It takes some finesse to make a pour over – it’s an art form.
Why do we love Pour Over?
The variable temperature control must match exactly the coffee we want to taste, the aromatic bloom, the aroma, the look, the feeling of holding a fancy kettle. It’s both romantic and scientific – perfectly blending the two together, and when you’re done brewing, you’ll have a sense of accomplishment and a very tasty cup of coffee. Another advantage is that you can experiment with different roast types without having to make a whole batch of coffee, and is relatively quick – you just have to be pretty focused. It’s a great way to impress guests. Here we share everything you need to know to make your very own pour over at home.
What is Pour Over?
A pour over coffee is a way of brewing manually by pouring hot water over a coffee bed to create a bloom, then finishing with repeated pours in circular motions to produce an evenly extracted and customizable brew. Time, temperature and technique are all key factors in a pour over – these we will go into.
Why use the Pour Over method?
Coffee brewing methods can be broadly divided into two categories: immersion and drip. Immersion involves soaking the coffee in water for a certain amount of time, while drip brewing allows the water to filter through the coffee grind and extract flavor that way. Pour Over and Drip are two popular methods of drip brewing, while a French press is the most common method of immersion. Each method has its own unique flavor profile and results, so it’s important to choose the right one depending on your preferences. While other brewing methods may offer more consistency, pour over coffee is unique because you can tailor the exact water temperature, bloom time, pouring speed and technique. All of these factors work together to allow you to taste more flavors in your coffee than usual. A pour over allows you to pick out the flavors that are often described on a bag of fresh coffee – for example, apricot, toffee, baked apple, dark cocoa, and Meyer lemon.
How to make a Pour Over
Making a pour over at home is easy but requires you to be committed all the time. Using the right equipment and following the guide below, you will soon be sipping a delicious cup of coffee. To get started, you’ll need to heat your water, grind your coffee, set up your dripper, filter and cup and have your timer ready!
1: Prepare the coffee and the filter
Freshly ground coffee with a medium coarseness similar to the consistency of raw sugar is best. This is important because if the coffee is too coarsely ground, you risk getting very weak underextracted coffee that can taste sour. On the other hand, if the coffee grounds are too fine, you will end up with a filter that can overflow and coffee that is bitter. Grind 30g of coffee. If you don’t have a scale, this is about 3 scoops of coffee. We recommend 30g of coffee and 500g of water, which is a ratio of 1:16.
2: Heat the water to the right temperature
You want to aim for a temperature of 91-96C. Some kettles offer better temperature control and allow you to dial in the exact temperature, but if you don’t have the option just heat the water to a boil and then wait 30 seconds before using it. Water quality is important, if you have good tap water (which we have here in the Nordic countries) then it is fine to use, but the best results are obtained with filtered water (recommended in the USA, for example).
3. Prep and moisten the filter
Place a filter in your dripper and place it over your carafe or mug (glass carafes work particularly well here). Then soak the filter with just enough hot water to remove any papery taste and make sure the dripper and container are preheated. Place your entire pour over set on the scale and press the button so you start at zero. Add your freshly ground coffee and double check that you have the right amount and zero the scale again. Now you’re ready to go!
4. Let the coffee “bloom”
The first pour is often called the “bloom” and is arguably the most important. You want to start your timer and begin pouring starting from the center in a circular motion and working your way out towards the edge and back again. This should take 30 seconds by adding 60g of water (double your amount of coffee) and then wait another minute for the coffee to bloom. This process will allow the CO2 to be released and expand your coffee, preparing it for a nice even extraction.
5. for
After waiting a minute for your bloom, start by pouring in a steady circular motion from the center, out to the edges and back. This is important because you want all the coffee to be evenly and continuously saturated by the water being poured on – we want every bit of water to reach every particle of coffee. This process takes another minute and a half to two minutes. Pour in a slow and steady continuous stream, creating temperature consistency during extraction. You can also choose to pour in 2 to 3 intervals, giving your arm a break. Timing is incredibly important as you want to finish having 500g of coffee – in around 3-4 minutes. If you pour too quickly, the result may taste weak and slightly sour. But if the pouring takes a little longer, it risks giving a bitter taste instead.
6. enjoy!
When you have reached 500g in total within 3-4 minutes, your Pour over is ready.
What equipment is needed?
- Coffee grinder (preferably an electric one
- Kettles
- Dripper
- Filter (to suit your dripper)
- Wave