Brewed coffee
Pour-over
Clean and light-bodied. With a light roast you’ll pick up fruity or floral notes.
- Coffee ≈ 220 ml
- About 220 ml
Hot water poured by hand over coffee in a paper-lined cone, like a Hario V60. The paper holds back most of the oils and fine bits, which is why the cup tastes so clean and why it suits light roasts. It takes a steady hand and a bit of practice.
| Ratio | 1:15–1:17, coffee to water |
|---|---|
| Recipe | 15 g coffee + 250 g water at 92–96 °C |
| Milk | None |
| Serve in | 250 ml mug |
| Time | 3–3.5 min |
| How strong it tastes | Low to medium |
How to make it
- Rinse the paper filter with hot water and tip out the rinse water.
- Put the cone and mug on a scale, add 15 g of medium-fine coffee and zero it. Pour about 40 g of water, just enough to wet the grounds, and let it bloom for 30 to 45 seconds while the gas bubbles out.
- Pour the rest in slow circles until the scale reads 250 g.
- Give the cone a gentle swirl and let it drain. It should finish at around 3 to 3.5 minutes.
Tip: Slow to drain and tastes bitter? Go coarser. If it races through and tastes sour, go finer.
Common mistake: Scoops and eyeballing. A scale is the easiest way to make the same good cup two days running.
Variations
- Kalita Wave or Chemex: other cones, different pour styles
- Hario Switch: steep first, then drain
- Two cups: 30 g to 500 g
At a café
Specialty cafés list it as pour-over, filter or V60, sometimes with a choice of beans.
Pour-over vs. AeroPress: An AeroPress steeps all the coffee at once and then you press it, so your pouring hardly matters and it’s more forgiving of the grind. See the AeroPress
You’ll need: Pour-over cone, gooseneck kettle, grinder and scale.