Pour-Over Coffee vs Brewed Coffee: Which Tastes Better? A Brief Introduction to Basic Pour-Over Coffee Steps

FrontStreet Coffee - Introduction to Pour Over Coffee Steps

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Equipment Needed:

Pour over kettle, server and filter cup, filter paper, coffee grinder, thermometer, and digital scale.

About Coffee Grinders:

Here, we suggest that friends who enjoy freshly ground coffee invest in a quality reliable grinder. Whether electric or manual, the quality of brewed coffee will be much better than buying pre-ground coffee, and generally, home models are not very expensive.

About Pour Over Kettles:

Pour over kettles come in various styles - different brands, materials, designs, and price points can be overwhelming. Choosing a suitable pour over kettle from among the many options doesn't seem easy. This requires everyone to do more research to understand different kettles, and ideally, if you have the opportunity, try them personally to select your perfect "divine kettle." Here we recommend Japanese brands like KALITA, HARIO, Taguchi Mamoru, Moon Rabbit, etc., though their prices are relatively high. Domestic brands like TIAMO and Shōkōkō offer relatively cheaper options. However, as I've said before, when it comes to coffee equipment (as long as it's not fraudulent), you generally get what you pay for, so everyone should choose according to their actual situation. For this demonstration, we'll use the HARIO 1.2L stainless steel pour over kettle, which is also the most commonly seen kettle in international barista competitions.

Pour Over Steps:

1. Fold the Filter Paper:

Take a fan-shaped filter paper, one side of which is machine-pressed and thicker. (Filter paper selection: Filter papers come in different sizes - choose according to your filter cup. They also come in bleached and unbleached versions. Bleached filter paper has less paper pulp taste, so we choose bleached filter paper). Fold the thickest side, then press flat. Open the filter paper and align the two center lines, then press gently. (Do not press the two fan surfaces together to create a fold line!)

Place the folded filter paper in the filter cup.

2. Weigh Coffee Beans:

Weigh 20g of coffee beans. (Some say to use 10g for one cup, and for two cups, 15g or slightly less than 20g would suffice. This actually doesn't align with extraction principles. If you want milder coffee, you can reduce the amount, but the idea of reducing coffee beans for two cups is incorrect. Enthusiasts can try this themselves - the taste difference is really significant.)

3. Grind:

Use a manual coffee grinder to grind the coffee beans.

4. Heat Water:

It's best to use a thermometer to measure water temperature for accuracy. The temperature range for pour over is quite broad - 83-95°C is acceptable. However, different temperatures will definitely produce significantly different tastes. Different beans and different roast levels require different temperatures. Enthusiasts need to adjust themselves to find their most suitable water temperature.

5. Wet the Filter Paper:

Pour hot water evenly over the filter paper until it's completely wet and tightly attached to the filter cup, then pour out the hot water from the server. (Many people aren't accustomed to wetting filter paper, thinking it's unnecessary. In fact, wetting the filter paper has three main purposes: 1. Rinse away impurities and paper taste from the filter 2. Make the filter paper adhere to the filter cup 3. Warm up the filter cup and server)

6. Add Ground Coffee:

Pour the ground coffee into the filter cup and gently tap to level it.

7. Bloom:

Pour water evenly over the coffee grounds using about 1.5 times the weight of the coffee grounds (make sure to saturate thoroughly, but don't let too much water drip into the server). There's no fixed blooming time. Fresh coffee grounds will start absorbing water and expanding after pouring. When all coffee grounds have absorbed water and expansion stops, the blooming process is complete, and you can begin pouring. (Whether expansion occurs or the size of expansion is closely related to the coffee's roast level and freshness. Fresher coffee grounds expand more, and darker roasts expand more.)

8. Pour Water:

For beginners making pour over coffee, focus on evenness. Don't deliberately pursue any particular pouring technique. As long as it's even, it won't taste bad. It's recommended to start pouring from the center, then draw concentric circles in one direction toward the outer edge, but don't pour onto the filter paper itself. Then draw concentric circles back to the center, repeating this process. Keep the water flow steady. Pouring can be done in 2-3 stages. Whether to segment the pouring is controversial among enthusiasts. As for the difference in taste, I haven't experienced it myself, so I won't elaborate here. Enthusiasts can try this themselves.

9. Complete Extraction:

When extraction is complete, you'll have about 240ml of coffee liquid. Stop pouring, remove the filter cup, and in the server, you'll have your delicious coffee.

Knowledge Points:

The optimal tasting period for coffee is 8-14 days after roasting. The longer coffee beans are stored, the more you need to adjust the grind size.

In Brief:

FrontStreet Coffee is a coffee research facility dedicated to sharing coffee knowledge with everyone. We share without reservation simply to help more friends fall in love with coffee. Every month, we hold three coffee events with significant discounts because FrontStreet Coffee wants to help more friends enjoy the best coffee at the lowest possible price. This has been FrontStreet Coffee's mission for the past 6 years!

Important Notice :

前街咖啡 FrontStreet Coffee has moved to new addredd:

FrontStreet Coffee Address: 315,Donghua East Road,GuangZhou

Tel:020 38364473