February 18, 2022 • Edmond Chu

Flat bottom Challenge - Day 2 (SIMPLIFY the brewer)

This Dripper from Japan is called SIMPLIFY the brewer. We gratefully received this from the creator Ryo.

As the name suggests, it was designed to provide an easy way for everyone to brew great coffee. What amazes me is the material, TROGAMID® CX, the best of all plastics I've seen: clear, hard, light, durable, and well insulated.

I am also interested in its structure. From their official website, “Three legs make an air vent between the brewer and server which lets air go out and accelerates the flow...”

I don't fully understand and verify this yet, but I believe this is related to the temperature difference and air pressure. With different servers/cups, the flow rate of the dripper really changes!

Of course, the most important thing is the flavour. The recipe provided by Ryo is a one-pour method, 15:230g (fine-grind), total duration: 1’30” - 1’45”. Overall I think the sweetness is the main flavour with a light body, but I still cannot taste a strong sense of layer and complexity. Probably I still need to adjust the parameters. After all, the parameters used by me and Ryo are also different, and the beans are also different.

I have tried other methods of brewing (segment/coarse/swirl), but in the latter stage it is often with water clogging. Eventually I need to tilt the dripper to drain all the remaining coffee.

I think the main reason is that the filter paper does not fully reflect the complexity of SIMPLIFY. The flow rate in the early stage of the Kalita wave is fast, but the accumulation of fine powder can easily lead to water clogging, especially when the water is poured again and again with agitation. I could see why Ryo suggested a one-pour method.

simplify

I'm still looking for more possibilities for SIMPLIFY, after all, I don't think all beans are suitable for one-pour brewing. Some coffee will shine after, and some need more time to be extracted completely.

Not to mention in the European coffee Community, one-pour brewing is not the mainstream.

Thanks Ryo again for showing us how delicate is the SIMPLIFY. We can feel his passion for coffee.

Recommended Recipe

Set a Wave Paper Filter in SIMPLIFY the Brewer, and rinse the filter (or not if you are lazy).
Pour water at the centre of 15g fine ground coffee (No circular motion!).
When you pour 230g of water for 30 seconds, stop it.
Wait for 60 to 90 seconds until all the water drops from the brewer.
Serve and enjoy!