"Welcome to Five Senses Coffee"

Syphon coffee has generated quite a buzz in the specialty coffee industry, and we reckon it’s well deserved. Over the last few months, our roasters have been spending increasing amounts of time experimenting with syphon cuppings and raving about the results. We can’t count the number of times we’ve heard “this is the best coffee I’ve ever tasted”…

We’re not the only ones who are keen on the syphon. Out in the ‘burbs, Spring Espresso is making coffee history — it’s the first café in Perth to introduce syphon brewing as part of their regular coffee menu. It complements their Single Origin programme brilliantly.

Sometimes called vac-pots, syphon brewers have been relatively unknown in Australia. Although the original invention dates back to the 1830’s, this style of brewing is making a comeback in the specialty scene.

Zach and Andrew have been playing around with syphon brewing at Spring for some time now, however, syphon brewing has only been on offer at the café for the last three months. It’s something they are slowly introducing as they learn to deal with the logistics of the time-consuming, sometimes messy, brew. At the moment, Mondays and Fridays are the designated ‘syphon days’. However, if you ask nicely, you might just get lucky during the week, if they’ve got a spare minute, or three!

Most people compare the look of the syphon brewer to something you’d see in a science lab, as the dual glass chamber ‘defies gravity’ by pushing water up the central tube to the upper chamber for extraction. Once the extraction is complete and the heat source is removed, a vacuum is created and the resulting brew is sucked back down through a cloth filter to the bottom chamber, separating the grinds from the brew. It’s mesmerising to watch and it’s hard to ignore the ‘wow’ factor. The action of forcing the water up through the second chamber using water vapour can also be seen in stove top percolators, something Aussies are a bit more familiar with.

When you order a syphon coffee at Spring, you’ll get one of the many freshly ground premium single origin coffees they have on rotation. The roasting profile is slightly lighter than espresso roast, and the coffee is aged anywhere from one to four days. Always different, always fresh, that is a reasonable expectation from Zach and Andrew.

Syphon brewed black coffee was introduced at Spring to provide an alternative for long black drinkers, as the lighter roast and different brewing method gives a much cleaner and more clearly defined cup. If you’ve ever read coffee tasting notes and been confused by terms describing sweetness, acidity and mouthfeel as well as specific flavours, you will be surprised how much easier they are to identify in a well-brewed syphon. Zach feels it’s a great way to introduce black coffee (which has a pretty dismal reputation) to his clientele. The lighter roast often allows for a much better representation of the origin’s flavours, and highlights the quality, as well as the unique nuances and flavour profiles that the guys at Spring are so pedantic about. If none of that interests you, you can at least be guaranteed a black coffee that will go down easily without sugar or milk; a nice option.

If you’re interested in trying something different, I highly recommend you pay a visit to the baristas at Spring Espresso in Subiaco. If you’re keen to have a go on your own, Spring is actually the WA distributor for Bellina Syphons. There are three cup or five cup versions available, and they also supply the butane burners (a must for efficiency and speed). The whole set up is pretty cheap compared to espresso equipment.

There are many options when it comes to brewing a great cup of black coffee, and I’m certain this is only the beginning for Spring.