Percolight

  Read Korean posts →   The Hario V60 is one of the most widely used drippers in Korea — and really, one of the most widely used drippers anywhere. It's popular enough that plenty of World Brewers Cup champions have relied on it too. This post covers the V60's history, design features, honest pros and cons, and how it differs across materials.     A Brief History of the Hario V60 Hario, a Japanese company, released the V60 dripper in 2005. The name comes from "Vector 60" — a reference to the dripper's signature 60-degree cone shape. It was originally developed in ceramic and glass, with plastic and metal versions following later. Today, the Hario V60 is used in more than 75 countries around the world. Matt Perger won the World Brewers Cup in 2012 using a Hario V60, and it's remained a favorite among champions ever since — Stefanos Domatiotis in 2014, Odd-Steinar Tollefsen in 2015, Tetsu Kasuya in 2016, Chad Wang in 2017, and Matt Winton in 20...

  Read Korean posts →   In the last post, we compared espresso machines and pour over to figure out which one makes more sense for someone just starting a home coffee setup . But are those really the only two options for beginners? Not even close. There's also the French press, the Moka pot, and the AeroPress. Let's look at what makes each one unique, and which one we'd actually recommend to a beginner.     French Press History The French press has nearly a century of history behind it. It was invented in Italy in 1929 under the name "coffee press, " then first sold in France under the name Melior. In the 1950s, Bodum acquired the design and spread it across Europe. Its original names were "coffee plunger" or "plunger pot, " but Bodum's version has become so iconic that "French press" is now just the generic term for the whole category.   Structure and Characteristics A French press has two main parts: the be...

  Read Korean posts →   Once you've decided to build a home coffee setup, the next question is what gear to buy — which really means deciding how you're going to brew. For most people, an espresso machine is the first thing that comes to mind. But personally, I'd recommend starting with pour over(hand drip) instead. Here's why.   Why People Look Beyond Capsule Machines Walk into a Nespresso counter at any department store and you'll usually see a line of people waiting to buy capsules. That's because a capsule machine is often the first thing people consider when they think, "I want good coffee at home." They're simple to use, easy to clean, and that's exactly why so many people choose them. Not everyone feels this way, but once you get used to a capsule machine, certain gaps start to show. The biggest one, surprisingly, is flavor. Ground coffee sealed in capsules has to sit on a shelf for a while before it's used, so you i...

  Read Korean posts →   Start looking into hand-drip coffee and you'll quickly run into a dripper aisle that's more crowded than you expected. Hario, Kalita, Melitta, Origami, Tricolate, Orea... it's a lot to sort through. This post breaks drippers down by shape, walks through the standout products in each category, and helps you figure out which one actually makes sense as a beginner home barista.       Four Shapes, Four Approaches Drippers can be grouped by shape, material, or brewing style (immersion vs. filter, for instance) — plenty of ways to slice it. Here, we're sorting by shape and internal structure, which breaks down into four main categories: cone , flat-bottom , trapezoid , and cylinder .    Cone-Shaped Drippers Exactly what it sounds like: wide at the top, narrow at the bottom, with a single hole at the base. Because water funnels toward the center and drains out quickly, extraction tends to move fast. (That said, th...

  Read Korean posts →   For two years now, my mornings have started with the smell of coffee coming from my Balmuda The Brew. At this point, I genuinely can't imagine a morning without it. This review covers everything — features, strengths, and shortcomings — based on two years of actually owning and using the machine myself. Here's my honest, out-of-pocket review of the Balmuda The Brew.     A Design That Doubles as a Piece of Decor My wife was the one who picked out the Balmuda The Brew, and there was really only one reason: it's beautiful. Design matters when you're building a home coffee setup, and this machine delivers. At just 5.5 in (140mm) wide, its slim profile and simple black-and-silver finish stand out no matter where you put it. Beyond brewing coffee, the Brew doubles nicely as a piece of kitchen decor.     Machine Structure The Brew's design is refreshingly simple: a main body, a water tank, a dripper for the grounds, and...

  Read Korean posts →   Busy mornings. So many of us start the day with a cup of coffee! But what's actually in your mug — instant coffee, or freshly ground beans? You could sum up the difference as "convenience vs. quality," but honestly, there's a lot more to it than that. This post breaks down the real differences between instant and brewed coffee, plus some tips for figuring out which one is the right fit for you.     What Is Instant Coffee? Instant coffee is brewed coffee that's been dried down into a shelf-stable product. Add hot water, and you've got a cup in seconds. Most coffee "mixes" fall into this category too. The brewed coffee is either freeze-dried or spray-dried into powder form — a product born out of the industrial era's need to supply coffee at scale. Freeze-drying freezes brewed coffee, then removes the ice through sublimation under vacuum.Spray-drying mists the brewed coffee into hot air for a fast dry-down ...

  Read Korean posts →   For a lot of people, that first cup of coffee in the morning is a small but essential ritual. So when it doesn't taste the way you expected, it can throw off your whole day. A bitter, harsh cup in particular can be genuinely disappointing. The good news is that once you understand what's causing it, it's usually easy to fix.     Start With the Root Cause Before you can fix bitter coffee, you need to understand why it's happening. In most cases, bitterness comes down to over-extraction — pulling more out of the coffee than you actually want. This usually happens when the brew time runs too long, the water is too hot, or the grind is too fine. Let's break down each cause and how to fix it.     7 Ways to Reduce Bitterness 1. Grind Size A finer grind breaks the coffee into smaller particles, which increases the total surface area in contact with water. The finer the grind, the more of that surface gets exposed — and...