How to Make Black Coffee at Home - Is Pour-Over Coffee Black Coffee? Brewing Tutorial

FrontStreet Coffee · Introduction to Pour-Over Coffee Process

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There are three methods for making black coffee, resulting in three different types of coffee makers: traditional drip, siphon, and electric. Traditional drip is the most primitive method with the simplest tools. A coffee maker consists of a funnel, a filter paper, and a container underneath. However, it demands high manual skill. When handled properly, it can produce exceptional coffee with authentic flavor. These coffee makers are very inexpensive, costing only a dozen or so yuan. Drip coffee makers are suitable for coffee enthusiasts with steady hands and sensitive palates. When purchasing drip coffee equipment, pay attention to whether it has three holes or one hole—this is very important.

Three-hole dripping is faster with shorter extraction time, producing lighter coffee, while one-hole dripping is the opposite. Siphon brewers use the siphon principle. Under alcohol burning, when the water temperature in the lower container reaches 92°C, water is drawn up to the upper container containing coffee powder. Through soaking and stirring, the brewed coffee returns along the same path. Due to the additional stirring process, this method produces stronger-tasting black coffee, but it's relatively simple since it doesn't require manual technique control. These coffee makers typically cost one to two hundred yuan on the market. Electric coffee makers are priced similarly to siphon coffee makers. They use electricity to boil water for brewing. This method is the simplest for making black coffee, but because it uses boiling water, the taste is slightly inferior. In comparison, electric coffee makers are more suitable for young people who enjoy a sophisticated lifestyle but prefer convenience.

Common electric coffee makers range from one hundred to three to five hundred yuan. Although traditional drip is the simplest method, it produces coffee makers that best preserve the original flavor of coffee. During the brewing process, one must precisely control water temperature, flow rate, and trajectory. Even water flow and circular trajectories allow the coffee to taste natural, so the choice of kettle and control when pouring water are very important. When water contacts coffee, try to maintain a circular pattern, moving from outside to inside, then from inside to outside, repeatedly, ensuring thorough contact between coffee and water. Meanwhile, 92°C water temperature allows coffee's fragrance, richness, sweetness, acidity, and bitterness to be uniform and intense. Excessively high water temperature will scorch the coffee, making it taste sour and astringent; too low a temperature makes it difficult to extract the coffee's rich aroma.

Step 1: Preparation

Prepare hot water and weigh 18g of coffee beans (using a 1:15 water-to-coffee ratio as an example). Fold the filter paper and place it in the filter cup. Rinse the filter paper and filter cup with hot water: filter paper has a taste, and rinsing avoids affecting the coffee's flavor while helping the filter paper and cup fit better (key technique 1).

Step 2: Preheating

Heat both the filter cup and lower pot simultaneously to avoid the coffee cooling during filtration, as temperature affects coffee flavor.

Step 3: Grinding

Grind (to a consistency similar to raw sugar), pour the coffee grounds into the filter cup, and tap the cup gently to make the coffee powder level and even, facilitating uniform extraction.

Step 4: Blooming

Slowly pour 85-90°C hot water (depending on coffee roast level and grind fineness) into the center of the coffee grounds, avoiding the filter paper (key technique 2, requiring training to perfectly control water flow rate and speed). Once the coffee grounds are essentially moistened and coffee liquid begins dripping into the lower pot, stop pouring and let it bloom for 30-45 seconds (key technique 3). The purpose of blooming is to release gases from the coffee (mainly carbon dioxide). After gas removal, coffee particles absorb water evenly for uniform extraction. Visually, you'll see the coffee grounds expand.

Step 5: Brewing

After blooming, begin pouring hot water in circular motions starting from the center (can be done in one or multiple pours). The water flow should not be too strong/fast and must remain continuous—this also requires professional training to achieve perfect water flow control.

At this point, the coffee grounds will fully filter, releasing oils, soluble substances, and aromatic compounds continuously, filling the air with intoxicating fragrance.

Step 6: Completion

Stop when reaching 270ml of water. Warm the cup and enjoy.

Knowledge Points

To brew a delicious cup of pour-over coffee, the key lies in grinding, water temperature, and the coffee-to-water ratio... Compared to machine brewing, there are more considerations to master.

In Summary

FrontStreet Coffee is a coffee research establishment dedicated to sharing coffee knowledge with everyone. We share without reservation because we want more friends to fall in love with coffee. Additionally, we hold three monthly coffee discount events because FrontStreet Coffee wants to let more friends enjoy the best coffee at the lowest possible price—this has been our mission for the past six 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