What should beginners know about pour-over coffee?
You can check the answer of the people under the question at Quora “best pour over coffee maker for beginners“
What should beginners know about pour-over coffee?
You can check the answer of the people under the question at Quora “best pour over coffee maker for beginners“
Pour-over coffee is a method for brewing freshly ground whole beans. You start by using a paper filter and then put hot water over the top of ground coffee in your mug or carafe until it has reached the desired amount of strength. This develops delicious, rich flavors and aromas that are different than anything you can get out of an automatic drip machine.
After making sure that your mug is warmed up, make sure to measure out a tablespoon worth of freshly-ground whole beans into your paper filter so they fill the bottom. Pour about three ounces (roughly 100 milliliters) into boiling water around 195 degrees Fahrenheit (90 degrees Celsius). Wait around 30 seconds before slowly pouring, but not too slow.
Start with one set up and practice until you understand it inside and out, and remember that it takes patience and some experimenting to perfect a cup to your liking. Start off right, and get yourself a set up that you will enjoy crafting results with.
THINGS TO KNOW:
Order quality whole coffee beans and grind the beans yourself right before you brew.
Use a burr grinder. It can be electric or manual, but a good burr grinder will help you get a consistent thing going.
Coffee to water ratio most directly impacts the strength of a coffee, but coarseness of coffee grounds plays into flavor as well. Additionally, the finer the grind, the longer it will take for water to seep through the grounds and the more bitter the coffee will be.
Temperature correlates to extraction rate, which correlates to flavor, so by manipulating brew/steeping temperature, you can extend or maximize certain flavors. temperature is a really effective variable in dialing in a coffee’s flavor. Too hot or too cold have cons. While temperature goes a long way in the flavor of a brew, it’s the core components — water and coffee grounds — that lay the foundation.
A GOOD GENERAL GUIDELINE:
Ratio: Most enjoy a 1:15 or 1:16 ratio. So experiment using 25g of coffee to 370g-400g water. Get to know your preference
Grind: Medium-fine (16/40 setting on some grinders and #6 on others)
Water Temp: 202°F (don’t pour water above 205°F onto your coffee grounds)
Pre-Infusion: 50g water for the first 30 seconds
Total Brew/Steep Time: 2:30-3:00 (again, discover your preference)
Pour your water in circular spirals that start in the center and work their way outward to the filter (3–4 circles per pour usually). It’s popular to let your first and possibly second pour come out faster “all at once” as a way to mix up the grounds and get them evenly wet. But your 3rd-5th pours should be gentler and slow so that it’s less disturbing to the grounds
METHOD GUIDELINE:
Rinse filter to remove paper taste, then place in dripper
Grind 25 grams of coffee beans (medium-fine), dump into filter and shake to level grounds evenly
Add one packet of Third Wave Water to one gallon of distilled water (if you want to get fancy, and see the difference when you use distilled water that is mineral enriched) yeah, we know you’re beginning.. but we’re here to lay it all out, so you can decide on it all and make it your own
If you’re using a scale (again, fancy things you might pick up down the road), you would place your cup or container on there now to calibrate to 0
Preheat the dripper by running hot water through it
Using a Kettle, heat water to 202°F (you’d be amazed how good clean water will improve your coffee taste)
Start a timer if you want to begin building muscle memory or a good consistent result. You’ll make five separate pours over the course of two and a half minutes, during which the temperature of the water in the kettle will drop from 202°F to 196°F. (From the time you pull the kettle to the time you actually start pouring, your water will most likely hit your grounds at 200F)
First pour at 0:00: Add 70 grams of water and stir the blooming coffee three times. Coffee bed temperature: 176°
Pour 2 at 0:40: Add 110 grams of water. Coffee bed temperature: 186°
Pour 3 at 1:00: Add 70 grams of water. Coffee bed temperature: 188°
Pour 4 at 1:15: Another 70 grams of water. Coffee bed temperature: 188°
Pour 5 at 1:45: Final 40 grams of water for a total of 370 grams. Coffee bed temperature: 186° and dropping
Let your brew drain into your cup or container
Enjoy!
GOOD STARTING OUT POUR OVER SET UP:
Whole Coffee Beans (these are the best and freshest premium coffee beans you’ll taste ) https://baxtor.co/products/stan-lee-x-onyx-coffee-labs-signature-blend
Kettle. Just use the kettle you have, and do your best to pour small amounts with control
Kalita Wave Dripper https://onyxcoffeelab.com/collections/equipment/products/kalita-wave-dripper
Thermometer. A handheld thermometer with digital readout works just fine. And they’re low price
“GETTING SERIOUS” POUR OVER SET UP:
Third Wave Water https://onyxcoffeelab.com/collections/equipment/products/third-wave-water
Stagg X Dripper https://onyxcoffeelab.com/collections/equipment/products/stagg-x
Stagg EKG Kettle https://onyxcoffeelab.com/collections/equipment/products/stagg-ekg-kettle
Coffee Scale https://onyxcoffeelab.com/collections/equipment/products/acaia-pearl-coffee-scale-black
Beginners should know three basic things:
You simply MUST start with good coffee . If you are trying to improve a cup of coffee by using a skilled pour-over method and are still using grocery store packaged coffee—especially pre-ground coffee—you arewasti g your time and effort.
You do not need to spend gobs of money on the pour-over equipment ! An inexpensive cone to hold the filters and a simple kettle will do just fine.
There is absolutely no reason you need to invest $60 or more for a cone. A $2 cone will actually work just as well. Cheap plastic cones can be easily modified to control flow characteristics by drilling more holes at the bottom of the cone or by using simple plugs made from bamboo skewers in one or more holes if you have a multi hole cone. You can also place bamboo skewers down the insides of a cone to provide more or better channels for coffee to flow through the filter paper. That’s what those fancy splines on the insides of expensive ceramic & porcelain cones do.
Stovetop kettles are already found in most households. There is no need to go out and buy a special kettle or an expensive, programmable electric kettle just so you can get one where the spout comes out from the bottom. Those are really nice and do increase your ability to control the pour, but they are not necessary.
Most homes already have a kitchen timer or the person has a phone with a clock/timer already in it. There is no need for a “special” coffee timer.
EXCEPTIONS: You DO need a good grinder to get a consistent grind of the proper size for your particular set up. This one piece of equipment can have a dramatic impact on your coffee making (and consuming) experience. I also recommend you get an accurate thermometer, so you can most easily produce consistent results and can better experiment with incremental alterations to your methods.
It is easy to learn, but difficult to master. (Corollary: Practice makes perfect, but there is no “perfect” cup.) Pour-over is but one way to make coffee. You can produce exceptional cups if you start with exceptional coffee and spend a little time developing your skills in grinding and pouring. You are never likely to ruin a cup unless you use water that is far too hot and pour water through the grounds like a madman—all at once, getting a thin, bitter mess. Alternatively, you might use water that is not hot enough and/or let the coffee steep far too long and get an over-extracted bitter mess. Even if you do this, your cup will likely be better than what you get out of a typical home coffeemaker machine. It takes time to learn the motor skills needed to control the timing and rate of the pour. Once you get comfortable working with your kettle and clock, well, that’s when things get interesting a more fun! At that point, you can begin to tweak the grind here, add a few seconds to the pour there, play with the temperature for a coffee you just got that has been roasted a little lighter than you usually get, and so on. This experimentation, adjusting, and fine-tuning can now go on for the rest of your life. For some it becomes a kind of hobby—to see just what you can bring out of a particular coffee.
Use enough coffee, medium grind. Use at least 1 tablespoon of coffee for every 8 oz of water. I use 2 Tablespoons per 8 oz.
Try a couple of roasts to see which you prefer.
The water should be just off the boil.
Pour a little water, 1/4 cup or so, to wet the grinds. Then pour enough water to cover, let that steep through and then add more water to the coffee grounds. If you make more coffee than you will drink at that time, keep the remains in a thermos carafe.
I have been using a Chemex for many years and enjoy the activity of brewing coffee to my taste. I also use a french press.