How to Make a Perfect Pour-Over Coffee — [Ultimate Step by Step Guide]
Manual brewing has become very popular in recent years. It’s an art that you can observe — and enjoy — in many coffee shops around the world. Pour-over coffee is one of the most popular manual brews and not too hard to replicate at home.
How to make a perfect pour-over coffee at home? What tools do you need and what’s the ideal technique?
Let’s dive in…
What is pour-over coffee?
At the most basic level, pour-over coffee is what it says. It refers to brewing coffee by pouring hot water over coffee grounds through a filter into a cup or holder. But of course, there’s a little more to it than that.
What sets it apart is that the water is poured over by hand. Therefore, this method may also be referred to as manual brewing or hand brewing.
The pour-over method has been around for centuries but has regained its popularity in the last decade or so. Especially in ‘specialty coffee’ circles and hipster coffee shops.
And for good reasons, we may add.
What makes pour over coffee special?
The slow and manual brewing process of pouring hot water over coffee grounds accentuates flavors and allows the aromas.
Pour-over coffee is an infusion method. This helps to extract the coffee oils and fragrances slowly. It doesn’t saturate the water like with immersion methods like the French Press. Instead, the filter catches many oils and impurities, which results in a clear and ‘clean’ cup of coffee.
What’s the difference between a pour-over coffee and a drip coffee?
Great question!
The coffee drip machine’s water stream is more like a shower; many small streams or drops. This cools the water down before it hits the coffee. The colder water affects the chemistry of the brewing process and may cause a less intense taste
With a manual pour-over, the water is poured onto the coffee faster. While losing less heat, it results in a more efficient brew.
Drip coffee makers generally don’t distribute the water evenly across the coffee grounds. This causes an uneven brew. Manually pouring the water over the coffee grounds, extracts the aromas equally from the coffee.
The art of a good pour-over
It sounds easy, right?
One could argue that pouring water over coffee grounds isn’t that hard, and anyone could do it. That would be grossly over-simplifying it. Creating the perfect pour-over coffee does take some skill and practice.
That being said, it can definitely be learned so, read on!
Best coffee for pour-over
You can use any coffee to create a pour-over, which mostly comes down to personal taste.
However, if you’re gonna go through the hassle of brewing yourself a good pour-over coffee, you might as well put some effort into selecting the best tools and beans for the job. This will significantly increase the reward after your hard work.
Here are a couple of things to consider when choosing your coffee.
Beans or grounds?
Always use coffee beans that you grind yourself. The reason is simple. The benefit of grinding your own beans is to get the freshest cup possible. Self-grinding gives maximum control over the taste.
Pre-ground coffee is undoubtedly convenient. Although it does have a place in our coffee culture, it shouldn’t be used for anything else than regular drip coffee pots.
Fact is that most of the ground coffee you buy in supermarkets is already stale by the time it reaches your cup. As soon as you grind coffee beans, they start to lose their natural aroma due to oxygen exposure.
Even if you do everything else right, using average ground coffee will almost always lead to a disappointing outcome. Any (amateur) Barista will agree that self-grinding your beans is the only way.
If you’re lucky enough to live close to a coffee grinder, go and see what they have. Let them advise you and try a couple of different beans.
What roast is best for pour-over coffee?
The roast that you choose comes down to personal taste. Have a look at this article on our site to learn more about the different roasts.
For pour-over coffee, we would advise a light roast. Of course, you’re free to experiment with different roasts and see what you like. Light roasted beans release the most acidic flavors during the pour-over brewing process.
The Ideal Grind Size for Pour-Over Coffee
The optimal grind size for pour-over coffee is a medium to coarse grind, about the same coarseness as raw sugar.
It’s important to get the grind size right because it has a big impact on your brew’s taste. You want the coffee to have enough surface area to extract the aromas before reaching your cup. On the other hand, not too much as this could result in a bitter taste.
If you don’t know what grind size is best for you, experiment a bit. Start with a relatively coarse grind and adjust towards a finer grind when needed.
A grind that is too coarse will result in a watery or sour brew. A grind that is too fine might lack the sweet notes and taste bitter.
The Gear
There isn’t a ton of gear that you need to make a good pour-over but some items are necessary. As with anything, having the right tools makes the job easier, and in this case, your brew tastier.
As a minimum, we would advise you to make sure you have the following items:
- A good burr grinder,
- A kettle that allows you to slowly and precisely pour the water,
- A kitchen scale that can measure in grams.
The Grinder
Among all the tools of a barista, the grinder is likely one of your most important assets. Regardless of what type of coffee you make, everything tastes better with freshly ground beans.
As a coffee enthusiast, we highly recommend you to get a grinder. There are basically only two types of grinders you should be aware of;
The Blade Grinder
The concept of a blade coffee grinder is pretty simple. It chops up the coffee beans in little pieces by using small knives.
You can easily compare it to how a blender works. You put the beans in a chamber that contains a 2-pronged knife that spins when you push the button.
The problem with this is that it chops the beans into all kinds of different sizes. As it grinds, the smaller pieces fall to the bottom. There they are hit by the knives again and get even smaller. The larger pieces often remain on top and are barely in contact with the blades.
The result is a grind that is not uniform in coarseness, often leading to a disappointing brew.
Also, with blade grinders, you have no real control over the grind size of the coffee. Sure, you can grind longer to get a finer ground, but it’s hard to control manually.
Another downside to blade grinders is that the knives are usually not the best quality and will quickly turn dull. Most of the time, it is impossible to replace them and you’ll need to get a new grinder.
Blade grinders are the cheapest option though, and you can generally get one below 20 USD. The Hamilton Beach Blade Grinder is one of the best sellers on Amazon.
The Burr Grinder
A burr grinder often the better option. As the name suggests, it consists of burrs, grinding the coffee beans uniformly a couple of beans at a time.
Burr grinders come either manually operated or electric.
The build quality of burr grinders is much better than of the blade grinders. The burrs usually consist of ceramic or stainless steel. This is a much better choice than cheap blades.
With burr grinders, you can effortlessly control the size of your grind. By adjusting the space between the burrs, the beans will grind finer or more coarse. This gives you maximum control over the aromas and it lets you experiment endlessly with different grinds.
No wonder burr grinders are the most popular piece of equipment for coffee-lovers. You will not regret getting a good burr grinder. Their price point is a bit higher compared to blade grinders, generally upwards of 50 USD.
The Sboly Conical Burr Coffee Grinder is one of the best sellers on Amazon.
Scales
To a beginner, weighing the coffee on a scale may seem a bit freakish and unnecessary. Usually, you would probably just get a tablespoon and wing it.
However, they are essential if you want to create a consistently good coffee. Knowing how much coffee and water you used in a good — or bad — brew allows you to replicate or improve the recipe.
I recommend a good and precise kitchen scale. Do make sure you get one that can measure in grams as this is more precise.
I’m using the Nicewell Food Scale myself and I’m quite happy with it. Of course, it’s a multi-purpose kitchen scale and can be used for other things besides measuring coffee as well.
Pour-Over Kettles
Have you ever seen a real barista prepare a pour-over coffee? You will have noticed that almost always, they use a small (often) copper or steel kettle with a gooseneck. Why?
As with everything, the quality of a cup of coffee depends on consistency. This also applies to the water. The copper helps to keep the water temperature consistent for longer. The gooseneck helps to get a consistent flow of water instead of a gush or a drip.
It’s up to you if you want to invest in a professional kettle The quality of your brew will likely improve when using a pour-over kettle. On the other hand, you might get away with using a regular, electric, or stovetop kettle as well.
Whatever kettle you choose to use, remember to keep a thermometer handy when brewing. This is to keep an eye on the temperature. Some pour-over kettles come with a built-in thermometer. More on temperatures below.
I can definitely recommend the Barista Warrior Stainless Steel Pour-over Kettle. It has a built-in thermometer to help you make sure you pour at the exact right temperature. More on that below.
Brewers
There are many types of brewers, and those are worth having an article of their own. We will discuss the three most popular brewers or drippers.
Which brewer you end up using depends on personal preference. I have tested many different ones and have not noticed a difference in quality or taste.
Most popular for pour-overs are the following brewers.
V60
V60 drippers come in different forms, made of glass, ceramic, or plastic. They are intended to be placed on top of a generic cup or holder and use a paper filter. Some V60’s are sold as a kit, including a matching holder.
Chemex
You can easily recognize a Chemex brewer by its iconic hourglass shape with a wooden collar. It’s arguably one of the best designs and practical in use at the same time.
The wooden collar provides a good grip and makes it easier to handle the hot glass. The glass consists of ‘laboratory glassware’. This avoids absorption of odors or chemical components that may affect future brews.
Kone
A kone coffee filter is often a metal frame with a plastic or metal mesh that acts as a filter. It is reusable, and you will not need an additional paper filter for a cone dripper.
Personally, I prefer a paper filter since it is better at filtering out oils. Nevertheless, if you’re looking for a more environmentally friendly solution, the kone filter might be the right choice.
Other popular drippers are the Beehouse, Kalita Wave, Walkure, Woodneck, or December Dripper.
Pour-Over Coffee Filters
The filter is often the most overlooked and undervalued piece of equipment. That’s strange because it can have a large impact on the taste of your brew.
There are different sizes and types of filters, depending on what brewer you use. For example, the Chemex filters are heavier than others. They are designed to retain more of the oils during the brewing process.
There is also quite a bit of controversy over whether paper or cloth filters are preferable. The latter tends to affect flavorless and have a smaller environmental impact. When using paper filters, you can choose either bleached on unbleached.
Whatever filter you use, make sure it fits your brewer and does not impede the water flow. As mentioned, we need consistency, and that also goes for the water flow.
Pour-Over Coffee Brewing Step by Step
Before preparing the pour-over brew, make sure you get all your gear and put it in arms reach. Having to search for something in the middle of your brewing process will break the flow. This might impact your brew’s quality.
Once you’re ready to go, follow the six steps below to perfection.
Step 1: Grind and measure the beans
Start by grinding about 25 grams of beans for a single cup (350 gr of water) of pour over.
The recommended ratio of coffee versus water is between 1:15 to 1:17.
If, for example, your cup contains 250 grams (or ml) of then you’ll use (250/15 = 16.5 gr of coffee).
If you don’t have scales, then use a tablespoon. One tablespoon is approximately 10 grams. The coarseness should be about the same as raw sugar or sea salt, to begin with.
You can experiment with both the ratio or the grind size. Both have a significant impact on the taste of your brew. Experiment with only one variable at the time, so you know which change had which effect.
Step 2: The water
One cannot overstate the importance of water quality. You can surely experiment with this. Although some places have good quality tap water, I would not recommend it. Especially if you happen to live in an area that has ‘hard’ water.
It’s best to use mineral water. Do not use distilled water.
When it comes to the water temperature for your pour-over coffee, there are many schools of thought out there. It’s hard to pin down what is the best and again, it could be down to personal preference.
The ideal temperature, according to most brewers
Regardless of what temperature you choose to brew at, consistency is crucial. Make sure your water doesn’t lose temperature too quickly while you pour.
Step 3: Wetting the filter
Before adding the coffee grounds into the brewer, start by ‘wetting the filter’.
Gently pour the hot water over the filter so that it becomes wet allover. This helps to wash out any residue on the paper and improves the taste of your brew.
Remove the water from your container or cup before continuing. Now add the coffee grounds into the filter and make sure you spread them out evenly spread in the brewer.
Step 4: The Bloom
When you pour the first water on the dry grounds, you will notice that it bubbles up. This is referred to as ‘the bloom’. Bloom is caused by the carbon dioxide which is released from the coffee when it comes in contact with the water.
Getting rid of the CO2 is essential because it impacts the brewing process by repelling the water.
Gently pour about double the amount of coffee in water to let the coffee bloom. So, if you have 25 grams of coffee, pour about 50 grams of water.
After the first pour, wait about 30 to 45 seconds until the bloom has ended.
Step 5: Pouring
The correct way to make a pour-over is by adding a steady pour of water. Try to pour all the water at once in a steady flow, while keeping the amount of water in the brewer at the same level.
You may also add multiple pours if you prefer. The number of pours and exact technique is another opportunity to experiment.
For every pour, make sure you evenly pour in a way that consistently wets all of the coffee. Although there are several ways to do this, I advise the ‘spiraling’ or ‘swirling’ technique.
Pour in a steady spiral, starting in the center and going towards the outer edge. Make sure to pour over the ripples of the filter. This helps avoid grounds getting stuck in the ripples where it may remove them from the rest of the extraction.
Pour as much water as is needed just to sink all of the grounds underwater. After enough water has dripped through to expose the dried bed of grounds, pour additional water as needed.
If you need multiple pours, repeat this process until all the water has been poured. Usually, it takes 45–60 seconds in between pours. The duration depends on the filter, the grind size, and the amount of coffee used.
In closing;
And there you have it. Your first pour over! Enjoy!
If this is your first time making a pour-over, it will probably take some practice. Don’t give up and experiment with different beans, different grinds, tools, filters, and techniques.
Did it taste as good as you expected? We’d love to hear about your experience
Happy Pouring, have fun!
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Originally published at https://caffeinetalk.com on October 25, 2020.
