Start the timer and it’s ready to pour.
Carefully pour out 30 grams of water onto the grounds trying to wet all of the coffee. With a spoon gently agitate, making sure all the coffee is soaking.
This is called blooming the coffee and is an important step in creating a rounder, more full flavoured cup by helping the CO2 that built up during roasting escape. You can see this happening when the coffee grounds bubble.
After 30 seconds, pour over 70 more grams of water onto the grounds by using a circular motion.
This should in effect create a vortex in the cone which will produce a more even extraction. You will be able to see at this point whether you have ground the coffee to the right coarseness.
As the timer hits 1 minute, start to pour over again, this time only 50 grams of water in the same circular manner. Repeat the process of pouring 50g of water every 30 seconds until you hit 2 minutes 30 seconds and have poured 300 grams.
If there appears to be a lot of coffee still brewing in the pour over dripper you can use a spoon to stir or gently rotate the dripper like you would swirl the ice cubes in your scotch on the rocks. The slow extraction may have happened for a number of reasons, a couple of examples could be the grind is too fine, the water isn’t hot enough or the coffee hasn’t been rested long enough after it has been roasted.
There are many variables to think about when brewing a pour over coffee, however if you try to keep as many as you can constant and adjust only one at a time you can fine-tune your brew much quicker.
At 3 minutes all of the coffee should have been extracted and you should be left with a flatbed of coffee grounds.
Congratulations you have made yourself a delicious V60 pour-over. Throw the coffee grounds and filter paper on the compost pile and go and get your best ceramic cup or glass and enjoy with a french pastry of your choice.
What is the ratio for pour over coffee?
The ratio of coffee to water is 1:16.
This ratio can change though depending on the type of coffee, the taste preference of the consumer, the type of filter used or the particular pour over coffee recipe.
By slightly tweaking the coffee to water ratio of pour over coffee you can completely alter the taste, for example if you feel the particular coffee you are drinking isn’t extratcing all of its flavours when brewed with this ratio, yuo may want to make the grind size slightly finer and the brew ratio may also be altered depending on the results.
Some people also like the taste of a more bitter or sour flavour profile so may opt for a brew ratio of 1:14 or 1:18 for example.
How much coffee do I use in a pour over?
Depending on the size of the pour over and the amount of coffee you wish to brew. Here are our recommendations:
8oz (230ml) serving: 14g coffee
10oz (290ml) serving: 18g coffee
12oz (350ml) serving: 22g coffee
20oz (580ml) serving: 36g coffee
What is the difference between pour over and drip coffee?
Pour over coffee is generally referred to as a manual coffee brew method whereas drip coffee is a machine that automatically pours coffee over the grounds.
The result for both is a cup of filter coffee that has been typically filtered through paper but sometimes mesh or cloth.
The differences lie in the quality of the extraction. Pour over coffee is usually brewed in a completely controlled environment. The temperature is measured and various volumes of water are poured over the coffee grounds at certain intervals. The way that water is poured is also consistent where a gooseneck kettle is used to deliver a slow and consistent flow of brew water.
Drip coffee on the other hand can be quite the opposite, overheated water is sprayed over the grounds inconsistently. This can lead to an over or under extracted coffee. Of course, there are many great models of drip coffee makers that have been designed to imitate a manual pour over. See also our thoughts on filter vs cafetiere coffee.
Why does my pour over taste bitter?
When coffee tastes bitter it is because the coffee has been over-extracted, this happens when the water is in contact with the coffee for too long. The more surface area of the coffee the slower it extracts so if it tastes bitter grind your coffee slightly coarser. Make sure you are also using the best coffee for pour over, at Batch we only showcase the very best in the UK in our monthly coffee subscription.
Find the best manual coffee grinder for pour over here.
What are the different types of pour over?
The first pour over was invented in the early 20th century by the German Entrepreneur Mellita Bentz when he poked holes into blotting paper. Since then pour overs have evolved into many different designs, some with flat bottom filters while others with cones. The inside of the dripper also changes depending on the brand with some incorporating contours which help the flow of the extracted coffee. Pour overs are also made of different materials like stainless steel, ceramics, plastic and glass, each having pros and cons, find the best pour over coffee makers here. Electric filter coffee makers will also brew delicious coffee with slightly less control.
What is the best pour over method?
Pour over methods are all about preference. Chemex, V60 and Melitta are leading the way in the speciality coffee scene, each offering a slightly different brew and filter paper but all creating a delicious and crisp coffee.
