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A Step By Step Guide On How To Make Pour Over Coffee

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Born in the United States and having become a specialty in several North American cities such as Portland, Pour-over Coffee represents a variant of traditional American filtered coffee.

Manual preparation is preferred to avoid altering the taste of the drink. Being such a popular drink in the States we thought it would be best to write a detailed step by step guide on how to make pour over coffee.

Also known as “hand drip coffee”, Pour-over Coffee is characterised by the insertion of freshly ground coffee grains into a filter containing filter paper and in turn placed inside a cup with a hole.

Once the coffee is levelled, boiling water is poured in, little by little. At that point all that remains is to wait for the coffee to pass through the filter, drop by drop, ending up in the cup of those who must consume the drink.

how to make pour over coffee

Depending on the size of the filter, the procedure must be repeated a certain number of times.

Taking more time than necessary to obtain a common espresso, this coffee is the ideal choice for those people who have a few free minutes to dedicate to a different drink than usual.

Although it is possible to buy automatic machines specifically designed for Pour over Coffee on the market, there are still many enthusiasts of manual preparation today. This choice highlights the ability to choose the ideal quantities and times.

By adopting an automatic machine, however, many of the variables involved are inevitably unmanageable.

It should also be taken into account that, for some coffee seeds, both the standard temperature and the time set for extraction do not allow to obtain the desired drink using an automatic machine.

Why Pour-Over Coffee?

  • It is obtained by percolation, or rather letting it filter by gravity. Unlike coffee made with a moka pot, it is based on the principle of slowly dripping hot water through a layer of ground coffee, placed in a paper filter. By percolating, the water dissolves the water-soluble substances contained in the coffee powder, transferring them to the drink.
  • It can be prepared automatically or manually: the first one is put into practice using the special electric machine, while the second one simply using a paper filter placed over a collector/cup.
  • While the electric percolating machines heat the water and keep the already full jug at a temperature which changes in flavor within a few minutes, the manual method is currently the most popular because it allows you to obtain a qualitatively superior drink.
  • It is obtained by using a 100% Arabica blend with a not too thin texture, to have a naturally sweet drink.

How to Choose The Ideal Equipment for Pour-Over Coffee?

To choose the right coffee maker, we recommend deciding primarily based on capacity and therefore on how many cups you can serve at the same time.

Then skim your choice based on the type of filter and which one you like best (even the eye wants its part).

Characteristics of Coffee Makers for Pour-Over Coffee

The main features to consider when choosing among the best coffee makers for Pour over coffee are:

1. Capacity

The carafes range from 300ml per liter, the choice should be dictated by how many doses you want to pour simultaneously, calculating that it is a different drink from traditional coffee and that it is drunk in large cups often filled entirely

2. Type of Filter

The filters ideal for Pour-over coffee come in two options:

  1. Washable and reusable steel filters
  2. Paper Filters (often sold together with the coffee maker).

The first option is certainly more convenient, in the long run, cheap and environmentally friendly.

The second instead requires the regular purchase of paper filters but they better filter the coffee, retaining more of the molecules contained in the coffee beans potentially harmful to your health.

By choosing this option, we recommend opting for unbleached (generally yellowish) paper filters.

As for the flavor, with the metal filters, you will get a fuller coffee while with the paper ones a lighter coffee (recommended for those who consume a lot).

3. Handle

Perhaps the most subjective part of the choice, it does not affect the preparation of the coffee but helps not to burn yourself, as well as decorating the coffee maker.

How To Prepare a Perfect Pour- Over Coffee

To prepare a Pour-over coffee, the ground coffee is placed in the paper filter placed in the perforated cup above the decanter and poured over boiling water a little at a time, waiting for the coffee to pass drop by drop through the filter, finishing in the cup below.

You’ll also need a pour over coffee maker like the ones from Bodum. Here’s our complete step-by-step guide:

The Process

  • Grind: Medium
  • Roasting: light to medium
  • Coffee Quantity: 7,5-8g.
  • Water Temperature: 92-96 ° C
  • Water Volume: 125ml
  • Contact Time (water / coffee): 4-6 minutes
  1. Heat the water.
  2. Insert the paper filter
  3. Pour hot water over the filter and preheat the jug
  4. Put the ground coffee in the paper filter
  5. Pour a portion of hot water over the ground coffee
  6. With a spoon, gently dip the powder
  7. Pour the rest of the water in a circular motion
  8. Wait a few minutes for percolation
  9. After the dripping, remove the filter with the grounds
  10. Pour in the coffee and serve it

In general, to prepare a Pour-over Coffee, it is necessary to use 60 grams of coffee for each liter of water, or a spoonful of coffee beans for each cup of water. This means 15 grams of coffee and 250 ml of water for each person.

Keep in mind that the whole operation will last about 2 minutes. Before you start, make sure you have a quality coffee grinder available; this choice will ensure excellent grinding.
It is preferable to grind the coffee so that the grain is between fine and medium.

As a first step, rinse the filter, then place it inside the cone. Add the ground coffee, level it with a spoon and practice a small “hole” in the center.

At this point add enough water to wet all the coffee present, then wait about thirty seconds. Continue pouring water very slowly, starting from the center of the filter and moving towards the edges with concentric movements.

Stop the operation once the desired quantity is reached. The water used must have a temperature of about 200 degrees.

Once it has passed through the filter, to be rinsed before use, the liquid will end up in the cup and the drink will be ready.

Final Thoughts

We must say that pour over coffee involves one of the simplest brewing methods. You don’t have to have any skills to make it. It’s all about consistency and of course the taste and quality of the coffee beans. 

If you have access to some of the finest coffee beans in the market then you can use them to make your superb flavoring pour over coffee right at home. Just make sure that the ground level of the coffee beans resembles sea salt’s texture and you are all good. 

Enjoy your coffee!

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