A brief introduction to pour-over coffee brewing methods

Many coffee consumers are used to drinking their coffee as brewed in a coffee machine, a cafetiere or a desalinated glass.

Pour-over methods give us a very different brew. When first encountering coffees from a drip, aeropress or Chemex, people often react with surprise - is that coffee too?

The difference is not only about the brewing method used. It is also about the roasting profile. It is much lighter than that of 'traditional' coffees. This is due to the different temperature management of the roaster as well as the time the coffee is roasted. It spends considerably less time in the roaster than for espresso coffee. The combination of roasting and pour-over brewing methods helps one to perceive that the coffee comes from a fruit growing on trees. In the aroma of coffees brewed this way, one can detect fruit, flowers and many other attractive notes. It is not uncommon when first encountering decanted coffees to get the impression that they are artificially flavoured. However, these are their natural characteristics.

Drip (Hario V60)

This method was developed by the Japanese company Hario, but is based on the old concept of brewing coffee by pouring the brew through a paper filter. There are many similar methods (e.g. Melita, Tiamo, various pour-over coffee makers), but we present the Hario dripper as the most popular.

Suggested method of preparation:

• Grind the coffee - not too coarse, but not too fine either, certainly coarser than for the espresso machine;
• Take 30g of coffee and 500g (millilitres) of water - it is important to keep this ratio in the correct brewing process, pouring boiling water over the filter will also take some water;
• Heat the water to about 92-94 deg C (do not use boiling water!);
• Pour water over the filter - our aim is to avoid a papery aftertaste in the brew;
• Move on to pre-infusion - pre-soaking the coffee with water at a ratio of 1:2 or 1:3 for about 30 seconds, it is important to pour over the entire coffee;
• We then add coffee to the full 500 g in a circular motion from the centre outwards (we also add the water poured in during pre-infusion to the 500 g).

It is worth experimenting with different parameters for brewing coffee. In particular, we recommend checking out the brewing method proposed by James Hoffmann (Polish subtitles can be included):

Aeropress

The device was invented in 2005 by American Alan Adler as a substitute for a pressurised espresso machine. "The syringe" has, however, taken off as one of the specialty coffee industry's favourite tools, and the brew comes out decidedly different to that from a pressure machine.

Suggested method of preparation:

• Grind 18-22 g of coffee - not too coarse not too fine;
• Heat the water to approximately 92 degrees C;
• Place the filter in the strainer and pour hot water over it (be careful not to let the filter bend!);
• Heat the aeropress tube with hot water;
• Move on to pre-infusion - pre-soaking the coffee with water at a ratio of 1:2 or 1:3 for about 30 seconds;
• Gently stir the coffee;
• Pour water to the full;
• Stir gently a few times;
• Cap the aeropress with a strainer with a dipped filter and squeeze out the air;
• When about 2 minutes have elapsed from the start of brewing, start pressing the coffee - steadily and not too hard.