Pour-over is a technique used in coffee brewing to give a rich and flavorful coffee, it is also a way to make a quality cup of coffee at home easily.
In the simplest terms, pour-over coffee is when hot water is poured over coffee grounds and through a filter.
For many coffee enthusiasts, this is the best way to consume coffee as it provides a complex flavor profile and you have full control over how your coffee turns out.
In this article, we cover how to create the perfect pour-over coffee.
You can find the best automatic pour over coffee maker for you here. Automatic machines help to remove the chance of human error like channeling or bad pouring techniques, plus they are just perfectly convenient.
What Equipment Do You Need
To start, all you really need is filters, coffee grounds, and a simple brewing device.
The brewing device is also known as a dripper. It looks like a cup with a large rim on the bottom so that it can easily sit on top of your cup. It will have holes at the bottom that the water can drain through.
Brewing devices can be made out of a variety of materials and can have completely different sizes and specifications. All these unique features will affect how your coffee brews.
When starting out, your best option would be to get a popular brewing device. This is because it will have online tutorials on how to use it properly.
Next, you need to decide on the filter. You can get paper ones that are more common or cloth ones. It is recommended that you rinse paper ones before using them to remove any aftertaste from them.
Some brewing devices have their own filters that fit snugly exactly. Having a properly fitted filter means that water flow doesn’t get interrupted.
Scales are also important in pour-over coffee. Digital scales are recommended as it tells you exactly how much coffee and water there is. This is needed for consistent cups of coffee.
You will need a kettle to boil the water. Pour-over coffee kettles will keep the water at a consistent temperature and the gooseneck spout will allow for even and controlled pouring.
Finally, you need to decide on your type of coffee. The best type of roast to use is a light roast since it enhances the subtle flavors. Start off with a medium ground and adjust if needed.
Best Method To Follow
For pour-over coffee, a good ratio to follow is 1:17 of coffee ground to water. So if you start with 29 grams of coffee, you want to add 493 grams of water.
Avoid tap water as it can have minerals that will change the taste, use filtered or bottled water. It should be around 200 degrees when pouring.
The first step to a pour-over coffee is the bloom. The bloom is the bubbling of the water on the first pour. This is the carbon dioxide leaving the coffee. Pour double the amount of water to coffee and let it sit for around 30 seconds or until it stops bubbling.
You can choose to pulse or continuously pour your water. Pulse is when you pour in even increments, it is done to stop channeling and the rising of coffee grounds up the side of the filer. You could also continuously pour, this is to keep the coffee as consistent as possible.
When pouring your water, make sure all of your coffee grounds are immersed as you don’t want any of them to be left dry. The best method is to pour in circles to avoid channeling.
Channeling is when the water takes the path of least resistance through the coffee, it ends in a watery brew.
Why Pour-Over Coffee
Many baristas will say that pour-over coffee doesn’t necessarily change the flavor of the coffee, but rather it enhances the intricacies of the flavor.
The slow water pour means that it isn’t forced through the coffee grounds and has time to extract the oils and aromas from the coffee.
The goal of a pour-over is to get a clear and consistent cup of coffee.
Final Thoughts
Coffee brewing is a controversial game with every barista having their own strict set of rules they follow. You should aim to make a coffee that works for you, and not anyone else.
Pour-over allows you to have a slow but personally made coffee every morning, and there is nothing better than that.
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