Over the past decade, pour overs have become an increasingly popular brewing method in local coffee shops. But did you know that this way of brewing has been around since the 1900s?
It all started when German entrepreneur, Melitta Bentz, wanted to make good coffee – without all the sediment produced from other brewing devices at that time. Using a brass pot and some paper to hold the coffee, she poured hot water onto the grounds. And out came the very first pour over!
While pour overs have gotten a little fancy over the years, its clean and crisp taste is still what makes it stand out.
Read along to find out what makes this way of brewing coffee so great and how you can make it!
What is so special about pour over coffee?
Without trying to sound pretentious, a good pour over just offers the best tasting experience compared to other brewing methods. It’s definitely a go-to for many coffee professionals. Just ask the baristas in your local specialty shops – they’re likely to tell you that pour overs are their preferred method.
Apart from the clean taste, what sets pour over apart is the level of control it gives you over your coffee’s flavor.
When brewing, we extract three flavor aspects. These are: acidity, sweetness, and body/mouthfeel. These aspects extract at different stages of the brew. And with pour overs, you have control over the intensity of each flavor aspect.
Take this a step further and you can zero in on certain flavor notes inherent to your coffee and highlight them by adjusting your brew. Essentially, you get to personalize your coffee and enjoy it exactly the way you want.
What is the difference between pour over and drip coffee?
In essence, pour over is the manual version of drip coffee machines. Some specialty cafés likewise refer to this method as a “hand brew” or simply “filter coffee”.
The difference between hand-brewed coffee and drip machine coffee really comes down to taste. Unless brewed with a higher-end machine, most drip coffees will taste weak and watery when compared side-by-side with a well made pour over.
Not all coffees will behave the same way – even with the exact same brewing method or technique. Quality of coffee aside, there are many factors within the brewing process that affect the way flavor gets extracted from the coffee.
Water temperature, pouring method, water-to-coffee ratio, and total brewing time are all brewing factors that can significantly affect flavor. While a machine is convenient, you have little to no influence over how your cup will taste.
Pour overs give you the opportunity to adjust any brewing variable based on the way your coffee behaves. That’s exactly why there are so many pour over recipes out there. And if you’re going to brew nice coffee, you’d definitely want to get the most out of it!
How to make pour over coffee?
A good pour over always starts with good coffee. To get the most out of your coffee, you’ll need to know the techniques. Having the right tools along with this will help make things easier.
Before getting into the nitty-gritty about all the tools and techniques, I’ll walk you through the entire process. There are many different ways to brew pour overs. But here’s a simple recipe for a 300ml (10oz) serving for you to start with:
Step-by-step recipe
- Heat up some water with a kettle. If your kettle can adjust temperature, set it to 92°C / 198°F.
- Weigh out 20g of coffee.
- Grind the coffee with a medium setting (about the same consistency as sand).
- After grinding the beans, place your filter paper into your brewer of choice.
- Pour hot water onto the filter to remove any papery taste. Remember to discard this water. You wouldn’t drink it on its own. So why let it mix with your coffee?
- Tare out your scale, place the ground coffee in the dripper and start your timer.
- Pour 50ml of hot water in a circular motion to let the coffee de-gas. This is called the “bloom” phase.
- After 30 seconds, do all the next 50ml pours in 30 second intervals until you reach 300 grams on your scale. Your last pour should be at 2 minutes and 30 seconds.
- Let your coffee drain. Total brew time should be between 3 and a half minutes to 4 minutes
- Serve and enjoy.
What you’ll need and how much everything will cost
A simple, but complete, pour over setup will cost around $195. About half of this budget should go to getting a good grinder. Yes, it sounds like much. But it’s well worth it as a consistent grind size is a prerequisite for a good brew.
The next most expensive items on the list would be a gooseneck kettle and water filtration. Put together, those cost about half of what a good grinder costs. The rest of the list becomes more affordable – with each item ranging between $10 – $20.
Here’s a breakdown of each item needed. Note that, except for the coffee, these are affiliate links on the first column. But I’d never recommend something I don’t think is good.
For alternatives, I included in the second column other brands to look at. Except for the brewing device, these alternatives might be pricier. But they will also be an upgrade from the starter affiliate item.
As we go along, I’ll discuss in detail each item and which to prioritize.
Good coffee
I mentioned earlier how important good beans are to make a good pour over. Actually, that is even more important than any fancy equipment or pristine technique. According to 2007 World Barista Champion, James Hoffmann, brewing bad coffee with perfect technique will just make a “perfectly bad cup.”
“You can get every aspect of your brew right and have immaculate technique. But even with all of these, if you start with bad coffee, your final cup will just be perfectly bad.”
James Hoffmann
As much as possible, get freshly roasted coffee with a roast profile on the lighter side of medium. Darker roasts mask the natural flavors of the coffee and usually taste bitter no matter how well you brew them.
If you want to geek out further, try getting different single origin coffees so you can really taste the different flavors from each region. African coffees (Ethiopia, Kenya) will be really fruity, Central American coffees (Panama, Honduras, Brazil) are sweet and chocolatey, and Asian coffees (Indonesia, Vietnam) are bold and earthy.
Keep in mind that “good coffee” doesn’t have to be crazy expensive. Many specialty coffee roasters retail their beans at reasonable prices (at $12 to $18 per 250 grams).
Coffee grinder
Next to quality coffee, a good grinder is one of the most overlooked tools for a good brew. A burr grinder will perform better than a blade grinder because it grinds more evenly and has a range of adjustable grind sizes.
Choose a burr grinder based on its consistency of grind size and if you’re willing to manually grind the beans.
Pour overs are best with freshly ground coffee instead of pre-ground coffee. This is simply because pre-ground coffee will go stale much quicker than whole beans, even if they’re stored under the same conditions. That means, you won’t be rewarded with the flavors you’re working so hard to get by doing a pour over.
Scale
After good coffee and a good grinder, a reliable scale is the next most important item for your brews to be consistent. However, that doesn’t mean you have to get the most expensive scale out there. You can opt for a cheaper one as long as it is durable and can measure up to two decimals.
From the weight of the beans you use, to the amount of water you’ll pour at a time, you’ll need to use a scale. Because the only way to get consistent is to know exactly what you’re doing by measuring everything.
Volumetric measurements (cups, spoons, etc.) tend to break down when you change variables.
Example, one tablespoon of coarsely ground coffee might fill a tablespoon the same way finely ground coffee would. But they definitely wouldn’t weigh the same. If you were to brew the coarsely ground coffee, it would taste very weak because there wouldn’t be as much coffee in the first place.
Brewing device
There are 3 types of brewing devices, or drippers, for pour over. Those are cone, flat bottom, and wedge drippers. Your choice in brewing device should depend on what flavor aspects you want to highlight and the dripper’s ease of use.
Cone
As the name suggests, they’re called cones because of the dripper’s cone shape. Some famous cone brewers are the Hario V60, the Chemex, and the Origami dripper.
Among the 3 types of drippers, cones are the cheapest and have the most variety in what they’re made of. They come in plastic, ceramic, glass, and stainless steel. Plastic is the cheapest while stainless steel is the most expensive.
In terms of flavor, cones are known to produce bright and complex brews. One flavor aspect they highlight in particular is acidity.
These work well with very fruity and tea-like coffees because they highlight what makes these coffees really good. But at the same time, cones can work well with more tame and chocolatey coffees to bring a bit more excitement to them.
Compared to the other two, cones will need a bit more practice to make a really good brew. But it’s worth it. Because, once you’ve nailed the technique, your brews will be on another level.
Flat bottom
Flat bottom (sometimes called flatbed) drippers are a go-to for many home baristas because they are easy to brew with. They’re designed to create an even, flat, bed of coffee within the dripper. Hence, the name.
Because of this, they don’t need as much practice as cones do to get a good brew. Examples of this type of brewer are the Kalita Wave and the Blue Bottle Dripper.
Flavor-wise, flatbeds are known to produce balanced brews. This is because they highlight sweetness to balance out the other flavor aspects.
Just like how you might use a cone dripper to bring more excitement to a tame coffee, you can also use a flat bottom brewer to balance out an already complex and fruity coffee. However, they work just as well with chocolate-forward coffees especially as an everyday thing.
In terms of construction, flat bottoms mostly come in ceramic, glass, and stainless steel. Because of that, they are usually pricier than plastic cones.
Wedge
Just like cones, wedge drippers are called so because of their wedge shape.
These drippers are known to highlight mouthfeel. Brews with these are quite heavy and are more suited to the traditional coffee drinkers that want lots of intensity in their cup.
The Melitta Dripper and Bonmac Dripper are examples of wedge brewers. These drippers usually come in ceramic. But Melitta has come up with versions in plastic which are just as cheap as a plastic cone, such as the Hario V60.
Kettle
If not for the brewing device, most people would first notice the fancy gooseneck kettles that cafés use. They don’t just look cool for the sake of it. They are functional.
The curved spout allows for better control over how the water pours. Since pour overs do require some level of pouring technique, these types of kettles are indispensable. They just make the job that much easier compared to a regular kettle.
Your choice in kettle will depend on 2 things: if you want to adjust the water temperature and what your pouring technique is.
Kettles that allow you to adjust temperature cost more. But they are worth it if you want that level of control – especially if you brew different types of roasts.
As far as technique goes, if you like to do heavy and aggressive pours, get a kettle with a wider spout. But if you prefer to do gentle and controlled pours, get one with a narrow spout.
Filtered water
You know how different brands of bottled water will taste different from one another, even if they’re supposed to be the same thing? That’s because they have different mineral compositions.
Those differences will reflect in your cup because coffee is 98% water. That means, you’ll want to use good, filtered water, to really get your brews to taste clean and let the flavors shine. In contrast, tap water usually leads to chalky and dry-tasting brews.
Some really like to nerd out on water composition and even try to make DIY mineral packs for their brewing water. But that’s a bit difficult to do.
Just make sure that you’re using soft water (meaning low mineral composition) and you should be good to go. You don’t even have to constantly buy bottled water for this. Most of the time, filtering tap water through something like a Brita will get pretty good results.
Techniques
Now that we’ve talked about all the gear needed for pour overs, let me walk you through each of the techniques used and how they affect your brew.
Pouring
There are two techniques you can use: the long and steady pour or the pulse pour. Depending on which technique you use, your brew will highlight certain flavors and will have a different mouthfeel.
The long and steady technique is just as the name suggests. After you do your first pour to let the coffee bloom, you do one continuous pour fairly slowly until you reach your target amount.
This technique is good for regulating the temperature in the slurry and for controlling the flow rate of the brew (how fast the water goes through the coffee).
The resulting cup from this technique is usually well-balanced with a full mouthfeel. However, the downside to this technique is that it’s error-prone since you’re only doing one pour for a longer period of time.
Pulsing is when you divide your pour across different time intervals. Put simply, you pour a certain amount, stop, and pour again after a certain time. The brew guide above is an example of the pulse technique.
This method is good for controlling which flavor aspect you want to highlight. By pulsing, you can structure your brew by pouring more water or by pouring more aggressively at a certain extraction stage to highlight a particular flavor aspect.
This method is less error-prone since pours are divided into smaller amounts. However, the downside to this technique is that it doesn’t have as good of a mouthfeel compared to the long and steady method. This is because the brew temperature is not regulated as well.
Brewing ratios
In a nutshell, brew ratios are the amount of coffee grounds to water you’ll use for brewing. It’s usually written as: 1 gram of coffee : x ml of water. Grams and milliliters are used interchangeably for brewing water.
Most pour over recipes will recommend brewing with ratios between 1 : 15 to 1 : 18. This influences the intensity of flavors in your cup. Start with 1 : 15 and only increase your ratio if you feel like the cup is too strong or if you want more clarity.
Compared to shorter ratios, longer ratios are not as intense in flavor because they make the brew less concentrated. However, they produce more clarity and better separation of flavor notes.
Longer ratios are normally used to balance out the acidity in fruity coffees. They also work well with coffees that have lots of tea-like characteristics since the longer ratios will highlight those flavors more.
In contrast, shorter ratios normally get paired with heavier tasting coffees to highlight body/mouthfeel.
Grind size
Grind size is an important factor because it dictates how much there is to extract out of the coffee. Among the techniques for doing pour overs, grind size is the most elusive.
Grind too fine and you’ll extract a lot of bitter flavors (over-extraction). Grind too coarsely and your brew will taste watery (under-extraction). It’s a balancing act because it changes per coffee.
For pour overs, the recommended grind size ranges from medium-fine to medium-coarse. Since this is a wide range, set your grinder to its middle setting. If the result isn’t strong enough, go finer. If it starts to get bitter and astringent, go coarser.
Water temperature
Think of water temperature like stove settings when you cook. Certain foods will only require low to medium heat to cook, while other foods require the heat cranked. The same is true when brewing.
Water temperature for brewing is normally adjusted according to a coffee’s roast level, and sometimes its origin.
Some kettles allow you to set the exact temperature. But instead of thinking in exact numbers, it’s best to think of brewing temperatures in ranges.
Here’s a quick guide on how to set temperatures for different coffees:
| Range | Temperature (°C) | Temperature (°F) | Best suited for |
|---|---|---|---|
| Low temperature | 88°C and below | 190°F and below | Dark roasts; Asian coffees |
| Medium temperature | 89°C to 94°C | 192°F to 201°F | Medium to light roasts; Central American coffees |
| High temperature | 95°C to boiling | 203°F to boiling | Light to very light roasts; African coffees |
If your kettle can’t set temperature and you don’t have a thermometer, open the lid and wait for a minute to get to the lower end of the high range. Add another 2 minutes to get to the lower end of medium. And another 2 minutes for low temperatures.
Is pour over worth it?
To me and many others, the pour over method is worth going that extra mile just to make coffee. It’s made me enjoy coffee more because I get to have a personal experience with it. And because of that, I look forward to the parts of my day where I get to brew.
That might not be for everyone. Some might only really drink coffee for the caffeine kick. And from that standpoint, making pour overs would be way too much effort.
But for those who want to explore a bit more, this might be a novel experience that you may come to really enjoy. In summary…
Pour over is worth it if you:
- Like the ritual of brewing
- Want to explore different flavors
- Want complete control over how your cup tastes
- Just really like coffee
Frequently asked questions
Can you brew pour over without a scale?
Yes, but I wouldn’t recommend it. Without a scale pour overs are especially difficult to replicate. One day your brew might taste great and maybe not so much the next day. Either way, you’ll have a much harder time pinpointing what went right/wrong because you don’t know exactly how much you poured, how much coffee you used, etc.
Can you brew pour over without a fancy kettle?
Some recipes do allow you to get away with using a regular kettle. But, in general, it’s better to use a gooseneck kettle for pour overs to get the most control out of your pouring. Thus, also giving the most control over how your coffee will taste.
Can pour over brewed with ice?
Yes. In fact, many in the coffee industry prefer iced pour overs to cold brew, especially with lighter roasts, because you have full control over the flavor without compromising the nice acidity in these types of roasts.
Can you use pre-ground coffee for pour over?
It’s possible, but not recommended. Unless the pre-ground coffee was fresh out of the roast, it will be hard to get a good brew out of it since most of it would have gone stale.
About the Author
Daniel Yu
Daniel is the head author of Project Barista. Since 2016, he discovered his passion for specialty coffee. His personal mission is to share everything he’s learned over the years.