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Siphon Steep Time Calculator

A siphon is immersion with theatre. Once the water has risen, you steep, then you drop the heat and the brew crashes down. Finer grind size extracts faster; hotter water also. This page suggests seconds (and minutes) so you are not guessing 45 versus 90 on the first vacuum pot of the year.

Inputs

Units

Relative to your siphon, not a V60 click number.

°C

Upper-chamber water once it has risen, if you can measure it.

Results

Steep time
75s
Steep time
1.25min

Recommended gear

Calculation method

A medium grind at 92 °C starts at 75 seconds of upper-chamber steep (the middle of the common 60–90 s guides). Fine is 60 s, coarse 90 s. Each degree above 92 trims time by the factor 92/T; cooler water adds some, floored at 80 °C. Minutes are seconds / 60. Draw-down after you kill the heat is extra contact — do not add it twice unless your cloth is slow on purpose.

Exact formula

Base 60/75/90 s at fine/medium/coarse and 92 °C. steepSeconds = base × (92 / max(waterTempC, 80)). Limits: Cloth vs paper, agitation, bed depth and draw-down time omitted; steep is upper-chamber contact, not the whole show.

Agitation

One stir at the start evens the bed. Constant whisking raises extraction the way a finer grind does — shorten steep if you stir a lot.

Frequently asked questions

When do I start the timer?

When the water has risen and you have stirred the bloom of the siphon bed, not when you lit the burner.

Cloth filter tastes different.

Yes — more body, often faster flow. You may steep a little less than paper. This select does not know your filter.

Same as French press time?

No. Press is longer immersion at coarser grind. Do not paste a 4-minute press onto a siphon.

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