101 Guide to Understanding the Difference Between Siphon & Pour Over Brewer

With the increasing trend of experimentation, coffee-maker brands are matching up and offering unique devices to customers. When searching for automatic coffee brewers online in India, you may have come across the siphon coffee brewer and the pour-over brewer. Both are excellent coffee brewers; however, they have subtle differences. In this blog, we present a beginner's guide on automatic siphon and pour-over brewers to help you understand the difference and make an informed decision for the perfect cuppa every day.

What is Siphon Brewer?

The siphon coffee brewer is an apparatus that uses a unique vacuum technique to brew coffee. It consists of two chambers; the coffee grounds are placed in the upper chamber, while water is placed in the lower chamber. The lower chamber contains water and a vacuum in proportion to support the creation of vapour, which rises into the upper chamber. As the coffee grounds are soaked with steam, the heat source is turned off, allowing the water to cool down and draw back into the lower chamber, extracting all the essential flavours from the grounds. Automatic siphon coffee brewers take the mess and effort out of the equation and allow users to make a velvety and full-bodied cup of coffee at a simple click, with full theatrics of the beautiful extraction process on display.

What is Pour Over Brewer?

The pour-over coffee brewer utilises gravity during the brewing process. It consists of an upper container with filter paper where the coffee grounds are placed, and a beaker to store the brewed coffee. When making pour-over coffee, hot water is poured over the coffee grounds with precise control to ensure an even bloom and fully-saturated coffee of the desirable strength. With automatic pour-over coffee brewers the need for active participation, brew ratio control, and precise spiral pour control (the essence) is minimised and you still get that taste of clean, flavourful, and crisp craft coffee.

What's the Difference?

Both the automatic pour-over brewer and the siphon brewer are excellent coffee makers, the main difference lies in the brewing technique employed by each method. The siphon brewer uses an immersion technique to create a rich-flavoured coffee, while the pour-over brewer relies on gravity to brew coffee. The variation in temperature and brewing techniques between the two methods results in subtle differences in the taste of the coffee. This is why you should look at the controls offered by the automatic coffee brewer you are interested in. Some automatic coffee brewers will let you choose the temperature and grind while some take away the stress about temperature, brewing time, precise pouring or anything else at a click of a button. It all boils down to your preference. Pour-over brewing tends to be more complex and acidic in taste compared to the siphon method. And the siphon coffee brewing is much more theatrical and beautiful looking than a pour over.

Final Word 

The choice between the two types of coffee brewers may depend on your personal preference, however, when buying an automatic coffee brewer, it is important to choose a reputable brand. If you are looking for recommendations, consider KitchenAid’s range of automatic coffee brewers. This brand offers a range of automatic coffee brewing online India machines, including high-quality and beautiful automatic siphon and pour-over coffee brewers, to meet your diverse yet practical coffee brewing needs.