How to make pour-over coffee

What you need

• A dripper and paper filter, such as the Fellow Stagg pour-over set.
• A gooseneck kettle for a slow, precise pour, like the Fellow Stagg EKG Pro.
• A kitchen scale, 15 g of filter-ground coffee and 250 ml of water.

Step by step

1. Heat the water to 92–96°C. No thermometer? Boil it and wait about 30 seconds.
2. Rinse the filter with hot water. It removes the paper taste and warms the dripper. Discard the rinse water.
3. Add the coffee and level it with a gentle shake.
4. Bloom: pour about 40 ml of water, just enough to wet all the coffee, and wait 30–45 seconds. Fresh coffee releases gas and puffs up, which is a good sign.
5. Keep pouring in slow circles from the centre outwards, in two or three stages, up to 250 ml.
6. Let it drain. The whole brew should take about 2:30–3:30 minutes.

Dialling in the taste

• Sour, weak or watery? The coffee is under-extracted. Grind finer or brew a little longer.
• Bitter, dry or heavy? It's over-extracted. Grind coarser.
• Want a stronger cup? Use more coffee (say 1:15) rather than grinding finer.

Which coffee for pour-over

Light and light-medium roasts show all their flavour in a pour-over. Try the fruity Ethiopia Guji, the floral Ethiopia Yirgacheffe, Kenya, Costa Rica or Colombia.

Rather let a machine do the work? The Fellow Aiden is a filter brewer where you set the temperature and brew profile, for a single cup or a full carafe.

Common mistakes

• Skipping the bloom – the gas in fresh coffee pushes the water away and the brew comes out uneven.
• Pouring too fast or onto the filter walls – the water bypasses the coffee and the cup turns out weak.
• Boiling water on a dark roast – it pulls out bitterness. For dark roasts, 90–92°C is better.
• Measuring with spoons – a spoon of light roast and a spoon of dark roast weigh differently. A scale gives you a cup you can repeat.

Frequently asked questions

How much coffee for one cup of pour-over?

15 g of coffee to 250 ml of water, a 1:16 ratio. For a 500 ml carafe use 30–32 g.

What's the difference between a V60 and a Chemex?

Both are pour-over drippers. The V60 uses a thin filter and flows fast, giving a cup with more body and bolder flavours. The Chemex uses a thicker filter, giving a cleaner, lighter cup.

Do I really need a gooseneck kettle?

Not strictly, but it makes a slow, precise pour easy, and that's what gives an even cup. With a regular kettle you can manage if you pour very slowly.

Why doesn't my coffee bloom?

Coffee that was roasted or ground a long time ago has already released most of its gas. Fresh coffee ground just before brewing blooms nicely.