Pour Over Coffee: Making the Perfect Cup

Pour Over Coffee has quickly grown in popularity, with many using it as their preferred brewing method. Today, we'd like to share with you the history of the technique, as well as offer some personal advice in order to get you ready to perfect your morning coffee!

Pour Over coffee was first discovered by german housewife and entrepreneur Melitta Bentz. Searching for a better, clean way to make coffee, Bentz is largely attributed to creating the first pour over filtering system in 1908. This article by the Melitta company, one of the world's leading coffee filter brands, provides a timeline of events marking the evolution of the pour over.

Because pour over has a longer preparation time, the coffee itself tends to be able to pick up more flavor profiles than your standard brew. Many people prefer pour over for its rich, strong coffee taste. Pour Over's taste can be altered simply by the ingredients used to make it; we recommend fresh coffee beans if possible, and filtered water if available.

1. The first step is determining your coffee to water ratio. (This is where that optional scale may come in handy!) Most baristas recommend a water to coffee ratio of 16:1 as a general rule of thumb, but depending on your selected beans or overall taste preference you may have to alter your measurements through trial and error. For a single cup of coffee, we'd recommend using about 20 grams of coffee beans and 320 grams of water (following the 16:1 rule).

2. Once figuring out your ingredients, begin by boiling the water in your kettle. As you're waiting, place your coffee filter into your pour over set. (A great tip is to pour a little hot water on the filter to slightly dampen it before adding your beans, which can reduce chances of the filter altering taste.)

3. Once your water is finished boiling, pour just enough to fully submerge your ground coffee beans; this allows them to "bloom" and extract more flavor. Wait roughly 30 seconds before adding the rest of your water.

4. As you add the remaining water, make sure to pour over your coffee beans in small circular motions, trying to evenly distribute the water. After the water has fully sept through your beans into the pot, you're ready to serve! Feel free to add your favorite milk or flavoring and enjoy your freshly crafter brew. :)

This video by Minimalist Baker is also a great resource for visual learners! :

Shop our Glass Pastel Pour Over Set