How To Brew Pour-Over: Pour by Pour

Below is a concise outline to walk through how to brew using the pour over method, and how to adjust to get the taste you are after. There are various types of pour over devices, but they all operate essentially the same way. Some have nuances in their design that do incrementally change the flavor profile, but this guide will help you to start your pour over journey.

Method

Continuous Pouring: A pour-over technique that refers to a continuous pouring of the total desired water over the bed of grounds. Typically, the coffee is still bloomed and then after the rest period, the remaining water is poured over the grounds at as constant of a flow rate as possible.

Pulse Pouring: A pour-over technique that refers to how the water is distributed over the grounds with respect to time. Although the timing and amount of the pulses can vary greatly, the principle is the same. Fractions of the total amount of water are poured at intervals over the bed of grounds until the total volume of desired water is reached.

Dosage

“Golden Ratio” of Brewing: 1 gram ground coffee to every 16.7 grams of water

• So 1 cup of coffee would require 177 grams (or 6 oz.) of water and 10.6 grams (or 2 TSP) of ground coffee

• You would multiply to increase number of cups, and you would adjust amount of ground coffee up or down to change taste

Process

Dose: Measure out the dose of coffee you will need based on how many cups you want to brew

Filter: Some may use a metal filter, but a paper filter is best. Insert paper filter and wet the entire filter with hot water (195o – 205o)

• This removes any paper fibers that could make their way into your coffee. It also preheats the brewer and mug/carafe which will ensure your coffee stays hot longer

• Make sure to discard water before brewing

Bloom: Take water just off boil (195o – 205o) and pour enough water just to saturate all grounds, then stop pouring. Wait 30-40 seconds, then you can begin to pour again (Continuous or pulse)

• Blooming helps the coffee to off gas some of the CO2 that may still be present from the roasting process. CO2 can negatively impact the extraction process and lead to a poor tasting coffee

Pour: You can begin a continuous flow of water or use pulsing, each resulting in a different flavor of coffee.

• Continuous: Try to pour the water at the same flow rate for a specific amount of time. If you pour the water consistently you can adjust how long you poor to dial in the taste you prefer. Pour a little faster and finish in 3 minutes, or pour a little slower and finish in 4 minutes.

  • Taste the coffee to determine if you should pour faster or slower. If the coffee is watery or sour, you may want to poor a bit slower (or grind your coffee a bit finer). If the coffee seems too bold or “punchy” and/or too bitter, you may want to pour the water a bit faster (or grind your coffee a bit finer)

• Pulse Pouring: The baseline to begin is to pour about ¼ of total water over the grounds every minute, resulting in about a 4 minute brew time.

  • Again, adjust this based on the output taste of the coffee. If too sour or weak, allow each pulse to sit for 75+ seconds rather than about 60 seconds per pour (or grind your coffee a bit finer) If bitter or too bold, allow each pulse to be about 45 seconds rather than 60 seconds (or grind your coffee a bit coarser)

Tasting and Adjusting

There are few things you can adjust that can be determined by the taste of your coffee

• Too sour, acidic, or watery: Pour slower, grind finer, increase water temperature, increase dosage

• Too bold, punchy, or bitter: Pour faster, grind coarser, decrease water temperature, decrease dosage

• The output of your coffee is also determined by the roast level of the beans. Lighter beans tend to be more acidic or sour, medium roast tends to be more sweet and balanced, darker roast tends to be more smoky or bitter.

• The age of the beans matters, how long since roasted. If the beans are too fresh they have more CO2 than is favorable, too old and they lose body and become flat tasting. For light roast they should be at least 3 weeks off roast, medium close to 2 weeks, and dark roast 5-10 days since roast (this is the ideal) How long outside of that window depends on how the beans were stored after opening.