A Beginner’s Guide to Pour Over Coffee Brewing

If you talk to coffee lovers, most will agree on one thing: brewing pour over coffee is the best way to generate a great cup of coffee. 

If you’re not all that familiar with pour over coffee, but you love a good cup of Joe, you may be wondering if you can make it at home? If so, do you need the gooseneck kettle, scale, and special water warmer you’ve seen in the coffee shops? How can you guarantee a delicious cup every time?

In this blog, we’re providing a crash-course introduction to the art of pour over coffee. We’ll discuss what it is, why it’s unique, and how to get started making it at home.

Let’s dive in. 

What is Pour Over?

Pour over is a method of coffee brewing. While espresso takes finely-ground coffee, puts it under extreme pressure, and runs hot water through it to make a super-concentrated “shot,” pour over is a process that allows the brewer to control factors like strength and taste.

Here’s how it works:

You take medium-coarse ground coffee, put it into a paper filter, and set the paper filter into a dripper system. From there, you slowly pour hot water into the filter, allowing the coffee to “bloom” and then slowly drip into your cup. The result is a clean- and fresh-tasting cup of coffee. 

Why Does Pour Over Coffee Taste Different?

The value of pour over lies in the brewing method. Since the process of brewing pour over is more gradual than, say, using a K-cup or making coffee with an electric drip machine, the coffee it creates tends to have a more vibrant flavor. 

Because the water moves through the grounds slowly, it has more time to pull oils and flavors from the beans, and transfer all that roasty, full-bodied goodness into your cup. 

What do you Need to Brew Pour Over?

There are a few different ways to brew pour over coffee - some of them fancy and complicated and some a little more straightforward. If you go to a coffee shop to get a cup of pour over, for example, you’ll watch the barista measure the coffee and water on an ultra-precise food scale before putting the grounds into a special dripper and using an elegant gooseneck kettle to pour hot water into them. 

It’s fancy, sure, but do you really need all of that?

The answer, fortunately, is no.

The three basic elements of great pour over coffee are as follows:

• Ground coffee
• A coffee filter
• A pour over brewer

Here at Just Pour, we’ve created a single-serve coffee subscription service that takes those three basic elements, assembles them in an eco-friendly, reusable package, and sends them straight to your door.

How to Brew Pour Over Coffee

Next time you want a cup of pour over, follow these simple steps:

1. Grab your reusable dripper and set it over your favorite mug.
2. Open a pre-ground coffee filter packet.
3. Add hot water. Professional baristas do what’s known as “the bloom pour.” The bloom pour is meant to saturate all the grounds and ensure a more even extraction. To do this, pour about twice as much water as there is coffee into the filter and stir it gently. Allow the water to rest for 30-45 seconds. Once that’s done, pour the rest of your water in as normal. 
4. Add milk, cream, sugar, or whatever else you like in your coffee.
5. Enjoy!

The process of brewing pour over at home only takes a few minutes, and it’s easy to master with just a bit of practice. 

Make Your Own Perfect Pour Over With Just Pour

There’s no doubt about it: pour-over coffee is an art. Whether you’re a die-hard coffee connoisseur or just getting into the world of coffee, pour over brewing is the best way to create a clean, delicious, flavorful cup of coffee. 

If you’d like to start brewing your own pour over at home, Just Pour is here to help. We’ve taken the elegant, multi-step process of coffee shop baristas brewing pour over and made it into a convenient, streamlined, take-anywhere system.

Our reusable, durable pour over dripper fits virtually any cup, and is small enough to toss in your bag, while our pre-filled, freshly-ground coffee filters feature flavorful, ethically-sourced coffee from small scale farmers around the world. It’s an easy, streamlined way to get a delicious cup of pour over in just about two minutes. 

Whether you’re on the road, in the office, or in your own kitchen, Just Pour will help you master the art of pour over coffee, and take your caffeine game to the next level.

Find your perfect fit. Shop our subscription options now.