On Coffee Rituals and the Pour Over Method

by Chia Yulo May 05, 2015

Gone are the days when one opens up a packet of three-in-one and haphazardly pours out the contents in the styrofoam cup. It seems like everyone is getting a little bit more serious about their coffee lately. There are specialty coffee shops popping up left and right, and people are grinding their own beans and brewing their morning cup of joe at home.

Now, a disclaimer: I usually just pop a capsule in my coffee machine and go. It makes good coffee fast which perfect for me since I'm always rushing. There is, however, something to be said about putting in the time and effort in knowing your coffee from start to finish. My Dad, for one, has this whole morning ritual hand grinding carefully chosen beans just enough for his one cup. He likes making it the old-fashioned way he's used to growing up in the farm and adds only native sugar and the tiniest splash of milk. The whole process takes at least twenty minutes.

For someone like me, it can get overwhelming with all the complicated looking products out there. But as a budding coffee enthusiast, I am determined to understand and simplify what looks to be intimidating. I asked our Purveyor-of-Home, Mariel for tips on how to make coffee in one of the more interesting ways, the Pour Over Method using the V60 Coffee Dripper.

Design

The V60 is a cone-shaped dripper with spiral ridges along the inner wall and a single, large opening at the bottom. This design keeps the filter from sticking to the walls of the cone, encouraging extraction at the bottom and sides of of the filter.

Grind

We generally recommend a grind setting between fine and medium.

What you will need for V60 Pour Over Method

Technique

Step 1 : Open a V60 paper filter and place in the V60 Coffee Dripper.
Rinse the filter using hot water to avoid any paper-like taste. Discard water after.

Step 2 : Add ground coffee.
Even out the grounds by gently shaking the filter.

Step 3 : Using your kettle, pour boiling water into the center of the bed enough to wet all the ground coffee.
This process is called "Bloom". It saturates the grounds without any water dripping through the filter.
Wait 30 seconds.
Continue pouring slowly, starting in the center and moving in and out in concentric circles keeping the coffee dripper 2/3 full.

Step 4 : Once the brew has completely passed through the V60 Coffee Dripper to the server, pour into your coffee mug.

Advantage

V60 filters are thinner than any other paper pour over filters, and this is a big plus. While we still recommend rinsing these filters, they impart minimal paper taste — if any at all. The unique design of the V60 yields some of the best coffee we’ve ever had. When one pours carefully, the spiral ridges on the V60 facilitate a more even extraction than other cone-shaped brewers, which tend to over-extract at the bottom. And with the glass or plastic V60 you can watch the entire brewing process.

We especially enjoy using the V60 with bright, fruity, and floral coffees. Generally, coffees from Kenya, Costa Rica, El Salvador, and Guatemala taste their best when brewed with this method.