Hello, Dear Readers!
If you’ve been following along this week, then you know that today’s post is a photo tutorial on how to make pour-over coffee. First things first, put a kettle of water on to boil. I use an electric kettle, as they’re fast and convenient.
Now it’s time to grind your coffee beans.
I use a Hario Skerton burr grinder, on a recommendation from a savvy barista at Fourbarrel
Measure out 20 grams of beans into your burr grinder, then grind them on a medium-ish setting. Too course and you’ll end up with weak coffee, too fine and your filter won’t work as well, resulting in a bitter brew.
kitchen scales are a great tool for consistent brewing results
Now, take your coffee filter and fold it according to the directions on the box.
Chemex filters come unfolded. A little fussy, but they do work well!
Place the filter in the coffee maker like so.
. . . yeah I got nothin'.
Next, pour your coffee grounds into the filter.
action shot
At this point, your water should be nice and hot. Measure 12 ounces (1 1/2 cups) of boiling water into a pour-over kettle.
another opportunity to use your trusty kitchen scale.
Next, pour a small amount of water over the grounds, just enough to get them evenly dampened. Let the grounds sit for about 30 seconds. This step is called “blooming” the coffee, and it allows the coffee to release some CO2 before brewing.
just enough water to wet the grounds evenly
You’ll see bubbles come up to the surface of the coffee.
see those bubbles? the coffee is ready to brew.
Now it’s time to add the rest of your water. With a steady hand, slowly pour the water in circles over the coffee grounds, taking care not to pour water down the sides of the filter. Continue pouring at a steady rate until the water is used up.
easy does it.
Now, wait for the rest of the water to filter through the grounds.
this will only take a minute or two.
If you’ve done a good job with your pour-over technique, you’ll see grounds clinging to the sides of the filter evenly from top to bottom.
see how the grounds cling to the sides of the filter?
Serve your coffee while it’s nice and hot.
fuzzy robe optional
Add some steamed milk if you please (I do).
I use a Krups XL2000 Milk Frother. It's pricey, but awesome.
Et voila! A perfect cup of pour-over coffee.
Philz Ambrosia blend, a.k.a. nectar of the gods
As usual, I can’t resist adding a couple final notes. Here are my last two cents:
1. If you want, you can pour boiling water over the filter before you add any grounds. True pour-over-philes believe that this produces a better cup of coffee. I have brewed coffee with a pre-wetted filter and without, and I have not noticed a difference in the flavor of the resulting coffee. To each his own.
2. Great coffee depends on great coffee beans. Buy yours from your favorite local roaster, and always use them fresh, within a couple weeks of purchase. Store them in an air-tight container if you can, too.
. . . and that wraps up this week’s two-part series on pour-over coffee! Thanks for tuning in.
Nice post… I have the same equipment and I see, that your grounds are really course compared to mine. How did you find out, what a medium-ish setting on the hario is? The manual was in a language I can’t even tell which one…
Fuzzy rope’s fine though…
The coarseness of the grounds is definitely a personal thing — if you like your coffee more concentrated/extracted, a finer grind is good! I had to play around with my Hario grinder until I found a setting that produced a brew that I was happy with. By trial and error, making small adjustments to the grind setting, I figured out what I liked.