Our favorite method for making the first cup each morning. It's a ritual, a moment of presence, engaging all the senses. There's nothing like making a pourover intentionally!
In this guide, we'll take you through the steps to achieve a delicious pourover brew. Whether you're a seasoned coffee enthusiast or just starting your coffee journey, we'll cover the essentials of how to make pourover coffee, from measuring and grinding your coffee beans to enjoying that first sip.
1. Measure and grind: Weigh the coffee grounds according to your preferred coffee-to-water ratio. Our favorite ratio is 1:16 (1g of coffee to 16g of water), but you can adjust to your taste. For a standard 12-ounce mug, we use 20g of ground coffee, and pour 320g water. Grind the coffee to a medium-coarse consistency, we'll talk about how to dial this in later!
2. Prepare the filter (bonus!): If using a paper filter, place it in the pour-over dripper and rinse it with hot water to preheat and remove any paper flavor. Discard the rinse water. We say bonus because when you're half asleep or have kids, this is a nice to have, not a need to have.
3. Boil water: Bring water to a boil in a gooseneck kettle, and then let it sit for about 30 seconds. Bonus: Having the ability to know and control your water temperature is a big plus, so it's worth using a kettle with a thermometer!
4. Bloom: Place the pour-over brewer on your cup or carafe and add the coffee grounds. Start by pouring just enough hot water (about twice the weight of the coffee, or for our example, 40g) to cover the grounds evenly. Let this sit for about 30 seconds to allow the coffee to bloom. This helps release carbon dioxide and enhances extraction! Some people do longer blooms, but we keep it to 30ish seconds.
5. Pouring: Begin pouring hot water in a slow, circular motion, starting from the center and moving outward. There are many different theories about how much to pour and when. We pour in stages, loosely following a method used by Tetsu Kasuya, the Japanese barista who won the 2016 World Brewers Cup.
After the 40g bloom pour, we pour in 60(ish) gram pours until we have reached the desired final weight, typically 320g. Use a gooseneck kettle to control the flow and avoid agitating the coffee bed too much. Allow each pour to fully pass through the grounds before your next pour.
6. Brewing time: The total brewing time, from the start of the bloom, should typically be 2.5 to 4 minutes, depending on your grind size, coffee-to-water ratio, and taste preference.
Enjoy! Once the coffee has finished dripping through the filter, remove the pour-over dripper, discard the grounds, and savor your freshly brewed coffee.
As you savor that first sip of your freshly brewed pourover coffee, you'll appreciate the artistry and precision that goes into every cup. Remember, pourover coffee is an open canvas for experimentation. Adjust your grind size, water temperature, coffee-to-water ratio, and brewing time to suit your taste. These guidelines are your starting point, but the beauty of pourover lies in its adaptability to your preferences. So, enjoy the journey, perfect your brew, and relish each morning as you create your own perfect cup of coffee.
Required/recommended equipment for pour over:
