Do you ever wonder if there is a better way to brew your coffee? Have you ever had a pour-over coffee? Have you ever considered using such a pared-down method at home?

I know, I ask a lot of questions, but this is important! It could affect how your whole DAY begins!!

After experiencing a growing dissatisfaction with each successive coffee-maker I’ve owned over the years, and being unwilling to go the pod route (so much waste!), I went in search of a new groove for my morning routine.

Until a few years ago, I had only seen pour-overs done in coffee shops. It seemed like some sort of voodoo best left up to baristas.

Perhaps like me, you grew up mostly only seeing coffee produced from industrial grade or in-home drip makers. If you’re nearly ancient (like me), you may remember seeing older relatives use percolators, either plugged into the wall or on the stove. Or if you’re a bit younger, you may be accustomed to just always popping a pod into your single-cup machine.

‘Tis a Gift to Be Simple…

But simply pouring hot water over grounds?? Can that even work?! I think it’s like so many things: technology has taken a simple process and made it seem mysterious and over-complicated.

I wasn’t around coffee at home until I was an adult—my parents did not regularly drink coffee for some (insane) reason. I had no idea how the magic actually happened. I just knew the steps of filling the carafe, pouring it into the machine, and pushing the button. While producing fairly consistent results, it has so far removed us from the process that we’re clueless as to its elegant nature.

So in my search for a new method, several factors were at play: My hundred-year-old kitchen affords me very little counter space. And we enjoy hot tea with some regularity and wanted to add an electric kettle to that limited space. Additionally, I mostly drink decaf (more on that later) and my husband drinks regular, so we rarely made whole pots of coffee. And finally, for health reasons, I was trying to reduce the amount of plastic that comes in contact with my food and drink. 

All of these factors led me to do some research on the pour-over method. I discovered I could buy a ceramic cone and use the same filters as I was already using in my cone-style coffee-maker. With the help of my electric kettle, I could make my own custom cup of coffee. I even purchased an insulated stainless-steel carafe for the rare occasion when I need enough for a crowd. 

Simple… yet complex

When I referred to coffee-making as a simple process, I don’t want to be misleading: there are a lot of fairly complex factors at play to make a really good cup of coffee, and you can work on perfecting the process for the rest of your life. But the basic steps are pretty universal: Grind coffee; heat water; pour heated water over coffee; enjoy.

Much like bread-making, there are a few basics and lots of variables that affect the outcome. But with some practice and experimentation, you can certainly get satisfactory, even delicious, results even as an amateur at home.

I’m not a barista. Nor do I play one on TV.

In the last few months, my younger daughter has trained as a barista, so I’ve gleaned a few tips from her. But I’ve also found out how much I really don’t know. So please don’t hear me holding myself out as some sort of authority. I’m just a gal that likes a decent cup of coffee. And I feel like it’s within reach for most everyone.

Below I’ll share the basics of the process that you can use in your own home if you’re trying to minimize your kitchen gadgets, or want to get more in touch with the actual process of making your coffee, or if you just want to try something different.

Whatcha Need

So you need a pour-over cone and a kettle. (And filters that match the size of your cone.)

Cone

For the cone, I recommend ceramic, but my stainless carafe came with a plastic one. If you’re replacing your coffee pot, and usually make a full pot, this could be an inexpensive way to start. I personally use my ceramic cone daily, brewing directly into a single cup, or if I feel like two, I brew a couple directly into my Yeti, and enjoy them whenever I can get around to it.

Kettle

As to the kettle, you could certainly use a stovetop tea kettle. I personally LOVE LOVE LOVE my electric kettle, however. It’s fast, easy, and cuts itself off. Perfect for my attention span that’s sometimes missing in action.

I also chose to buy a model that is all stainless inside (again, no plastic contact). We use it for tea, coffee, oatmeal, and anything else for which we may need water boiled. My only real recommendation is to have a narrowed pouring spout, in order to have some control of the pour. 

My stovetop tea-kettle has a round opening that wouldn’t be ideal. My electric tea-kettle is somewhat better with a pointed spout. The best scenario (if money is no object) is a kettle (electric or stovetop) with a narrow, goose-neck spout. But I’ve muddled through for years without one, if you’re wondering.

The Process

Buy the best coffee you can afford.

What’s the best??  It really depends somewhat on your taste preferences. We could talk all day about roast levels, countries of origin, etc.

Generally speaking, I like to stick to a medium roast, and I usually look for fair trade, organically grown. It’s amazing when you pay attention, though, to the subtle differences in coffees from around the world.

And if you’re looking for health benefits…

You can find literally millions of articles on the benefits AND drawbacks of coffee consumption. But I think overall a decent argument can be made that the positives outweigh the negatives.

I mean, the aroma alone captivates even non-coffee drinkers (I like to call them not-yet coffee drinkers.) Not to mention that sense of well being that is certainly therapeutic…

But being the neurotic information junkie that I am, I rest easier knowing I’m mitigating at least some of the possible downsides, such as pesticide use, caffeine interaction with hormones, and unethical trading practices. Thus my preference for fair-trade, organic, Swiss-water-process decaf. Coffee diva? Maybe….

Start with coffee as freshly ground as possible.

I grind a couple of times a week. (Baristas would say ONLY grind immediately before brewing, but I’m usually going for good, not perfect.) I like to grind mine to a medium size: not powdery like espresso, but also no pieces left as large as, say, a peppercorn. It’s usually about ten pulses in my grinder. But I do it by ear: I listen to the sound of the grind to know when its medium-coarse to medium. 

As for grinders, I understand burr grinders are superior. Maybe one day soon I’ll splurge. I’m still using my inexpensive blade grinder that someone gifted us years ago… (Baristas are shaking their heads in shame here…) but in truth, I still make a better cup of coffee (to my liking) at home (even imperfectly) than those I pay for in public.

Wet the grounds.

I pour just enough hot water over the grounds to wet them and then wait for them to off-gas (usually 30-40 seconds) Sounds scientific, but don’t stress. When you wet the grounds with boiling hot water, iridescent bubbles will appear. This just means that the gases (like CO2) that are created in the roasting process are dispersing, allowing the flavor to be better extracted from the grounds. When those bubbles disappear, you’re good.

Pour the hot water over the grounds as evenly as possible.

The goal is uniformity. Just like roasting vegetables in the oven, the more uniform heat exposure and size of the chopped veggies , the better, more consistent results. Nothing underdone or overcooked. The variation in results is a lot more subtle with brewing coffee, but I think the principle is the same… maybe… I think. Volumes have been written on the subject, believe it or not, but I’m going to leave it there and just enjoy my coffee…

Drink Up

Coffee is all about timing, so I love that a pour-over is ready to drink pretty quickly–when it tastes the best. As I said before, I often go ahead and brew two-cups worth, and I enjoy the second cup still hot and pretty fresh out of my Yeti thermos.

I hope this removes some of the mystery AND intimidation behind a pour-over. It’ll will cost you next to nothing to give it a try, so what do you think? What are your favorite coffee tips and tricks?

P.S.

You might have noticed I made no mention of adding anything into my coffee. That’s because 99.9% of the time, I drink my coffee black. I’m dairy free (another story for another day), so even though I’m not philosophically opposed to some heavy cream in a good Americano (if dairy allergies weren’t a thing), I usually just prefer the taste of the coffee itself IF it’s properly prepared and a variety of my liking.

Call me crazy (you wouldn’t be the first!). But I DO encourage you to experiment with different roasts and strengths and brews if you’re someone who has a little coffee with your sugar/dairy concoction. You may find out it’s really the coffee you like after all if it’s really GOOD coffee. 😉

Blessings,