I've always loved coffee, but recently I was introduced to the pour over method. I first saw the method, of course, at Intelligencia, the most hipster/pretentious coffee shop in LA. It's the kind of place where you will probably see a b-level celebrity, the baristas all wear suspenders, and it's going to run you six bucks for a cup of coffee.
They were basically pouring hot water into a v-shaped vessel designed to hold the coffee and filter one cup at a time, and charging triple the price of an ordinary drip coffee. I was, to put it mildly, skeptical. It was, in fact, exactly the same way we used to make coffee when we went camping in high school. We'd pack a plastic filter container and boil hot water, pour it over the grounds and let it percolate into each cup individually.
So why am I now obsessed with the pour over? How have I become a six dollar a cup coffee drinker? I can't actually say I enjoy paying that much for a cup of coffee, but it works so well I adopted the same method at home.
I now have my own kit now and I'll explain how it works.
First of all, the process is repeatable, allowing you to scientifically perfect such things as the bean to water ratio, the temperature in which the water contacts the beans and the nature of the grind.
Here are the things you need: a gram scale, a tempature gauge equipped kettle, the filter holder, a glass carafe and an adjustable burr grinder.
First I put the carafe on the gram scale with the filter holder on top and zero it out. It's important that you pre-wet the filter (just use tap water). Now, add 30 grams of beans. Eventually you will be taking note of your grinder settings (coarse to fine) but we will discuss that later.
Next, (or rather, while you are doing all this), heat your water to exactly 200 degrees, zero out the gram scale and start pouring hot water over the beans. Remember to zero out your gram scale before you do. Start in the center and then make swirling circles, gradually getting out towards the edges. Once the vessel is full, you can pause for about a minute to let it percolate. For 30 grams of coffee, you are going to want to use about 400 grams of water, or 14 fluid ounces. That will be good for a couple of cups in a regular mug.
Now, if you get a light roast, you will notice that the coffee is so smooth, it doesn't need any cream or sugar, and that it has bright, fruity notes flavor wise. I usually get unwashed beans because this accentuates the fruity aspects of the coffee.
All of this is adjustable according to your taste. Is the coffee too weak? Lower the bean to water ratio. Is it too intense? Adjust the grind on your burr grinder to a coarser grind. Does it seem bitter? Lower the water temperature.
You can now fine tune your morning coffee to your liking, using the magic of the scientific technique.
Enjoy guys!
