Saturday, March 23, 2024
HomeExclusiveHow Does Pour Over Coffee Work

How Does Pour Over Coffee Work

How Pour Over Coffee Works

Pourover Coffee – How to Make The Perfect Pourover

Pour over coffee brewing involves pouring hot water over coffee grounds. Gravity then takes over, draining the water through the grounds, out the bottom of the cone, and into your mugvoila, coffee!

Wait! Isnt that the same thing as drip coffee?

Not quite. Pour over coffee is a fundamentally manual processtheres no automation involvedand this shift in technique changes how the brewing works.

  • You heat the water in a separate kettle.;If you want your water at peak brewing temperature , you can do that. If you like a slightly cooler brewing water at 195 degrees, its up to you!
  • You control the water pouring speed and placement. You have complete control over where you pour water, which means you can more easily ensure all the grounds are evenly saturated. You can also change the speed of your pour as needed to ensure the grounds have just the right amount of time to brew.

Thats really the key difference here: control. But does it really make that much of a difference?

Theres a reason pour over coffee has exploded in popularity in recent yearsand its not because people are trying to make their lives more complicated. When you taste the difference, you’ll see why. Your taste buds will make sure of it!

We created the ESPRO Bloom Pour Over Coffee Brewer with a unique design that captures the benefits of manually-brewed coffee without requiring you to get the technique just right. Its the perfect way to explore the delicious world of pour over coffeesee how it works.

Ideal Grind Size For Cold Brew Coffee

An extra-coarse grind is best for cold brew coffee.

As the brew method with the longest extraction time, cold brew coffee does not require as much surface area to fully extract flavor from the grounds. If you try to brew cold brew with a fine grind, youll end up with a bitter, over extracted result even though youre using cold water.

You will also have to deal with straining all those fine particles once youre finished brewing. Using an extra-coarse grind allows you to achieve the smooth, subtle flavor that many people enjoy in their cold brew.

Cons Of Pour Over Coffee

The biggest complaint about pour over coffee is that it requires some manual labor. But if your goal is to brew great coffee, thats not necessarily a bad thing.

The finer things in life always require a bit of work.;

Does pour over coffee take more effort and energy than an auto-drip maker or a pod coffee machine?;

Yes. But the handcrafted nature of your brew makes it all that much more rewarding.

1. Could Take More Time

Some naysayers are quick to point out that its much more time consuming than other brewing methods. Sure, it requires more steps than pressing a button on an auto coffee machine. But the actual brewing process only takes slightly longer.

2. Filter Price

Perhaps the biggest drawback of pour over coffee is the price of the filters. For example, Chemex filters tend to be more expensive than other brands, and reusing them isn’t recommended. Yet, pour over makers are much less costly than most multi-function automatic machines.

And if youre on a quest for a high-quality cup, dont let the cost of filters deter you from the pour over process.

If you love coffee, here’s our Guide to Becoming a Coffee Connoisseur

Read Also: Does Diet Root Beer Have Caffeine

Can You Make Pour Over Coffee Without A Filter

Its impossible to make pour-over coffee without some sort of filter. Thats because something needs to hold the coffee grounds inside the dripper while water passes through them. However, its possible to use metal filters instead of paper ones if you want a different taste and/or less waste.

Recall that pour-over coffee is a percolation method, which refers to how gravity pulls water through something porous . Without some sort of filter, the coffee grounds would pass right through the bottom of the dripper!

Use A Scale To Find The Right Brew Ratio

The Poppy Pour

Using a scale helps you to find the right ratio of ground coffee to water. For ourclassic blends, we recommend 30 grams ofcoffee for every 350 grams water. To enjoy the nuanced flavor of asingle-origin coffee that is lightly roasted, we recommend less coffee: 22 to 24 grams for every 350 grams water.

Read Also: Where To Buy Kaffree Roma Coffee

Tip #: Always Grind One Cup At A Time

This goes for all methods of making coffee, not just pour over, but its such an important note that its worth stating here anyway. Never grind your beans in advance. It can be tempting to want to grind an entire weeks worth of coffee beans at once to save time, but even on day two or three youll notice the quality of your coffee dropping. Think about it: coffee is technically a fruit, just like an apple or banana. Does an apple taste better when you first bite into it, or a week after you slice it?

Of course, fruits taste best when theyre fresh, and coffee is no different, which is why we only sell whole, wild kopi luwak beans that you can grind at home or bring to your local coffee shop to be ground. Pre-ground coffee has been spoiled by air and moisture , resulting in a significantly less tasty cup.

Looking for a delicious, uber-healthy cup of kopi luwak? Try Pure today.

What Are The Benefits Of Pour Over Coffee

Pour Over highlights the finer qualities of the coffee bean.

If at home, the ability to control the speed with which you pour water over the coffee grounds is important. The slower the pour, it allows time for the water to pull out more flavor from the grounds. The result is a richer and bolder flavor.

Also Check: Can Caffeine Cause Dry Eyes

Ideal Grind Size For Pour Over Coffee

A medium-fine grind is a good starting point for pour over coffee.

Pour over grind size can be a bit tricky because the grind affects different variables in the brew. Not only does the grind size change the overall flavor, but it also helps determine the brew time.

For most cone-shaped pour overs , medium-fine is the best setting to start experimenting with. Brew in the middle, then test your results. If your coffee is too sour, youre under extracted, which means youll want a finer grind. If it is too bitter, on the other hand, you should try a coarser grind.

Like with the Chemex, if you find that your pour over is brewing too quickly , you can try using a finer grind. If it is taking too long to brew, you might want to go a few notches more coarse.

Having said that, with so many different pour over designs, youll likely want to start with whatever the manufacturer recommends, then adjust as needed. This is because the different designs lead to a different flow rate and affect extraction.

With some brewers, like the Clever Dripper, you can control the brew time, which means you have more options with grind size.

What Exactly Is Pour Over Coffee

How to Brew the Best Pour Over Coffee

What makes this style of coffee so damn special? Its all in the process, and the result.Its preferred among coffee enthusiasts because it allows you to control factors such as taste and strength better than other brewing methods. After you try it for yourself youll definitely be wondering where this method has been all of your coffee drinking life!

Pour over coffee is exactly what it sounds like you pour hot water over freshly ground coffee beans.;

  • Save

Don’t Miss: What Is The Best Coffee To Make At Home

Types Of Coffee Grounds

Pour-over coffee is best made with medium grind size. Yet, it requires tweaking to achieve the coffee quality that you prefer. Keep in mind that pour-over is an infusion method where the coffee and water contact has limits. If the coffee becomes watery and sour, you should try a finer grind and if the coffee is bitter or lacks tasting notes, try a coarser grind.

Consistency in grind size matters in drip coffee. Brewing coffee beans with uneven size greatly affects the taste of the coffee. So, if youre grinding the coffee beans for your drip coffeemaker, use a burr-style grinder. This grinder guarantees a uniform coffee grind that resembles sea salt.

Check out our in-depth Review of Grinders for more information.

What Is The Best Coffee To Use For Pour Over

The best coffee to use for pour over differs from person to person. Some people might be satisfied with store-bought, pre-ground coffee powder . Others might only buy single-estate Arabica beans and grind them just before brewing .The best way, though, is to visit as many local coffee shops and roasteries as possible and try all the brewed coffee options they offer. Then pick the one you like best and buy the beans from them .

Don’t Miss: How Is Nespresso Decaf Coffee Made

Is Pour Over Better Than Drip

The final question in the battle between drip coffee vs. pour over brewing is: which is better? And the answer generally depends on your personal circumstances and how much effort you’re willing to put into making the perfect cup of coffee.

Pour overs are generally considered better when looking at the quality of coffee you can create. Ensuring even water distribution over coffee grounds, allowing the coffee time to bloom, and getting the perfect water temperature are all far easier with a pour over brewer. You can also adjust your brew’s strength and vibrancy much easier with a pour over vs. drip coffee.

That said, if you’re looking for convenience over quality, a drip coffee maker can be a godsend! The programmable features mean you can set up your coffee maker the night before and awaken to freshly brewed coffee every morning, and you can get on with other tasks while your coffee is brewing.

Drip coffee makers are also considered to be quicker than pour over brewing. However, this can be subject to interpretation. Generally, it takes around 10 minutes to brew a pot of drip coffee in an electric machine. Pour overs can actually be completed in under five minutes.

So, the time-consuming element really relates to how involved the processes are, rather than the actual length of time it takes to brew.

Whole Bean Vs Ground Coffee: 3 Reasons You Should Be Buying Whole Bean

11 Best Pour Over Coffee Makers for Caffeine Addicts

Garrett Oden

Ask any coffee pro the #1 advice theyd give to someone trying to make better coffee at home, and you know what theyd say? Buy whole beans instead of pre-ground coffee.

The whole bean vs ground coffee debate has been raging for years. Pre-ground buyers love how convenient it is. But whole bean buyers say their coffee tastes much, much better.

And we have to be honest with you were 100% in the whole-bean-only camp.

The benefits of buying whole bean coffee are just too great to be ignoredand heres why you need to know them:

  • Great coffee creates happy moments but pre-ground robs you of those
  • Your coffee ritual should be liberating not restricted to one brewer
  • Pre-ground is a waste of $$$ your hard-earned dollars deserve better

If youre used to buying pre-ground coffee, we get it youthe convenience factor is big. But once you realize the opportunity youre missing to infuse happiness into your morning, we think youll want to make the switch.

Read Also: How Is Cold Brew Coffee Made

How Much Caffeine In A Pour Over Coffee

Considering that the worlds primary source of caffeine is the coffee bean, how much caffeine is there in a cup of coffee? Caffeine can vary from a few different ways, but the type of bean and the preparation method.

As a comparison, a single-shot of espresso contains roughly 80 100 mg of caffeine, compared to a pour over coffee cup usually contains about 100 130 mg of caffeine. You might be wondering why pour over coffee contains more caffeine, its because its usually measured by volume. Dark roast coffee also contains less caffeine than lighter roast due to the heating/roasting process reducing the caffeine in a bean.

Why Does My Coffee Taste Burned

Your coffee can taste burned for one of two reasons:

  • The water you used was too hot.
  • The coffee beans are over-roasted.

First, let’s start with the first issue. You want to use hot water when brewing a pour over coffee, but not to the point that it burns your coffee grounds. Keep in mind that darker roasts generally require cooler water than lighter roasts because they’re richer in flavor.

If you’re using the correct pour over coffee water temperature, the burned taste may not be your fault at all. Instead, the manufacturer may have accidentally overroasted their beans, resulting in a scorched flavor.

Don’t Miss: Are All Herbal Teas Caffeine Free

How To Use A Pour Over Coffee Maker

Most of our mornings are characterized by coffee. We are either looking forward to having some of it or are in the process of making it.

However, whichever of the two you are doing you must certainly appreciate good coffee at the end of it all.

It is therefore most important to understand the type of coffee maker that you are using so as to not mess up your coffee-making process.

If your choice of coffee-making machine is a pour over coffeemaker then you are in luck.

Because we intend on giving you all the great tips in using the pour over coffee maker so as to ensure your coffee making exercise is nothing but a success.

Coffee Maker Review: Bunn Hg Phase Brew

HOW TO: Set up a pour-over coffee maker; Brewer machine
  • Hot coffee
  • Certified by the;Specialty Coffee Association of America;for home use
  • Brew head distributes water evenly for full coffee grounds saturation
  • Programmable
  • Reported rusting on water valve within the reservoir
  • Loud

Sufficiently hot, evenly steeped, and quickly brewed coffee is something that has eluded automatic coffeemakers for the many years that theyve existed. Every once in a while you will find a coffeemaker that can handle a couple of these challenges, but the sad reality is that most automatic drip coffeemakers cant even do one of the aforementioned the right way.

Fortunately, the Bunn HG Phase Brew;is not;one of these typically poor-performing coffeemakers.;This beautiful coffee maker takes care of business.

The Phase Brew also has a Thermal Carafe model that can be purchased on Amazon.;Learn more here.

Read Also: How To Open Your Own Coffee Shop

What Is Pour Over Coffee And How Is It Different From Drip Coffee

There are dozens of types of coffee makers in the world, none have inspired such confusion as drip coffee pots and pour over coffee makers. They seem to work the same wayso why do pour overs even exist?;

Why go through all the work when you could have an automatic coffee maker do it for you? Are pour overs just the coffee snobs way of making things more complicated? Is there really a difference at all?

Contrary to popular belief, pour over coffee is quite different from drip coffee, but the reasons why arent very obvious at first glance.

Well show you what these differences are, and what they mean, like;

  • Why pour over coffee has the potential to taste much better
  • How manual brewing =/= hard to learn
  • Why automated brewers will never make manual pour overs obsolete;

What Ratio Of Coffee To Water Should You Use

Youll see a lot of different suggested ratios out there, but 1:17 is a generally accepted good starting point. Make some brews with this measurement but adjust factors that affect extraction, such as grind size and water temperature, one at a time until you find a recipe that works for you.

Then, try changing the ratio of coffee to water. If your brew tastes watery or weak, add more coffee without changing other factors and evaluate whether it tastes better. If you find your cup too intense, consider reducing the amount of coffee. But remember to keep track of what youre changing so you can replicate your perfect brew when you find it.

And dont forget about the water. Tap water can contain minerals and contaminants that affect flavor, so use filtered water.

Keeping track of the weight while using a Kalita Wave. Credit: Nate Dumlao

Recommended Reading: Where To Buy Blueberry Coffee

More Pour Over Coffee Maker Buying Guide To Consider

How many cups of coffee would you like to brew? For some pour over coffee makers, single cup servings work best, and for others, larger batches work best. This can be found in the capacity section below

What importance do you attach to this material? This can enhance the enjoyment of the pour over coffee ritual. I prefer ceramic coffee drippers from the list below, but you may prefer glass coffee makers .

Dont make the mistake of setting up your pour over coffee kit and then using average coffee beans to ruin your cup of joe. If you are looking for best pour over coffee maker recommendation, we have a list for you.

How To Reduce Bitterness In Your Coffee

How to: Brew coffee using a V60 Pour Over  Volcano Coffee ...

As absurd as it may sound, but there are many people out there that dont like coffee. One of the main reasons is that they find it bitter. Of the major tastes, bitterness is probably the one that gets the worst rap. So weve put together a few tips on how to reduce that bitterness in your coffee from an overwhelming starring role to a gentle supporting player.

Afterburners

A larger percentage of people like their coffee hot. Like, really hot. That is part of the appeal, but you should be warned that the desire for really hot coffee could affect the flavor for the worse.

Coffee drinkers who makes coffee in French presses or pour-overs tend to boil the water before introducing it to the coffee grinds. This makes sense, as generally when we need hot water, we boil it. With coffee, however, thats no good. It burns the coffee grinds as it comes in contact with boiling water. Therefore, it is most commonly recommended to only heat your water up to 200 degrees Fahrenheit

The lesson here? Stop burning your beans! :);

Less is good

A common misconception is that adding more coffee to what you are brewing will strengthen your cup of coffee. This could take your brewing for a toss as it may make your cup taste worse! A similar principle applies here as it does with a finer grind and a longer brew:

Light or Medium roast coffee;

Time

Grind Coarser

Categories
  • Pick a link list to show here in your under Blog sidebar > Quick links link list.
Recent Post

Also Check: What Is The Best Ground Coffee Brand

RELATED ARTICLES

Most Popular