The so-called Third Wave coffee movement coincided with a renewed interest in manual brew methods. Chemexes, V60s, and Aeropresses came part and parcel with lighter roasts, traceability, and smaller sizes. Although very few cafes eighty-sixed autodrip all together, the clear message to consumers was: slower is better. But recently a slew of cafes have questioned the status quo. Handsome, G&B, and Heart are just some of the coffee shops that have chosen to exclusively serve automated brew methods, causing many baristas to question everything they thought they knew about specialty coffee.
Pour-overs vs Autodrip
Which is better for brewing coffee in a cafe environment: autodrip or manually brewed coffee? That’s the question we posed to a group of leading coffee professionals, including Ryan Soeder of Intelligentsia Coffee and Tea, John Letoto of Blacksmith, Hugh Duffie of TAP Coffee, and Andrew Cash of Jubala Village Coffee. Here are their responses:
Hugh Duffie of TAP Coffee
I think manual brewing ties in with the whole specialty coffee scene: working with an every day product to try and make it something special that people look forward to. Knowing the amount of effort that we put into sourcing our coffees, developing our roast profiles and training our staff to do the coffee justice – it just seems mad not to …
