Perfecting Your Pour-Over
To some, coffee is the elixir of life and the only way to start or end the day. Making the perfect cup is an art form, and with all the hi-tech gadgets on the market, it is much easier to create that wondrous brew to your specifications.
For the traditionalists, who may turn up their noses at these marvels of modern coffee invention, the simple pour-over method remains the best, mixing traditional art with a touch of alchemy to provide a steaming panacea for the nose and palate. In other words, the pour-over technique makes a great cuppa joe!
Why Pour Over?
Once your mixture is perfected, the pour-over is efficient, simple, and quick. It ensures that coffee grounds are constantly saturated in fresh hot water, unlike some other methods, and the timed, controlled pour extracts more of the good flavors and less of the bad.
The Grind Matters
Start with a high-quality coffee bean. Two-thirds of a coffee bean is less soluble in water and associated with bitterness. The other third is water-soluble and contains sugars and acids that provide good flavors. A better-quality grinder will create a more consistent uniformity in the grind size and lessen the smaller 'fines' or finest grounds that can quickly add bitterness to your brew.
Essential Tools for the Perfect Pour Over
- Freshly ground, good quality coffee, preferably 100% Kona Coffee
- Filter and filter holder, or dripper
- Server pot or cup
- Fresh hot water, filtered if necessary
The Three Phases of Brewing
True coffee aficionados know that there are three phases in the coffee-making process, and it involves the chemistry of wetting, dissolution, and diffusion.
Wetting means saturating the grounds in hot water, creating the initial bloom, then repeating. Dissolution, or dissolving the beans' solubles, provides the taste, and diffusion is the final process where osmosis pressure sends the coffee solubles into the water.
Fine-Tuning the Pour
The combination of grind size and amount, quality of coffee, water temperature, and timing are all factors that lead to a great cup or pot of pour-over coffee.
- Grind your quality coffee beans to coarse sugar or sea salt consistency. Measure how much grounds you will need to make the amount of coffee you want - usually, filling the filter to about half to two-thirds works best for restricting the water flow.
- Fresh, filtered water should be about thirty seconds from the boiling point for cups or off the boil for pots.
- Add enough water to soak the coffee grounds and wait for up to thirty seconds before adding more water to allow carbon dioxide in the beans to escape. Continue this method, adding water quickly and evenly over the coffee grounds.
- Drippers will keep dripping for up to a minute after the last pour. Standard drip times are up to three minutes for dark roasts and between three to four minutes for medium and lighter roasts.
It will take trial and error before finding the exact ratio that works with your taste. Once you've mastered the art, you may never go back to using gadgets. Better yet, visit Buddha’s Cup, experts in creating the perfect pour every time, using their award-winning, pesticide free, 100% pure Kona coffees.
