July 14, 2013

Shochiku Combo Drip/松竹コンボドリップ

Here is a tentative translation of part of the description of Shochiku Combo Drip.
松竹コンボドリップの説明の一部の試訳です。

松竹コンボドリップ
(松屋・竹田コンビネーションドリップ法)
Shochiku Combo Drip
(Matsuya and Takeda Combination Drip Method)
竹田さん(ネルドリップの名人)をうちの店に招いてネルドリップを教えていただきました。
いゃあ・・・いろいろな人のいれ方をみると勉強になるもんですねぇ・・・・
その中で・・・ひとつの傾向に気づきました。
なぜ、松屋式ドリップではコーヒーが長持ちするのに竹田式では長持ちしないか・・・
なぜ、竹田式ではコーヒーがにごるか・・・
しかし・・・竹田式にはすばらしい特長があるんです。
それは・・・力強さです。
プロと素人を分けるような力強さです。
松屋式は、コーヒーが長持ちしたり濁らないなどの長所がありますが竹田式のような力強さがない・・・・
その差はなんだろうと考えたときに・・・・
いゃあ・・・判っちゃいました。
てなわけで、松屋式と竹田式のいいとこ取りのドリップ法
名付けて・・・
松竹コンボドリップ
(松屋・竹田コンビネーションドリップ法)
ちなみに・・名付け親は、うちのかくしだま「S」くんです
I invited Takeda-san (flannel drip master) to my shop to teach me how to flannel drip.
Well, you can learn a lot by looking at other people's way of brewing...
While so doing, I have found one tendency.
Why does Matsuya method drip coffee keep long, while Takeda method coffee does not?
Why is Takeda method coffee cloudy?
However, the Takeda method offers an excellent feature.
That's strength.
Strength that sets pros apart from amateurs.
The Matsuya method has advantages such as that the coffee will keep long and that it won't get cloudy, but lacks the strength that the Takeda method has.
When I thought what caused this difference...
Well, I have found it.
So, here is a drip method that offers the advantages of both Matsuya and Takeda methods.
The name of the method is:
Shochiku Combo Drip
(Matsuya Takeda Combination Drip Method)
By the way, the name was given by "S", a secret boy of my shop.
松竹コンボドリップのやりかた・・・
基本は、松屋式ドリップです。
人数分の半分まで抽出するのはまったく松屋式ドリップです。
問題はそのあとで、通常の松屋式ではお湯で薄めちゃうんですが、松竹コンボドリップでは薄めません。
そこからは、竹田式ドリップのようにやわらかく粉をかくはんするような抽出法で残りの半分を抽出します。
Description of the Shochiku Combo Drip
Basically the same as the Matsuya method.
You first brew coffee by following the Matsuya method exactly, i.e., brew coffee with half the necessary amount of water.
(Translator's note: For example, to make coffee for 5 servings, you need 120 ml x 5 = 600 ml water. With the Matsuya method, you brew coffee with half the water (600/2 = 300 ml) and then dilute the coffee with the remaining water.)
With the Matsuya method, you then dilute the coffee with water. With Shochiku Combo Drip, you don't.
Instead, brew coffee with the remaining half water with the Takeda method, in such a way to gently agitate the ground coffee.

この抽出法の理論的裏付け・・・
松屋式ドリップは、粉をまったく動かさずに溶け出しやすい成分だけを抽出するやり方です。
これは、うまみは溶けやすくはやく溶けるという原理を使っています。
そして、途中でやめるのはその後に不純物が溶けてくるからです。
しかし、この方法にはひとつの欠点がありました。
コーヒーのオイル分はかくはんでしか溶けないということです。
そして、不純物を溶かさずにコーヒーのオイルを溶かすには竹田式のドリップを応用するに限るのです。
つまり、竹田式注湯法を利用するとコーヒーに余り刺激を与えずにコーヒーの粉を均等にかくはんすることができるのです。
Theoretical grounding of this extraction method:
The Matsuya method is to exact only those components that are easily soluble without moving the ground coffee at all.
This is based on the principle that flavorful components are easily soluble, dissolving quickly.
The reason why the brewing is stopped halfway is that impurities would start to dissolve then.
This method has one drawback.
Oil in coffee can only be dissolved by agitating.
And, applying the Takeda method is the best to dissolve the oil in coffee without dissolving impurities.
By using the water pouring technique of the Takeda method, you can agitate ground coffee without stimulating the ground coffee equally.

22 comments:

  1. Hiroyuki ...You are simply awesome ....Thank you so much for taking the time to translate ....and guess what Shochiku method is my favourite ...I usually use a higher water ratio than called for like 1:18 ( coffee:water) and soaking and steaming the coffee does the trick and it almost tastes like a french press coffee ....which is oily and nice ...I acheive this by making a small hole in the hario paper filter( to pass oil) , steaming the coffee with matsuya method and then brewing as a regular pourover , usually pouring from a height to accentuate aroma ...These are my improvisations to the method as I find that 1:12 ratio for coffee way to expensive and strong :-)...
    By the way this below site is indeed an enclyopedia for coffee ..

    http://www.flavorcoffee.co.jp/index9-main.html

    Thanks again for your great help and please do check my wife's recipe blog ..mostly Indian food when you have time ...

    http://foody-buddy.blogspot.com/

    God bless you Hiroyuki and have a spectacular day !

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  2. Hiroyuki,

    Just to make sure I understand this correct for the Shochiku combo drip ....I just brew coffee, half the pot using matsuya method and instead of diluting the coffee with other half of the brew water, I brew again like usual pour over with lots of stirring/agitation correct ? ...Just want to make sure I understand the concept correct. Sorry for th trouble ..

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  3. Hiroyuki ..By the way what is that Takeda method ? ...Is is just normal pour over method or any special method ? . I assume its just normal pour over method with agitation correct ?

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  4. Dan:
    Yes, Nakagawa-san is a real coffee geek, and his site is full of information!

    Thank you for the link to your wife's blog! It even contains some videos (one of which is about filter coffee)!

    Yes, exactly, Matsuda method first and then the Takeda method.
    But not "lots of stirring/agitation" but "stirring/agitating GENTLY"

    I tried to identify Takeda-san before you asked, but in vain. Apparently, this guy does not have a website. If I ever find some information about him and/or his brewing method, I will post about it and let you know at your email address.

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  5. Thanks Hiroyuki ....Lets stay in touch. You can reach me at ndhanda@yahoo.com and my wife, a tea drinker, now has learned to love coffee because of me :-)...

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  6. Hiroyuki,

    By the way, whats the brew temparature for Matsuya method ...Its not clear ...I usully use 95 Celcius at the start ...so after the 3-5 minutes steaming temparature has dropped very much to say 82 Celcius in the kettle ...so after the 3 minutes of steaming do we have to reheat the water back to 95C or will low temparature of 82C be enough to extract ? . Can you please clarify ?

    By the way stay in touch via email for new coffee techniques and whats your favourite coffee technique ...here in the US Hario V60 is a big big hit :-) and besides matsuya I like to brew with vietnamese phin filter ...simply the best for good milk coffee :-)

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  7. Hiroyuki,

    Saw a video of Nakagawa doing a pour over with cloth filter ...not sure if it was takeda drip technique ...could see lots of agitation where he emphasis on a pouring pattern like a flower ....

    See below video at 44.12 and at
    50.33 minutes for the floral pattern pour pattern ...

    http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=WFmrM8nKrj0

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  8. Dan: Matsuya Coffee's official website says that in 3-5 minutes, the remaining water in the pot is cooled down, so you have to REHEAT it.

    It also says to use boiled water (exact temperature not specified) for the initial "steaming" step. It also says to pour the water at a height of 30 cm so that, when the water touches the ground coffee, it is lowered to 80oC, the ideal temperature for brewing coffee.

    HOWEVER, Nakagawa-san seems not to reheat it. In one of his videos, he says that you can brew coffee with 75oC water in the pot (ground coffee temperature of 65oC). I'll talk about the details in a future post.

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  9. Dan: Thanks for the link to the video. I have watched it two days ago, and I'm watching it again right now. I don't think it's Takeda's method.
    Here is a video that shows Takeda's method:
    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3YwwawfOOTU
    Not much information about the method, except that you pour water in three separate parts.
    I have asked a question about the method to the women who posted that video. I hope she answers my question.

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  10. Dan: Just in case you haven't watched them,

    here is the video where Nakagawa-san talks at length with the president of Matsuya Coffee about the Matsuya method:
    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=z4eVGLpd4e4&feature=youtu.be

    here is the video where Nakagawa-san attempts to explain the Matsuya method in English:
    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rURNLHRmzQE&feature=youtu.be
    I hope he improves his English...

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  11. thanks hiroyuki for the tips ....and I am a fan of Nakagawa ...and I wish I knew Japanese to appreciate his passion for coffee ...By the way if you find anything of interest please do email me ...By the way water temparature is the most important factor to bring out acidity and its of paramount importance ..I tried the yasunaga method and I did not really like it ...But matsuya is the best , but I do not dilute it with water...

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  12. Dan: The woman kindly answered my question
    http://ameblo.jp/dripcoffee-studio/entry-11573038130.html
    but she didn't dare to give a detailed explanation.
    In one of her posts about Takeda's method, she explains that you pour water in three separate parts, and each part has a specific purpose, and as long as the specific purpose is fulfilled, you may pour water in any way you like.

    She provided a link to the book Takeda-san wrote:
    http://www.amazon.co.jp/%E3%82%B3%E3%83%BC%E3%83%92%E3%83%BC-%E3%82%A8%E3%82%B9%E3%83%97%E3%83%AC%E3%83%83%E3%82%BD%E3%81%AE%E6%8A%80%E8%A1%93%E6%95%99%E6%9C%AC%E2%80%95%E6%8A%BD%E5%87%BA%E3%83%BB%E3%83%90%E3%83%AA%E3%82%A8%E3%83%BC%E3%82%B7%E3%83%A7%E3%83%B3%E3%83%BB%E7%84%99%E7%85%8E-%E6%97%AD%E5%B1%8B%E5%87%BA%E7%89%88%E3%80%8C%E5%96%AB%E8%8C%B6-%E3%82%B9%E3%83%8A%E3%83%83%E3%82%AF%E3%80%8D%E7%B7%A8%E9%9B%86%E9%83%A8/dp/4751102141%3FSubscriptionId%3D175BC0N2BCT0X4DAZG82%26tag%3Damebablog-a891884-22%26linkCode%3Dxm2%26camp%3D2025%26creative%3D165953%26creativeASIN%3D4751102141
    I guess that reading the book is the only way to learn about the Takeda's method.

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  13. Hiroyuki ....Thanks for investigating ...Maybe one day we shall find the answer to Takeda technique ...:-) ..I cannot buy a japanese book as I dont understand ...By the way Nakagawa explains floral pattern pouring in one of his videos ..Its not takeda, but throws some light for sure on why ......Can you pl explain whats he saying ?

    He explains it at 50:33 minutes ...

    http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=WFmrM8nKrj0

    By the way please do read these 2 links ...Reading these 2 have changed my coffee for ever ....This is by Seth Mills based in Arizona,USA ... ....where he talks about temparature stability of the slurry ...It was useful to me ....

    http://sethwmills.tumblr.com/post/42595876973/thoughts-on-temperature-stability-and-brewing-technique

    http://sethwmills.tumblr.com/post/44150445490/temperature-stability-and-brewing-technique-part-two




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  14. Dan: He says the point is to stop (temporarily) at the five points he circled. When you pour water from a high position, the water goes down into the ground coffee together wih air. When the air goes up as bubbles, it moves the ground coffee upward. This way, you can brew coffee without clogging the flannel filter.
    At 50:53, he draws a lot of arrows, and explains that if water were to poured in the arrow directions, the flannel filter would be prone to clog.

    By the way, at 52:25, he starts explaining double filtering.

    Thanks for the links. If I ever find any comments of Nakagawa about temperature stability, I will post about them and let you know.

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  15. hiroyuki ...thanks for the explanation ...So there are 2 forces at play ...gravity pulling water down and air bubbles pushing coffee up ...I guess one has to use caution as this can cause over extraction ...
    But this serves 2 things ....prevents clogging of cloth filter and promotes extraction rate ...May be this idea was behind the takeda drip technique ...If you find any more please let me know. Appreciate your time and help a lot...

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  16. Hiroyuki ...Another crazy video ...Very interesting ....Dynamic stuff indeed ...

    http://plaza.rakuten.co.jp/mandheling/diary/200802030000/

    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uHBph8J0tfI

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  17. Dan: At the end of the post, the blogger thanks Nakagawa-san again (for his descriptions of Shochiku Combo drip and Apollo-kun mini).

    Apollo-kun mini (and Apollo and Apollo-kun) is an interesting topic to discuss. I will talk about it in a future post, based on these videos:
    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4UJ237UbsD4
    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Snq4R18ZCw8

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  18. Hiroyuki, Thanks for sharing those links ...Apollo looks interesting but thats a lot of work for a cup of coffee ...Heard that you can increase oil by creating a small hole in the tip of the paper cone ...

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  19. Dan: Nakagawa-san sells a product for making small holes in paper filters:
    http://www.flavorcoffee.co.jp/2f/2f-11.html

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  20. Hiroyuki ....Thanks for the info ..If you happen to learn more about takeda drip technique please email me ....By the way I love to cook too and if you need any tips on Indian food please do email me or check my wife's blog ...

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  21. Dan: Thanks for your kind offer. I will, if I have any quetions about Indian cuisine/food.

    As for Takeda's method, I can get little information from the Internet, and I have no intension of buying the book he wrote because it's rather expensive (< 3,600 yen) and the reviews on Amazon are not very favorable. I have already asked Nakagawa-san to produce a video on Takeda's method. I hope he complies with my request.

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  22. Hiroyuki ....If Nakagawa-san produces a video of takeda technique all my doubts will be gone for sure...Please do email me once that happens as I dont want to miss it ...

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