Just tried Pour Over

So I was in Pittsburgh, PA on business for the last two days. During the first day my vendor gathered that I liked good coffee and said he had a good place for me to try. We met in the morning yesterday on the way to their office, and went to 21st St Coffee. Seems like most of what they do is pour over, which I have never had. I don't know if it was the method, the coffee (they server Intelligensia there) or what, but that was one of the all time best cups of coffee I have ever had.

Now the question - can I even remotely hope to replicate that at home? I have a good adjustable grinder, and usually grind right before I brew, so no issue there. I can easily get the thing for the coffee, and probably the little tea kettle thing, but what are the finer points of this? I assume temp for the water is a huge factor, amongst grind and coffee itself. Anything else worth noting?

Well, if you can pour water you can do it.

My set up is a Chemex 6 cup with the Chemex filters. I also us a Bonavita variable temp kettle. For a grinder I use a Hairo Skerton. I bought mine on sale at Seattle Coffee Gear. Amazon has all that too. Look on youtube for videos of technique. I usually let my grounds bloom for 30 seconds and then start pouring in a circle. Repeat.

You can do it with any pour over dripper and a measuring cup of water heated in your microwave (to get started)

A thermometer is nice to have so that you know your water temp but coffee is very forgiving. Any temp between 195º and 205º will make good tasting coffee.

As Seth said, Chemex is a good brewer to start with as it is not as picky when it comes to the grind. As long as you can brew between 4 and 6 minutes your coffee should come out nicely. If your brew time is too long, you need to grind coarser, too short and grind finer.

I try to shoot for around 5 minutes total brew time and I am happy with how things turn out.

If you liked the Intelligentsia coffee, you can order it online directly from them.

For sure you can do it. There are a variety of pour-over brewers, about any one will do to start with even though there are differences in the final outcome. The main ingredient is to start with freshly roasted coffee. Water temperature, grind size, brewing time are also important variables but those are things you should be able to adjust soon enough to get good cups. If you have a local roaster I would recommend that you start with some of their coffees.

I do have a local roaster, a couple actually, so that part should be good. I think I need some time with the Amazon and buy some hardware now; I am sure this is exactly what my wife was hoping for!

red zeppelin said:

I do have a local roaster, a couple actually, so that part should be good. I think I need some time with the Amazon and buy some hardware now; I am sure this is exactly what my wife was hoping for!

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If you have a local roasting house where you can buy fresh roasted beans half the battle is won. Starting with freash whole beans and grinding just before brewing will give you great coffee using any method

Each dripper will present a different taste to the coffee. Chemex makes a smooth cup with a good overall balance of the flavors. Hario is a little sharper followed by the Melita then the flat bottom Kalita dripper which is more like a press in taste. This is all my personal taste and opinion. The differences is subtitle and only noticeable if you are doing a side by side comparison. Choose one method and stick with it otherwise you will have all of them, just like with razor blades and soap/cream. They all do the job, just slightly differently.

Haunt eBay where you will find a good assortment of drippers people grew dissatisfied with. I got my bee house listed as a "cowby coffee maker" along with a couple boxes of filters for $5 shipped (really)

Pour over or French press it's all good! I prefer French press. Now I have to go brew me one....

red zeppelin said:

I do have a local roaster, a couple actually, so that part should be good. I think I need some time with the Amazon and buy some hardware now; I am sure this is exactly what my wife was hoping for!

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For under $10, this Melitta dripper and carafe is a great deal. It is what I started with once I got hooked:http://www.amazon.com/Melitta-Coffe...e=UTF8&qid=1402675072&sr=8-7&keywords=melitta

The Melitta is pretty forgiving in comparison to say a Hario, where the hole is giant on the bottom...so you might need a little practice with your technique if you went for that. For the Melitta, you pretty much pour your water in and let it do it's thing (makes it easy for my wife). Though you can play with the technique on this a little bit too-- I personally prefer to pour with an equal in/out flow instead of all at once. I also prefer to use the Melitta because filters are cheap and readily available at the grocery store (and Costco in giant amounts!).

If you get any additional hardware, the one thing I would splurge on is a scale. Knowing the exact amount of coffee and water you put in helps in making a good, consistent cup every time.

Love my Melitta. I use the Moccamaster during the week for making more coffee to go, but on weekends it is single cups in the Melitta pour over.

turtle said:

Each dripper will present a different taste to the coffee. Chemex makes a smooth cup with a good overall balance of the flavors. Hario is a little sharper followed by the Melita then the flat bottom Kalita dripper which is more like a press in taste. This is all my personal taste and opinion. The differences is subtitle and only noticeable if you are doing a side by side comparison. Choose one method and stick with it otherwise you will have all of them, just like with razor blades and soap/cream. They all do the job, just slightly differently.

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Turtle, I know that taste will vary from person to person, YMMV really applies here. With that said, how would you rate the 4 coffee makers you mention? Chemex, Hario, Melita, and Kalita?
..

shave/brush said:

Turtle, I know that taste will vary from person to person, YMMV really applies here. With that said, how would you rate the 4 coffee makers you mention? Chemex, Hario, Melita, and Kalita?
..

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They are all nice. They are all easy to use.

The taste runs from smooth to sharp.

If you want a smooth cup of coffee the Chemex filters will give you this. You can use Chemex filters in the #2 size Hario (and Hairo filters in the Chemex) as the shape of the funnel is identical on both (60º).

Melita modified cone makes a coffee that is not as smooth and a little more "flavorful" which is NOT to say that the Chemex filters take out too much flavor.

The Kalita wave (flat bottom filter like a Bunn filter) brews with the most flavor. Similar to a french press in taste.

The Ethiopian Yargacheffe Kochere that I roasted last week does not taste all that great when made in a Chemex or Hario but in the Kalita or the Bunn it ROCKS big time.

It's all about how much water comes in contact with the grounds and how long the water stays in contact with the grounds during the brew. Given the same grind, each dripper method will run a different time which is why it is recommended to change the grind when you change the dripper you are using (match the grind to the dripper to get the brew time optimal on each)

It is all up to you and how you like your coffee.

Now this is all personal opinion on my part and your taste buds are going to be different than mine so you may see it all a different way once you compare them.

If I were starting out I would get either a Chemex or Hario and both types of filters. This will give you one dripper with two distinctive tastes out of it.

Matt S said:

Love my Melitta. I use the Moccamaster during the week for making more coffee to go, but on weekends it is single cups in the Melitta pour over.

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You have the same set up I would have after a pour over. My wife lovingly bought me the technivorm about 2 years ago, and while I like it, I don't get wowed by it versus other coffee makers, which could be something I am doing wrong also.

As far as personal tastes, I started on coffee by drinking espresso and my preference even now is for very strong coffee. In the past year or so I have switched almost entirely to Americano and that seems a good balance between coffee and espresso for me. The pour over I had at 21st street was as close as I have come to an americano without making espresso. If I could replicate something like that at home, without having to buy an espresso maker (my other option) that would be awesome.

red zeppelin said:

You have the same set up I would have after a pour over. My wife lovingly bought me the technivorm about 2 years ago, and while I like it, I don't get wowed by it versus other coffee makers, which could be something I am doing wrong also.

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Are you on the urban water supply system? If so, here is the latest water quality report for the urban distribution network (based on your location listing on B&B)

http://www.phila.gov/water/wu/Water Quality Reports/2014WaterQuality.pdf

Your technivorm may have some scale build up after 2 years of use so running a descaling might not be a bad idea. Check the temp of the water coming out of the boiler when brewing and if it is much below 190º you may have built up deposits that are keeping it from getting to the proper brew temp

You can use a commercial descaling product or you can use citric acid which is easily found at most grocery stores and health food locations (it's used in pickling). 1.5 tlb citric acid dissolved in 1 liter of water will give you the correct ratio.

red zeppelin said:

As far as personal tastes, I started on coffee by drinking espresso and my preference even now is for very strong coffee. In the past year or so I have switched almost entirely to Americano and that seems a good balance between coffee and espresso for me. The pour over I had at 21st street was as close as I have come to an americano without making espresso. If I could replicate something like that at home, without having to buy an espresso maker (my other option) that would be awesome.

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Maybe try an Aeropress instead of a pour over-- http://www.amazon.com/Aeropress-Coffee-and-Espresso-Maker/dp/B0047BIWSK

sc37 said:

Maybe try an Aeropress instead of a pour over-- http://www.amazon.com/Aeropress-Coffee-and-Espresso-Maker/dp/B0047BIWSK

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I thought about that too.

Turtle, I have descaled once, about 6 months ago. I will try it again and will also check the temp this week.

I use both an Aeropress and a Hario V60. I can get a good strong cup of coffee from both. Neither costs a lot of money (if you get the plastic Hario which is what I use.) Try both.

red zeppelin said:

Turtle, I have descaled once, about 6 months ago. I will try it again and will also check the temp this week.

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Technivorm is a pretty well respected brand of brewer. I've never owned one so I have no first hand knowledge or "tricks" to pass along.

General: Check the temp running straight water through the basket (no coffee, just the brew water). It "should" be over 190º and closer to 200-205º. Check the water temp mid brew when the basket and other parts have warmed up and are no longer cooling the brew water as it passes through.

I have a commercial Bunn automatic drip and the coffee it makes equals and even excels all of my drippers (Chemex, Hario, Melita, Kalita).

What about your coffee don't you like?

Are you using freshly roasted beans ground just before brewing?

What weight of beans are you using per brew and what is your water volume for that weight of beans?

red zeppelin said:

You have the same set up I would have after a pour over. My wife lovingly bought me the technivorm about 2 years ago, and while I like it, I don't get wowed by it versus other coffee makers, which could be something I am doing wrong also.

As far as personal tastes, I started on coffee by drinking espresso and my preference even now is for very strong coffee. In the past year or so I have switched almost entirely to Americano and that seems a good balance between coffee and espresso for me. The pour over I had at 21st street was as close as I have come to an americano without making espresso. If I could replicate something like that at home, without having to buy an espresso maker (my other option) that would be awesome.

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I enjoy the coffee I get out of my Technivorm, and certainly like the speed in which it brews 8 cups every AM, but not sure if I am blown away either. I'd imagine I could refine the grind I use, but I'm not sure the "quality delta" would be so great to warrant a bunch of trial and error with it. I'm probably due to descale mine myself and ought to check the temperature.

With my Melitta, I use a Cuisinart electric kettle with a "french press" setting, that is supposed to be 200 deg. Checking it the other day, it was more like 195, but still good for coffee.

As usual, the biggest factor I've found is the beans. I'm using a local roaster now that is just excellent IMO. I'd love to try some of his other blends, but I like my "go-to" so much it is hard to stray.

red zeppelin said:

You have the same set up I would have after a pour over. My wife lovingly bought me the technivorm about 2 years ago, and while I like it, I don't get wowed by it versus other coffee makers, which could be something I am doing wrong also.

As far as personal tastes, I started on coffee by drinking espresso and my preference even now is for very strong coffee. In the past year or so I have switched almost entirely to Americano and that seems a good balance between coffee and espresso for me. The pour over I had at 21st street was as close as I have come to an americano without making espresso. If I could replicate something like that at home, without having to buy an espresso maker (my other option) that would be awesome.

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I also don't have a Technivorm, but have read that some people like to stir the coffee in the filter basket after the initial infusion, as if the shower head in the brewer does not properly wet all the grounds. But I also suspect some people are trying to be a perfectionist, and I hesitate to lay blame where it does not exist.

If you are looking for Americano taste without the hassle of an Espresso machine I think a moka pot or a pour-over or Aeropress with a stainless steel filter will get you closer. (But will it be close enough?)

Technivorm, Bonavita, old Melitta/Gevalia BCM-4's, or older coffee makers with a hot water pipe isolated from the cool brew water will make a decent cup similar to a pour over. Getting the grind and dose right is the key.