EQUIPMENT
- Freshly roasted, whole bean coffee
- Pour over brewer (we use a stainless steel mesh dripper, but there are many others to choose from!)
- Grinder – if possible, use a high-quality burr grinder for a more consistent grind and flavor
- Your favorite coffee mug or carafe
- Scale
- Hot water (195-205 F)
- Gooseneck kettle
- Timer
BREWING STEPS
- Weigh out your coffee and water. For this recipe, we’ll use 20 grams of coffee and 320 grams of water. This yields ~11 oz of brewed coffee.
- Place your pour over dripper on top of your mug or carafe. If using a dripper which requires a paper filter, place the paper filter in the dripper.
- Bring your water to a boil. If your kettle doesn’t have a thermometer, using water 30 seconds off boil works just fine.
- Wet the filter and/or dripper with the hot water. This removes any paper taste from your filter and preheats your mug/carafe. Be sure to dump out the water!
- Grind your coffee. You’ll want a medium grind resembling table salt.
- Add the ground coffee to your dripper and gently tap the edges to ensure the bed of grounds is level.
- The “bloom” pour (this is our favorite part!). Start your timer and pour ~50 grams of water in a circular motion in the center of the bed of grounds. You just want enough water to saturate all the grounds. This allows the coffee to de-gas (release CO2).
- Wait until your timer reaches 45 seconds
- Slowly pour the remaining 270 grams of water in a circular motion. Take care to not pour along the edges of the coffee bed and try to keep the level of water in the dripper about 1/2 to 3/4 full.
- Your total brew time should be between 2:30-3:30 minutes.
- Enjoy!
POUR OVER F.A.Q.
I don’t have a gooseneck kettle, can I still brew pour over coffee?
Yes! A gooseneck kettle helps with your pouring precision, but you can still make a great cup of coffee without one.
How does the type of pour over dripper I have affect my brew?
There are so many kinds of pour over drippers to choose from, but generally speaking there are two main types: drippers that use a paper filter (ex. Hario V60 or Kalita Wave) and stainless steel mesh drippers (Matthew generally uses one of these). The main difference comes from the fact that more solids and oils end up in your cup with a stainless steel mesh dripper compared to a dripper which uses a paper filter, because the stainless steel mesh isn’t as fine as a paper filter. This results in a cup with a richer body and more intense aromatics. Using a dripper with a paper filter results in a “cleaner” cup with more vibrant and crisp flavors. No matter which dripper you choose, it can take some time to master your technique, so don’t be discouraged if your first few cups aren’t tasting quite right.
My brew time is too short (long), how can I fix it?
First, you can try to lengthen (shorten) your brew time by pouring slower (faster). Alternatively, you can try grinding finer (coarser) to lengthen (shorten) your brew time. Grind size and brew time are directly related, so modifying your grind size is going to affect your brew time even if you pour at the exact same rate.
Why does my coffee taste weak or sour?
This is a classic sign of underextracted coffee. There are many factors at play here, but two of the most common are grind size and water temperature. It is important to only change one variable at at time, and grind size is probably the easiest to change. So, trying grinding finer. You’ll notice it takes longer for the water to filter through the coffee. This increased contact time leads to a more extracted cup and a better balance between the acidity, sweetness, and slight bitterness needed for a great cup.
Why does my coffee taste bitter or astringent?
This likely means your coffee is overextracted. Try grinding a little bit coarser. If you’re cup is still tasting off, try decreasing the water temperature. If neither of those suggestions work, you can try decreasing your brew ratio (i.e. using a 1:16 instead of 1:17 brew ratio).