The pourover is generally the most commonly used brew method for people who like medium or light roasted coffees. It operates on the principle of percolation(as opposed to immersion à la the French press).
It can also be a little finicky and frustrating for beginners especially to get right, so here is a guide to get you started.
This is how we brew a pourover at Kāpikottai HQ, for all of our coffees (the only change across roasts being brew temperature):
Specifics:
Coffee dose : 18g
Water dose : 300g
Water temp :
- 95 degrees C for light and medium roasts
- 88 degrees C for dark roasts
Grind size : On the finer end of medium
Brewer : the V60 by Hario( any conical brewer will do)
Method :
1) Rinse your filter( cloth or paper) thoroughly with hot water.
2) Add the coffee, level the grounds and create a little well in the middle (helps with blooming)
3) Bloom with 36 g water for 30 sec. We like to swirl our slurry (coffee and water mixture) but that’s optional
4) Begin pouring in concentric circles, starting in the middle and moving outwards. This helps to agitate the bed of coffee and helps with
extraction.
5) Aim to get 180g of water in the brewer(including bloom weight) by 1 min 15 sec (including 30 sec bloom time).
6) Aim to get the full quota of 300g of water in the brewer by 1 min 45 sec.
7) lift the brewer up, give it a good swirl and set it back on the carafe(or mug). This helps settle the coffee grounds into a flat bed, preventing any channeling*.
* Channeling = uneven movement of water that causes good coffee to taste bad
8) Brew should end by 3 min (tops 3 min 15 sec). Stir the coffee well and enjoy!