Simple Guide To Pour Over Coffee

10 years ago if you offered me a cup of coffee, I would have declined.

I thought it was disgusting.. but then came McDonalds hazelnut iced coffee.

I know, I know, it's not actually real coffee, but it was the closest thing I could drink that didn't taste like burnt water.

Over the years I slowly started trying different drinks and eventually fell in love with a classic cup of black coffee! Which then led into being picky about the beans I was drinking, aka *coffee snob* haha. That is when I got educated on alllll the things that are involved with coffee. Let me tell you, there is a lot! There are the factors of where the beans come from, then how they are roasted, and finally how the actual coffee is made!

There are MANY ways to make coffee but this method is by farrr my favorite! The pour over method is much simpler than most people think, even though it looks a little daunting. The main steps are grinding the fresh coffee beans, get your special brewing system, + pour hot water over the grounds to create the best cup of coffee. People prefer this more complicated method because it allows for more control over factors that make it taste different!

The confusing part for me is getting the right coffee-to-water ratio, so I usually have Brett do the math for me. Here are the measurements to make things easier:

17 grams of water for 1 gram of coffee

3 cups of coffee: 47 grams of coffee grounds // 800 grams of water

1 cup of coffee: 21 grams of coffee grounds // 350 grams of water

These measurements are a baseline for most coffees. If your coffee turns out too strong, go with less beans on the next one!

Ready to make your pour over in 5 easy steps? Here we go!

1. Grind the coffee beans! This step is KEY if you want your coffee to taste good. You will want it to have a sea salt consistency (medium to coarse.)

2. Temperature of the water is the next step. You will want to heat the water to 195 to 205 degrees F. You could use a thermometer to get the exact temp, but if you're like me and don't have one...bring water to a boil, pour into a gooseneck kettle (if you don't have one that's okay!), and let it cool for a minute before pouring.

3. Rinse your filter. This step is to eliminate the possibility of a paper taste in your brew. Place the filter in your preferred brewer, I usually use a Chemex. Pour the hot water over the filter for 5 seconds, making sure to wet the entire paper. Discard the water from the carafe after.

4. Blooming. We finally get to start making coffee! The blooming process allows the carbon dioxide to escape from your grounds. This is the science part that doesn't make much sense, but that's okay! Take out your scale, place your brewer on it, zero it, and add your coffee grounds (see measurements above). Zero out the scale again and pour 100 grams of water using a circular motion. Then let it sit for 30 seconds to 1 minute. This is the best smelling part of the whole process!

5. Finish the brew. Fill with more water in the same circular motion until the top gets full, wait around 15 seconds, and repeat until you've reached your total grams of water (again, see above.)

Discard the filter and you're done!

You did it! Enjoy your amazing cup of coffee and share your results with us, we would love to see and hear how it went!