Ultimate Pour Over Coffee Guide. All you need to know about this brewing method

Pour over coffee is one of the most popular brewing systems and many coffee lovers choose it daily and there are several machines that you can use for this method.

As a big coffee fan I made a lot of investigation about this brewing method and I want to share it with you in this article, in which we will see the pros and cons, the characteristics of the cup of coffee and a detailed step by step to prepare it with a Chemex.

If you want to know more about pour over coffee, this post is perfect for you.

Article index:

What is a pour over coffee?

Pros and cons

Characteristics of pour over coffee

Equipment you will need

How to make pour over coffee. Step by step.

Bottom line

What is a pour over coffee?

Pour over is a way of brewing coffee in which hot water is poured slowly over a filter full of coffee. In this system water and coffee are only together during the time that water goes through the coffee grounds. It is a very popular brewing method that many people choose because of its unique characteristics of the coffee and because you don't need any expensive machine to do it.

Pour over coffee is a quite old and traditional way of brewing your coffee that with time and new advances of coffee machines it was falling in oblivion, but nowadays many coffee lovers around the world are starting to use this system again with excellent machines, like the Chemex.

Pros and cons

As any brewing method, pouring over coffee has some pros and cons. In my opinion, the positive aspect of this system is that you can get very involved in the process of making coffee. You can certainly try modifying different factors and understand how they modify your final product. If you change the grind size, or the pressure between your coffee grounds, or the ratio of water–coffee, the final cup of coffee will have many differences. In other brewing systems in which the process is more automated you do not have the possibility of playing with alternatives to discover new coffees.

The interesting point is that the positive aspect can also turn into a negative thing. It can be quite difficult to standardize the process of pouring over coffee and the result can be quite irregular. The best way to achieve this is to measure all the measurable components of this brewing system: type of coffee, weight of it, grind size, weight of the water and time of extraction.

Characteristics of pour over coffee

With a pour over brewing method you will get a clean and round cup of coffee. It is very different from other popular brewing methods like moka or French press because you will not find a bitter taste in your beverage.

Many coffee experts choose this method when they want to deeply  analyze the flavor of some special coffee beans, because they believe that pour over coffee gives you the most authentic flavors and aromas from each variety.

Pour over coffee is a whole world itself, and depending on which kind of filter you use it is going to modify the final result of your product. For example, paper filters retain many oils from the coffee bean, so you will have a clean and light final result. Cloth filters allow some oils to reach the cup of coffee, giving you a more dense and thick result.

Equipment you will need

For brewing a high quality pour over coffee you will need some equipment that is not so expensive in comparison to other brewing methods. As we mentioned before, there are plenty of machines that can be used for this brewing system. In this list you can find the equipment you will need to start making pour over coffee at home.

• Pour over brewer: there are plenty of them in the market. Chemex, V 60, Walkure, Bee House and Kone are some of them. You can choose anyone that you want.
• Coffee grinder: in a previous article we talked about coffee grinders and the importance of having a correct grind of your coffee beans to reach a high quality cup of coffee. If you already have one go ahead and use it. If you don't have one and don't want to spend money on a grinder for the moment, you can buy freshly ground coffee at first.
• Coffee filters: the filters are the soul of pour over coffee. It is important to know that each brewer you can buy has a specific filter to use, so pay attention to this so you can buy the correct ones.
• Digital kitchen scale: at the beginning you can avoid them, but as we mentioned before you have to measure all the measurable factors in coffee brewing. A digital kitchen scale will allow you to weigh your coffee beans and your water, so you can repeat or correct the amounts for your next brew.
• Slow pour kettle: these are normal kettles but with a thin spout that helps you to pour over water  in a precise and slow way. They are 100% NOT fundamental for this brewing system, you can replace them with a normal kettle, but if you are a pour over coffee fan maybe you want to invest in one for better results.

How to make pour over coffee. Step by step.

As we mentioned before, there are many machines to pour over coffee. In this case I will share with you step by step how to prepare coffee with the Chemex, my favorite machine for pouring coffee.

1. Weight and grind the beans: weight and grind the beans according to the brewing machine you are going to use. For example, if you are using a Chemex you will need a medium coarse grind in a 1:16 coffee to water ratio.
2. Clean the filter: put the paper filter in the Chemex and pour over gently some hot water until it is 100% soaked. This will remove the paper taste from it so it doesn't change the flavors of our coffee.
3. Place the grounded coffee: place the grounded coffee evenly in the filter. Make sure that the distribution is correct so you can get a perfect extraction of all the coffee grounds.
4. Pouring time: many experts recommend dividing the pouring time in 4 parts. In the first one you will use ⅕ parts of your water to soak all the grounds and wait for 30 seconds to allow coffee to release gases.

On the second part you will pour around a third of your remaining water with concentric filters so you can reach every spot of the coffee grounds. Let all the water drain. Pouring water in batches is a good way to avoid an overload of water in the filter.

For the third and fourth part just imitate part 2 being sure to never overload the filter with water.

 5. Remove the filter and enjoy: Remove the filter from your Chemex machine and enjoy a nice cup of coffee.

Bottom line

Pour over is a very nice and interesting way of brewing coffee. There are many machines that can be used, giving you some very different and delicious cups of coffee.

If you are a coffee lover and enjoy the process of brewing you need to try a pour over method and witness how every little factor that is involved can change your final result.

Are you a fan of any pour over machine?