Pour Over Coffee Tutorial: Practical Tips & How to Control Pour Over Water Flow

The Importance of Proper Pour-Over Technique

After reading the title... (please remove my surveillance camera!) I believe these are problems that every newcomer to pour-over coffee has encountered. What should you do?? At this point, we need to adjust our brewing posture! Adjust our kettle grip!

(Not necessary)

First, let's understand what other issues might be involved when adjusting these elements~

Incorrect brewing posture leads to improper force application. When force is applied incorrectly, your hands will shake while holding the kettle. When your hands shake, you cannot pour water vertically. When water cannot be poured vertically, your circular pouring motion won't be even~ Yes! That's roughly how it is.

Brewing posture is extremely important!!

Recently, a friend shared that they brew coffee while sitting at home, and no matter how they brew, it never tastes good... Sitting??? Brewing pour-over coffee while sitting will definitely not taste good!

First, sitting makes your line of sight nearly parallel to the dripper. At this point, you need to lean forward to see inside the dripper~ When your body needs to lean forward and you deliberately raise your arm angle to lift a pour-over kettle with considerable weight for pouring, both your arm and wrist will become very tired! Then your hands will start shaking... As mentioned earlier, shaking hands have subsequent effects, so the first step to brewing a delicious cup of coffee is to stand up!

When brewing pour-over coffee, choose a countertop that is as close to your waist level as possible~ Recommended brewing posture: Stand with your feet slightly (slightly) staggered, left foot forward, concentrating your weight on your left foot~

Choosing the Right Pour-Over Kettle

Choose a pour-over kettle with a comfortable handle

Adjust your kettle grip!!!

There are many handle designs for pour-over kettles on the market. Choosing a kettle that feels comfortable in your hand can save you a lot of effort!! Before purchasing, you can ask at coffee shops if you can hold their pour-over kettles to see which type of handle feels most comfortable~

The pour-over kettle you choose shouldn't be too heavy or too light. FrontStreet Coffee recommends purchasing a 600ml pour-over kettle (net weight around 400g-480g). This way, when filled with 350ml-400ml of water for brewing, the feel won't cause unstable water flow due to being too light, nor muscle soreness from being too heavy~

Recommended kettle-holding posture: Hold the kettle with your right hand, arm extended, slightly downward from shoulder level (key point: just slightly). If your arm hangs too low, the force point concentrates on your wrist, making it difficult to apply proper force, easily causing muscle soreness and then shaking. Beginners might find holding the kettle with one hand unstable; you can use your left hand to "pinch" the kettle lid to assist with stability during pouring.

Achieving Perfect Water Flow

Once you're standing steadily with a firm grip!

How do you ensure the water flows vertically?

Generally, filling the kettle to 60%-70% capacity makes it easiest to maintain a vertical water stream. Of course! The spout shape also affects the water stream. A gooseneck kettle (spout curves downward) can more easily control vertical pouring.

Some straight spouts that tend to create parabolic water streams require more solid fundamental skills. Beginners should patiently practice slow-speed circular pouring with vertical water flow! Once proficient, you can naturally increase your circular speed while maintaining vertical water flow.

Mastering the Circular Pour

Steady stance, firm grip, and vertical water flow achieved!

Why are the circles still not even...?

Uneven circular pouring during water addition causes uneven coffee bed thickness, resulting in uneven extraction in the final coffee liquid.

During the pouring process, uneven circles generally occur in three situations: First, because the table is too high (so stand up to brew!) or too low, limiting your field of vision; Second, incorrect standing posture with your body against the table edge, restricting your right hand's movement range; Third, using your wrist to pour in circles, which causes the kettle to move up and down, making the water stream unstable and prone to circular deviation. Correctly use your arm to move in straight lines for circular pouring, rather than "flicking" water with your wrist~

Important Notice :

前街咖啡 FrontStreet Coffee has moved to new addredd:

FrontStreet Coffee Address: 315,Donghua East Road,GuangZhou

Tel:020 38364473