What is Freshly Ground Pour-Over Coffee? How to Prepare Pour-Over Steps and Equipment? How to Brew Indonesian Mandheling

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Pour-Over Coffee

Pour-over coffee, as the name suggests, involves pouring hot water over coffee grounds, extracting coffee through filter paper and a dripper. The entire brewing process takes about 3 to 4 minutes. Since the flow rate, direction, and temperature of the hot water are all controlled by the brewer, almost every brew yields different coffee flavors. Although the equipment is simple, it requires considerable technique and experience.

Pour-Over Coffee Equipment:

Pour-Over Kettle: There are various sizes and materials of pour-over kettles on the market, which can be selected according to your needs. The factor that significantly affects brewing results is the kettle's spout size, as it relates to water flow rate. Beginners are generally advised to use a narrow-spout kettle (as shown in the picture below) for easier control. Additionally, each pour-over kettle is suitable for different heating methods (induction or gas stove), so pay special attention when purchasing. (Image source: Pchome)

Dripper: Drippers come in various sizes and materials, primarily divided into three shapes: fan-shaped, conical, and wave drippers. The size of the dripper's bottom holes affects the flow rate of the extracted coffee, thereby influencing the coffee's flavor. Fan-shaped drippers have smaller holes and slower flow rates, resulting in a richer body; conical drippers have larger holes and faster flow rates, yielding a lighter body; wave drippers have a flat bottom and special wave filter paper, producing the most even coffee texture. A special case is the metal mesh dripper, which doesn't require filter paper and can retain more coffee oils for a stronger flavor, but some finer coffee particles might not be filtered out.

Filter Paper: Different drippers have their own suitable filter papers. Filter paper can absorb some unpleasant flavors and oils from the coffee. Unbleached filter papers might have some paper taste.

Grinder: Freshly ground coffee is the freshest. The particle size and uniformity of coffee grounds are crucial factors affecting the flavor of pour-over coffee. Coffee particles suitable for pour-over brewing should be about the size of #2 sugar granules. The more uniform the particles, the better the taste of the brewed coffee.

Coffee Pot and Coffee Cup: Used to hold the filtered coffee, preferably pre-warmed to maintain the coffee temperature.

Auxiliary Equipment: Electronic scales, thermometers, and timers can make the coffee brewing process more precise.

Characteristics of Pour-Over Coffee:

Fast and Efficient Extraction: Compared to other coffee brewing methods, pour-over coffee continuously has fresh hot water passing through the coffee grounds during extraction, resulting in faster extraction and extracting more substances from the coffee surface. However, because of the speed, poor control can lead to over-extraction. This principle is similar to searing fish in a pan with high heat - the fish has a large heated surface area, but poor control can cause burning.

Many Influencing Factors: Although it's just a process of a few minutes, factors including water flow rate, water temperature, coffee particle size, dripper shape, etc., all affect the final flavor of the coffee. Thorough research and preparation are needed before brewing.

The Principles of Pour-Over Coffee:

The so-called coffee brewing is actually the process of extracting molecules from coffee cells, and this process includes the following three steps: wetting, dissolution, and release. These three steps occur sequentially and influence each other, ultimately creating the unique flavor of coffee. We will explain each step below:

Step One: Wetting

As the name suggests, this is when coffee grounds come into contact with water and get wet. This is the starting point for coffee cells to begin releasing molecules.

It's important to note that roasted coffee beans are filled with carbon dioxide, and fresher coffee beans contain more carbon dioxide. When hot water touches the coffee grounds, carbon dioxide escapes first, forming a layer of bubbles on the surface. During pour-over brewing, you'll see the coffee grounds in the dripper start to expand (as shown in the picture below). At this point, the coffee cells are like a supermarket where many people are trying to squeeze out from inside - people outside simply cannot get in. Similarly, hot water outside the cells cannot enter the cells. Therefore, after wetting the coffee grounds, we stop pouring water and wait for the carbon dioxide to completely release and the coffee grounds to stop expanding before continuing to add hot water, achieving better extraction results.

When hot water touches the coffee grounds, carbon dioxide escapes first, forming a layer of bubbles on the surface.

Step Two: Dissolution

This refers to the process where soluble molecules in coffee cells dissolve in hot water. This is the most important step, determining the flavor of the extracted coffee.

Coffee beans are two-thirds composed of insoluble cellulose, while the remaining one-third consists of some soluble aromatic molecules that are dissolved in water according to their molecular size. The first small molecules to be dissolved include acids and aromatics, followed by medium-sized sweet molecules, and finally large-sized bitter molecules. This is how coffee gets its layered flavors. Therefore, if you prefer a sweeter taste, the extraction time should be shorter, because the longer hot water stays on the coffee grounds, the more bitter molecules will be dissolved.

Step Three: Diffusion

After the aromatic molecules dissolve, they leave the coffee cells through osmosis, a process called diffusion. When aromatic molecules diffuse into hot water, they form the final coffee extract.

Factors Affecting Pour-Over Coffee:

After understanding the principles, you should be able to comprehend how different pour-over conditions affect coffee flavor. All different variables actually revolve around one core concept: extraction time, which is the time coffee grounds interact with hot water. Below we have summarized some important variables:

Coffee Ground Particle Uniformity: Fine coffee grounds extract quickly, while coarse coffee grounds extract slowly, each requiring different complete extraction times. If the particle sizes are not uniform, it's possible that fine coffee grounds have already started releasing bitter molecules while coarse coffee grounds haven't fully extracted yet, resulting in poor final coffee flavor. Uniform coffee ground particles won't have this problem.

Coffee Ground Particle Size: The finer the coffee grounds, the longer it takes for hot water to pass through them.

Filter Paper Thickness: The thicker the filter paper, the slower the flow rate of the extract, and the longer the interaction time between hot water and coffee grounds.

Pouring Speed and Method: Pouring must be uniform and stable to ensure consistent extraction speed of the coffee grounds. Additionally, the height of pouring affects water temperature. It's recommended to pour as close to the dripper as possible, using a circular motion. (Image source: reddit)

Water Temperature: The higher the water temperature, the faster the extraction rate. It's generally recommended to brew dark-roasted coffee beans at 80-90°C, while light to medium-roasted beans require 86-93°C.

Detailed Steps and Precautions:

Grind Coffee Beans: The standard particle size is like #2 sugar granules, which can be adjusted. The key is uniform particle size. You can use a sieve to remove overly fine powder first to avoid filtration issues. The amount of coffee grounds should be about half to two-thirds of the dripper's capacity. Too little cannot control water flow, while too much might overflow during brewing.

Boil Water: The standard coffee-to-water ratio is about 1:16, which can be adjusted according to personal preference. The suitable water temperature is around 90°C, which can be measured with a thermometer after boiling.

Preheating: Fold the filter paper to fit snugly against the dripper, first wet the filter paper with some hot water and preheat the dripper, which also eliminates the paper taste of the filter. After preheating, pour out the water.

Add Grounds: Pour the coffee grounds into the dripper and tap the side of the dripper to make the coffee surface slightly level.

Start Timing, First Pour: Place the kettle spout close to the edge of the dripper, starting to pour from the center point, moving from the center to the outer edge and back to the center, wetting all coffee grounds then stopping. Be careful not to use too much water. At this point, white bubbles will appear on the surface of the coffee grounds and begin to expand.

Bloom: Wait for the coffee grounds to stop expanding, about 30-40 seconds. During this time, some extract may have already started filtering through.

Second Pour: When you see the foam beginning to collapse, start the second pour, again starting from the center and moving in circles repeatedly, continuing to pour water evenly and steadily. This pouring process needs to last more than 2 minutes, depending on the expected brewing time (generally recommended: 2 to 2.5 minutes for dark-roasted beans, 2.5 to 3 minutes for light to medium-roasted beans).

Rest: After stopping the pour, wait 20-60 seconds for filtering, then pour the coffee into the coffee cup.

Example: Pour-Over FrontStreet Coffee Indonesia Tiger Mandheling:

Dripper: KONO dripper

Water Temperature: 88°C

Grind Level: Fuji Mini grinder setting 4

Brewing Method: Coffee-to-water ratio 1:14, 17g of coffee grounds, first pour with 25g of water, 30s bloom, second pour to 238g total water, extraction time around 2:30 minutes

Analysis: The KONO dripper doesn't have many ribs at its bottom, and the filter paper fits tightly against the dripper, achieving the purpose of restricting airflow. This allows water and coffee grounds to have longer contact and steeping time in the dripper, ensuring extraction time and rate for coarse grinding. This enables the coffee grounds to be fully extracted, enhancing the rich body and making the flavor more concentrated.

[FrontStreet Coffee Indonesia Tiger Mandheling] Coffee Flavor: High balance, clean, rich and solid body, with a long-lasting finish of dark chocolate.

Important Notice :

前街咖啡 FrontStreet Coffee has moved to new addredd:

FrontStreet Coffee Address: 315,Donghua East Road,GuangZhou

Tel:020 38364473