Pour over coffee is a growing trend in America, with more and more different pour over apparatuses entering the market and new and exciting methods of brewing it becoming active all the time. Many different professionals have different ways that they use pour over devices to brew a great extraction, and when learning how to make pour over coffee yourself it is a great idea to pay close attention to all of the different methods. Like in this article for instance, where one barista is trying another’s method – stepping outside of your comfort zone is critical to mastery.
Differences Between Methods
- One of the most common methods of using a pour over apparatus is to fill the cone with hot water and then stir it consistently with a spoon. The concept behind this model of brewing is that the water is fully mixed with the coffee grounds allowing for what is called a ‘full extraction’. Because of this you will get a greater and more well rounded flavor profile from the coffee grounds – but it isn’t necessarily the best method. Stirring the grounds then reduces the likelihood of over extraction some grounds while leaving other ones under optimized.
- On the other hand there are methods that don’t immediately fully immerse the coffee grounds – methods like this are typically less inclined for the newer practitioners of the pour over method, however they should not be disregarded. In one such method the water is poured in a circular motion over the coffee until the cup is full. In this method there isn’t any stirring of the grounds, instead it is generally accepted that because of the slow circular motions of the pour it will get a thorough extraction without stirring the grounds. At first, this definitely seems counter intuitive, but because the grounds are going to rise anyway when they meet with water this method still allows for a nice even extraction.
As with everything, there are many ways to make pour over coffee, and they can offer different flavor profiles and different levels of simplicity. It is best to try lots of different ways of brewing to find out what you like the best.
