AT A GLANCE
COFFEE – 15g
WATER – 275ml [96°C to 99°C]
—
0:00 – 1st POUR – 75ml [w/o shower-screen]
1:00 – 2nd POUR – 200ml [w/ shower-screen]
2:30 – FINISH
INTRODUCTION
Created in 2018 by the Australian company Tricolate, this brewer stands out on the market, and has quickly become a favourite. Firstly, it is accessible to beginners and professionals alike, as it doesn’t require fancy kettles, and it can brew decently without good water (although we do not recommend this). However, the design is what sets it apart from other filter brewers on the market. Firstly, it is created to reduce or even circumvent entirely an occurrence in filter brewing called bypass, which is where water avoids contact with the coffee by passing outside of the filter and ‘bypassing’ the coffee. As a result the Tricolate has high extraction and can create very sweet, bodied brews, whilst using much less coffee than usual, for example, a typical filter recipe calls for a coffee to water ration of 1:15 or 1:16, but the design of this brewer means you can easily reach 1:22 ratios and it is still not at all weak. It also uses a built in shower-screen, to help evenly and consistently distribute water over the coffee grounds, regardless of the kettle you use. On top of all that, it is made from TRITAN plastic, which is BPA and BPS free and has a great thermal stability. It comes with its own custom filter papers made in Germany, from consistent paper pulp to ensure even flow rate and extraction. This brewer is all about creating consistent, precise, delicious coffee, with as little required as possible, and we love it.
METHOD
What you’ll need
- A Tricolate Brewer and filter paper
- 15 grams of coffee
- Grinder
- Water
- Kettle
- A scale/timer
- Decanter
- Your favourite mug
Steps
- Heat your water up to between 96 and 99 degrees.
- Grind 15 grams of coffee to a medium-fine setting.
- Click the base into the Tricolate, place a paper on the bottom, and put the shower screen cap on.
- Pour some hot water through the device to lightly preheat the brewer and rinse the paper. Discard of the water afterwards.
- Place the Tricolate and the decanter on the scale, remove the shower screen cap, then weigh in 15 grams of coffee, even out the bed of coffee, and tare the scale.
- With the shower screen still off, start the timer and pour 75ml of water onto the coffee bed and try to saturate and cover all the coffee with the water, if there are any dry patches, then gently stir the coffee.
- Place on the shower-screen cap, and tare the scale.
- At 1 minute, pour the remaining 200ml into the shower-screen, up to 275ml, and wait.
- The total brew time should be between 4 and 5 minutes. Remove the Tricolate, and immediately rinse it with cold water to avoid stains, then clean it with warm water.
- Swirl the decanter to mix the layers. Serve and enjoy.
How to adjust
- Using hotter water temperatures will give you a sweeter cup, whereas using cooler water will generate a brighter, more acidic brew.
- Try finer ground coffee for a sweeter, thicker more bodied cup, and coarser ground coffee for a lighter cleaner cup.
- You can increase or decrease your dose to get a stronger or weaker brew.
This section is for those who want to go all in. It provides the extra details regarding our method, as well as the results we get when brewing, and are to serve as both guidance, and reference for those who want it.
Grind: 550μm – 650μm
Yield: ≈80 % [220ml]
TDS: 1.81%
EY: 24.89 %
Water content
pH: 7.0
PPM: 105
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