Pourover Kettle Thread

[John F]

He could be right.

The thing is that we are talking about slight edges when comparing one high end kettle against another. These edges are further exploited by individual techniques so that one handle shape is better for me but something else better for you. Spout, tip, etc, etc..

I'd have to pour with it to see but this much I'm confident about... A thin spout starting from the base of a kettle beats the daylights out of a beak style spout at the top of the kettle. Aside from just the spout being small balance is vital. 

[peter]

I like the handle and ergonomics of my Bonavita.  And I'm considering taking a pliers to the tip and squishing it into more of an oval.  Pray for me.

[John F]

Take a Dremel to it and make that crazy shape Cho likes.

[peter]

This doesn't look like it got squished much, but it's about half as wide as it was.  Preliminary tests are encouraging, probably not because the squishing diminished the flow, but because it makes the tip protrude more.  I'll use it in the morning, and now that I've become emboldened with the squisher, I may go all the way.

[John F]

If it gets too warped maybe you can cut it on an angle like a hypodermic needle.

Mine is more hypodermic than squeezed maybe you could use a grinder of some sort to get an even pointer point.

[peter]

I has a bench grinder...  light bulb is going on now.

[bekeld]

Nothing good can come of this...

[peter]

Nothing good can come of this...

That's the risk one runs when one is a trendsetter. 


   I just made myself laugh.

[BoldJava]

He could be right.

The thing is that we are talking about slight edges when comparing one high end kettle against another....

Not sure where I read it but Nick partially attributes the pour control to the stout base of the neck relative to the tip (just opposite of the Bonavita -- which is the same diameter throughout the neck).  He says something about the the neck's design on the Kalita prevents a syphon effect being created.  I don't get the physics involved.  Wish I had paid more attention in class.


Thought I would mention that so our blacksmith can heat up the furnace, get out the anvil and hammer, and get busy on something beside the tip of the spout.  Had a ton of lines for Peter's tip/pliers routine but the silent voice of the Czarina was heard this a.m.  It is often a very good, judicious filter which is often employed.

[BoldJava]

I can just see the Cabal's next cupping:

[John F]

Not sure where I read it but Nick partially attributes the pour control to the stout base of the neck relative to the tip (just opposite of the Bonavita -- which is the same diameter throughout the neck).  He says something about the the neck's design on the Kalita prevents a syphon effect being created.  I don't get the physics involved.  Wish I had paid more attention in class.

He has a load of kettles and is in better position than most to comment on the differences.

The first thing that came to my mind was just to grab my phone and make a quick vid of why I think syphon issues have less to do with the diameter of the spout/tip  and more to do with the spout starting at the base of the kettle and terminating as high as possible at/near the water level when full.

A smart thing to do would have been to drink my first cup of coffee, gather my thoughts, organize some details and then make a quick vid. I of course am more impulsive than smart so you get a straight out of bed, no coffee, disorganized ramble..... If it helps turn the sound off and just watch the vid. 

Takiaharo syphon question

[bekeld]

Watched video with sound, and I think I understand what you were getting at--that it's the positioning of the tip of the spout vis-a-vis the water level which guides the pour.

I would also postulate that the wider diameter of the base in contrast to a narrower tip keeps the pressure of the flow more consistent than a spout that is the same diameter from base to tip. That would create just enough back pressure to help control the flow. I think both elements are needed.

The analogy I thought of is breath control for musicians. If you just breath in and push out, it's like that big spouted pot in the video. Everything pours out fast, goes wherever it goes. When breathing properly, you have a big base (abdomen), narrower diameter at end, and a lot of back pressure to control how much air is released and where the air goes.

I really thought that this thread was tending toward überobsessive, but seeing John's video and knowing how my Hario and Bonavita pour, I am amazed at the difference in the ease of control.

[John F]

I really thought that this thread was tending toward überobsessive, but seeing John's video and knowing how my Hario and Bonvita pour, I am amazed at the difference in the ease of control.

And I was one handing it with the phone recording in the other mostly watching the camera.

The control is literally drop by drop if you want it. The action is in super slight wrist movement because as you see the water level is already right there at the tip of the spout...you are only moving very slightly because you are not moving water far at all.

[BoldJava]

...I really thought that this thread was tending toward überobsessive, but seeing John's video and knowing how my Hario and Bonvita pour, I am amazed at the difference in the ease of control.

Nuts, I hoped we had ventured into über-land. 

[peter]

I don't think Cho means siphon when he uses the word siphon. 

The wider base of the spout might make some difference, and it does in my mind, but I really don't think it should affect flow rate.  The two key issues to me are tip design, and spout shape.  The "S" of the Bonavita is too tight; it should be more stretched out and horizontal.

Having the tip of the Bonavita spout squished does help.  I can get a smaller stream to flow more smoothly.  Before, if the flow was too slow, it would dribble, and to get the dribble to stop it had to flow faster than I'd like.  Now it'll flow slower w/o dribbling.