No pressure coffee

I love a good flat white.  And I love that I don’t have to question my love for it.  I can walk into a cafe, order the same thing every time, and know I’ll be completely satisfied, every time.

But these days there are a few different coffees competing for my affections: siphon coffee, chemex, the V60…they’re all different forms of non-pressurised filter coffee that are making their mark on the Wellington coffee scene.
So perhaps it’s time to branch out from my flat white?  Play the coffee field, so to speak?

I decide to devote an afternoon to doing just that.

My first stop is Peoples Coffee Garrett St, home to the beloved V60.  I settle in as Kirk pours water in slow concentric circles into the drip filter, from what looks suspiciously like a genie bottle (with equally magical results).  It seems to me that with pour-over coffee, the process is half the fun (the other half is the drinking.  Mmm…).  It’s a method that brings out the subtleties of each bean, and is definitely one to savour slowly.

Which is exactly what they’re doing up at my next stop, Vic Books; another hive of V60 excellence.
“Nobody who orders the V60 gets it to go,” Kieran tells me.  “It’s definitely something to sit down and drink.”
So is this style of coffee just for the connoisseurs of the coffee world?
“Not at all,” says Kieran.  “It’s great for people who want to learn more about coffee, not the ‘already-know-it-all’s.”

Deliciously caffeinated by this time, I head back down the hill to my final stop: Lamason Brew Bar.  On top of espresso, the good folk at Lamason crank out around 200 siphon coffees a week.  There’s nothing new about this style of coffee; siphons have been around since the 1830s, and Japan drinks more non-pressurised coffee than espresso.  But Lamason is New Zealand’s first siphon brew bar, and Wellingtonians are definitely taking advantage of a different way to enjoy coffee.

Dave Lamason prepares a row of siphons for a table of first-time siphon drinkers.
“As it starts to cool down more of the profile will come out,” he tells them.  “When you get to your second cup it will be even smoother and softer.”

Halfway through my third cup, I can certainly vouch for that fact.  The clean, fruity qualities of the V60 and siphon coffee mean that I just can’t get enough of it.  It’s a completely different coffee experience.

Which is good news for a coffee lover, but also presents a challenge.
It means that from now on, I’ll actually have to think before I order, and let’s face it, thinking before coffee has never been my strong point…

Go try some non-pressurised goodness yourself!  And tell us what you thought, here: