To Swirl or Not To Swirl

Today we are going to dive DEEP into the fundamentals of pour-over coffee! You see, regardless of whether you’re a barista or home brewer, you’re probably familiar with swirling your brew!

The question arises: Does swirling elevate or DESTROY your brew?

Let’s explore why most people swirl their brew:

✅ Even saturation: swirling ensures that all coffee gets saturated with water in the blooming phase

✅ Flat coffee bed: Swirling is a very effective way of ensuring a flat and even coffee bed

In theory, this sounds like a good idea, but is it really suitable for all scenarios? You see, the end result of your brew will be heavily affected by how aggressively you agitate your coffee in the beginning, so brewer BEWARE - because overly aggressive swirling can cause:

❌ Bad flavours: If you swirl too aggressively you create excessive agitation that will give bitterness and astringency to your brew

❌ Clogging your brew: Too aggressive swirling can actually clog your brew and make it stall - messing up your brew completely! Clogging is the number one reason a brew has unbearable high amounts of bitterness, making it undrinkable.

I am personally not an advocate for stirring or swirling, but I am going to give you the secrets to successfully implement it in your brewing... because I know 99% of you will love to see a flat coffee bed by the end of your brew 😉

So, how do we swirl ‘‘correctly’’?

First of all (you most likely have heard this before) but start by adding at least twice the amount of water to coffee in your bloom phase. This is to make sure that there’s enough water to evenly saturate your entire coffee bed. If you add less water than that, you risk ending up with a semi-wet/dry coffee bed which then leads to aggressive swirling - this is futile because it will cause more damage to your brew than good!

When you swirl your brew excessively, you cause the fine particles of your brew to migrate to the bottom of your coffee filter - this can cause clogging 😤

How to do it RIGHT 👌

Swirl the same way every time. I recommend one gentle spin. Spinning the slurry at the beginning of the brew is not a new concept, and there are a few different approaches to how to do it - the most common one being ‘’The Rao Spin’’. You can read more about the Rao Spin here

A gentle swirl will be enough to saturate the entire coffee bed and also give you a flat coffee bed, but the key here is that you always use the same amount of force when swirling to be able to make it repeatable and consistent.

After blooming and swirling your coffee continue with your recipe as usual - but when you’ve done your last pour, let the water draw down slightly and once again do a very gentle swirl.

Swirling at the end of the brew has very little impact on the final result compared to doing it at the beginning, but regardless it is a satisfying feeling to see a completely flat coffee bed after ending your brew ;)

To swirl or not to swirl?

Let’s be honest, we can brew incredibly delicious coffee with or without swirling, as there are many other factors involved in brewing a great cup of coffee

If you find that swirling gives you the result you're looking for then go for it!

Beware of swirling when dealing with high-altitude coffees, for example, a washed Ethiopian, Colombian or Kenyan coffee, as the density of these beans creates significantly higher amounts of fine particles compared to other coffees when ground, which in turn increases the risk of clogging your brew.

Now, it is ultimately up to you to decide if you want to swirl or not. If you’ve never tried it before I recommend you give it a go and see how it affects your brew!

-H.S.

---

The Brew Journal is a twice-weekly email newsletter that helps you brew better coffee at home in 5 minutes or less. Join our growing community of coffee lovers who are levelling up their coffee game at home - sign up link below 👇