How to Make Pour Over Coffee the Simple Way

Inside: The best way I know to start the morning–pour-over coffee. Never heard of it? I’ll give you a crash course in how to make pour-over coffee the simple way.

So a couple of years ago the Hubmeister comes home with this odd-looking black plastic funnel thingie and cone-shaped filters. He’d been to the high-end grocery store near his work and caught a demo for something he called “pour-over coffee,” which inspired his impulse buy.

“You got to try this,” he said. He then measured out the hot water from our Keurig and showed me how the lady at the store had made him a most memorable cup of coffee.

I observed.

“What’s the point?” I asked. I’m always about simple.

“It’s supposed to be less bitter.” He handed me the cup.

I doctored it up my way, adding creamer, and took a sip. It actually did taste less bitter to me than my normal coffee pod method. And more robust somehow.

I was hooked.

That was several years ago. Since then we’ve switched over to this method to make our coffee and purchased a ceramic pour-over coffee brewer to accommodate a larger cup. Here’s how we do our daily grind.

Gather:

Coffee of choice (current fave is Dunkin’ Donuts Pumpkin Spice)
a #4 cone coffee filter
a pour-over coffee brewer (also called dripper)
coffee fixings–cream, sugar or sweetener, creamer, etc.

Line the brewer with a coffee filter.
Measure the amount of coffee you want to make an 8 – 12 ounce cup and place inside the filter.
Heat water to desired temperature (we do this in our Keurig).
Measure water for desired size cup and pour only enough water to moisten the coffee grounds.
Let this “bloom” for 30 – 45 seconds before adding remaining water.
When water has drained through grounds, remove brewer, add your favorite creamer, and enjoy.

Admittedly, after going through the process, the coffee is then not quite as hot as I like, so I microwave it 30 seconds. Also of note: Some people swear by adding the remaining water in a swirling pattern from a kettle with a long, thin spout. My measuring cup has this, and I’ve tried it and found no difference at all between just pouring in the remaining water and adding it in a swirling pattern.

While this might seem to be a fussy method for making coffee, I like the simplicity of the humble little brewer. It’s inexpensive, and I do find this method enhances the taste. I also only want to make one cup at a time. If I made an entire pot, I’d feel like I had to drink all of it–not a good idea.

I also prefer this to the pods or K-cups, which are quite expensive. Plus I find the pods are just not strong enough for me anymore. Interestingly I had some K-cups the other day and ran my own taste test using the K-cups for one cup and then emptying the contents of another K-cup into my pour-over brewer. The pour-over method produced a more flavorful cup of coffee.

One more perk: This week as I’m on vacation in Maryland, I was able to easily bring along our brewer and enjoy pour-over coffee here in beautiful Deep Creek, Maryland. What a treat!

Have you tried pour-over coffee? Tell me about it in the comments.

2 Responses

calensariel

October 20, 2017 |

Yep. We have a Melitta coffee set. Have had it for years. Kind of gave us using it when our son bought a Keurig and brought it home. But you’re right. It’s far less expensive to use and does have a different taste.
- amy@amyharkemoore.com
  
  October 21, 2017 |
  
  I understand. 🙂 The lure of the Keurig is strong! Very convenient. Especially when one is in a hurry or feeling lazy.