Brew the Perfect Cup of Pour-over Coffee

People all over the world have a passionate love for coffee. The first thing people reach for in the morning is their cup of joe. Even if you don’t like to drink coffee, you surely can’t be disappointed with it’s delightful aroma.  If you are tired of making basic coffee, you may be looking for ways to expand your coffee experience with something a little different.

The pour-over method has been getting a lot of attention lately, but the truth is that the method itself has been around for a long time. Like any home brewing method, brewing the perfect cup of coffee using the pour-over method is going to take practice and a bit of trial and error to get it right. Continue reading for some helpful steps to brew the perfect cup of pour-over coffee.

Tips to Brew the Perfect Cup of Pour-Over Coffee

Step 1: Start with Quality Beans

Coffee beans from Old Salt Coffee Company travel a great distance and go through an extensive process to ensure you're enjoying only the highest quality product. Coffee has to go through many stages to get from its natural state to the beans you love, and our master roasters take great care throughout every step of the roasting process to produce a finished product that is worthy of our name.

Step 2: Setup the Filter

Before you do anything with your coffee, put the filter in the brewer and pour some hot water through to rinse it. Dispose of the rinse water. Doing this will eliminate any tiny paper particles, which could otherwise give the finished product an "off" taste. It will also prep the filter and warm your brewer, allowing the coffee to remain at a consistent temperature throughout the brewing process. (Note: We recommend using a paper filter. Metal mesh filters tend to allow particles through, resulting in too fast of an extraction as well as fine grinds in the cup. Paper filters are much easier to clean up to boot!)

Step 3: Grind Your Coffee

Grinding your coffee just before you brew it will give you the best cup o' joe. Be mindful that the size of the grind is going to have a huge impact on the extraction, as well as the end result. This is where a little trial and error can come into play, as you may not prefer the typical grind used with pour-over brewing. If your coffee doesn't taste quite right after brewing - maybe it's too strong or too weak for example - altering the grind slightly can make a big difference. A finer grind will result in a stronger brew. But too fine a grind can result in over extraction and a bitter cup. Too coarse a grind conversely will result in a weak extraction, and you may not be getting an optimal cup of coffee.

Pour-over coffee is similar to drip coffee in that both use filters. But a pour-over brew extracts the flavor either more or less quickly due to the pace of the pour. The amount of time water surrounds the coffee should determine the size of the grind. So a fast brew needs a finer grind than a slow brew. If in doubt, start with a grind that would be suitable for a standard drip coffee maker, then adjust your grind from there.

Step 4: Take Water off the Boiler and Pour

Once your water is boiling, remove it from the heat and wait about 30 seconds. This will allow your water to reach the optimal temperature of about 205 degrees Fahrenheit. Then, begin by pouring some water over the grounds, enough to wet all of the coffee, then stop pouring. This first pour is known as the "bloom pour" and will saturate the grounds and help with an even extraction. 

Stir the grounds and water resulting from your "bloom pour" and wait 15-30 seconds. Then slowly add more water as needed until your perfect cup of pour-over coffee is finished.

You may need to direct your pour around to cover all of the coffee evenly, so don't be afraid to hone your pouring method to suit your setup.

-

Perfecting your pour-over brewing method will take time. Make sure you start with quality beans from Old Salt Coffee Company.

Quality Blends from Old Salt Coffee Company

We have 5 different varieties: Brown Shoe Blend, Haze Gray, Silent Service, Green Eyes, and Liberty Call. Each one has their own unique flavor profile, so be sure to look into the description to choose the best one for your taste buds. Hoist a mug of Old Salt Coffee today!