0:42) Gentle swirl, just enough to assure grounds are all wet Allow degassing
- Open Switch – 0:10 (0:52) Let it start to drain
- Pour 65mL (120mL) – 0:11 (1:03)
- Wait – 0:24 (1:27) Water should be just starting to dive under bed
- Pour 65mL (185mL) – 0:12 (1:39)
- Wait — 0:22 (2:01)
- Close Switch – 0:02 (2:03) Water should be just above bed level
- Pour 120mL (305mL) – 0:15 (2:18)
- Add Ice Cube – 0:06 (2:24) Recipe calibrated for 8-10mg ice cube Add in carefully -avoid splash
- Swirl – 0:06 (2:30) Gentle swirl
- Wait – 0:45 (3:15)
- Open Switch – 0:50 (4:05) Avoid overdrainage. Close and remove just after water disappears under bed.
Notes: I’ve been toying with this on a regular basis for over six months and it’s become my go-to method. These times should be fairly accurate but will vary depending on your beans of course. This recipe assumes a standard Hario tabbed filter. This works in either the 02 or 03 switch. If you are deviating significantly, try altering grind size. Nearly everything comes out nicely with this. Shortly after the ice-cube melts the immersion temperature drops to right around Tetsu’s 160F immersion temp. If your ice cube exceeds the 10mg mark, subtract out a bit of volume from the immersion pour. I’ve tried putting the ice cube in before the immersion pour, resting an ice cube on a melodrip and pouring over that, but neither of those produced as good of a cup as the drop-in method.
I’ve taken the liberty of uploading this recipe publicly into the brew-timer app. It’s admittedly a faffy recipe, but the brew-timer app makes everything so straightforward. I’m a big fan.
I’d very much like to hear any of your thoughts and feedback if you give it a try. If you don’t have a switch but have been thinking at all about trying immersion or hybrid brewing, I really think you would have a good time with the Hario Switch. —
I run a Switch as well but not quite as complex as your method, although with some similarities I suppose.
Approximate method, probably mostly based on James Hoffmanns method:
21g beans / 300 ml water / grind setting unknown, not too fine not too coarse I suppose
- Prewarm Switch with 100 C water while grinding beans
- Heat water to 70 C
- Pour 42g water, ensure everything is wet
- Release water and let bloom for 45 seconds
- Heat water to 100 C while waiting
- Close switch, pour 208g water (scales now at 250g)
- Let steep for 2 minutes
- Stir bed
- Steep another 30 seconds
- Release, pour another 50g water
- Enjoy
I am a coffee nerd myself - and even if I may not recreate this recipe I really really appreciate and enjoy your dedication and passion and your willingness to share your process! It is cool to read, so thank you very much!
8-10mg ice cube
Did you use the wrong unit? Milligrams are TINY. Do I need to shave a tiny fragment off a normal ice cube with a razor blade? Seems like it would reduce the water temperature by about zero degrees.
Oh nice catch. Fixed that!
Forgot the add 1.78ml/g of anti nucleation dispersers during step 4.2 (only necessary at 1.01 atms follow as written for anything higher)
Literally undrinkable
Many of these recipes feel like that, don’t they?
I’ve just accepted that I have no palette. I can taste the difference between Starbucks and my home brew, but I’d be lying if I said I could taste a difference between drip, immersion, pour-over, Aeropress, or French press, much less whether the water was 201⁰F or 195⁰, or the brew was properly bloomed.
I taste gross differences: dark vs light roast; cold brew vs hot; home brew vs cheap office pod machine; how strong the cup is. Everything else is noise.
I don’t doubt some people have palettes where such fiddly recipes yield noticeable gains; I don’t know whether to envy or pity them.
Does the Switch brew similarly to other immersion brewers like a French press or AeroPress? I would be tempted to just apply my normal V60 recipe on these.
the immersion phase is samey but the slurry is sitting on top of a filter so when you open the switch it gets filtered by gravity pulling the coffee through the paper. contrast with french press (no paper) and aeropress (coffee forced with pressure through the paper)
French Press - I do not think so. Aeropress is highly versatile and there are tons of recipes to try. I’ve had a harder time getting the consistency and gentler flavor profiles to shine with the aeropress as compared to the switch. If you are happy with the aeropress and are still having fun exploring it’s many different ways to brew, I think I’d probably keep exploring that before adding the switch to your arsenal. However, if you don’t already have a v60, the switch is neat because in addition to an immersion brewer you automatically then have what I think is one of the best conventional pour over brewers just by keeping the lever open.
I am not a coffee person and I am coming here after seeing this post in general feed.
This is a very detailed ‘recipe’ akin to scientific procedures. My question is how much better does the coffee get by following your procedure. For instance, you mention ‘600 microns’ as the approximate starting particle size. What would happen if it were lower, say 1000 microns or higher, say 300 microns? Would you be able to tell the difference in taste/smell/feel? You also mention when to pour the water and when to swirl. Why? What performance benefits do you get by following this exact procedure?
No intention to be derisive! Just found the process very meticulous and wanted to know what was your end goal.
It depends on the quality of the ingredients put in.
Bad tasting water will fuck up a coffee regardless of the recipe.
Crap beans roasted till they blacker than vantablack and then left on the supermarket shelves for months simply don’t have the depth of flavour to extract.
Using a bad grinder, like a bladed grinder more suited to spices will also impact your coffee more than a particular recipe. You don’t have to spend a fortune on a grinder to get good results, kingrinders are very good value for money.
Recipes also need tweaking for the beans you are using, what works for one light roast is not going to be optimal for another, and unlikely to be suitable for a medium or dark roast. If you are after the absolute best you can get out of beans you will need to tweak the recipe (which includes water temperature) for those particular beans.
Personally I use a slightly simpler version of the devil recipe with my switch, its good enough and far less time consuming to do.
In short yes. This is both the fun and frustration of specialty coffee. These details can make a difference and just when you get things all dialed in, you try different beans and you need to adjust things again. This recipe is pretty forgiving thanks the immersion component. It’s not meant to be intimidating, but all the details provide starting points. Different beans, different grinders, different water can all cause adjustments as can personal taste preferences. The end goal is always the perfect cup of coffee for any particular bean while also reminding oneself that “pretty damn close” is still a highly enjoyable experience.
