Pour Over Coffee

Is freshness just for spring days? Should perfect balance be kept for yoga? Nope! Pour over coffee is clear, crisp, and so balanced it’s zen.

Sounds like the Yin to my Yang. Tell me more!

Pour over coffee is a way of manually brewing drip coffee. There are several different types of pour over devices, with a V60 and Chemex being the most popular, but the basic idea remains the same throughout. We’ve got Isaac Newton to thank for this brew method – it’s all down to gravity working her magic! Simply pop your grounds in the vessel and pour over hot water (you can see where the name comes from now). Then, watch as gravity pulls the water through the grounds and filter paper and into your mug below. It’s the happiest little trickle you will ever see.

Pour over coffee came to the fore in 1908, when Melitta Bentz gave coffee brewing an upgrade with filter papers. The dripper-and-filter combo soon became popular and saw coffee drinkers wave goodbye to the percolator device they’d been using for years.

Pour over – it doesn’t look much

Yes, we know, the V60 Coffee Dripper doesn’t look like a superstar. We’d forgive you for thinking it’s a plastic camping cup. The Chemex looks more swish but, again, not a bit like a brew device. A nice vase to display your flowers in, perhaps?

Buuut, hold your horses. Despite their slightly unusual shapes, both the V60 and Chemex brew coffee that’s First Class Awesome. The method is easy to grasp and adaptable, making that stuff-of-dreams coffee simple to achieve!

Get those taste buds ready!

Pour over coffee is lush, just gotta say it. The pour over method creates a technicolour brew that brings out every smidgen of flavour in the beans. This is why speciality coffee cafes love it so much – it’s the best way to taste good quality coffee to the fullest. Coffee brewed in a pour over device has a harmonious taste that’s got a good balance between acidity and sweetness. The finished brew will have an irresistible smooth texture, too: one that’s light, crisp and clean.

Bear in mind that the Chemex and V60 are cousins rather than twins; although they are both from the pour over family, the brews they create are slightly different. Why? It’s all down to the filter papers. The filter papers you put in your Chemex are slightly thicker, which means they absorb more of the coffee oil as the brew drips down into your mug. This creates a taste and texture which feels a touch lighter when you sip. A V60 coffee isn’t heavy in any sense, but the finer filter papers do brew a coffee with a bit more mouthfeel. Perfect if you’re after a clear cup with body and texture.

What kind of grind do I use?

Grinding is the bread-and-butter of coffee brewing. Get the grind wrong, and your coffee won’t taste great. Luckily, we make it easy to put the perfect grind in your cup. As well as roasting and posting whole beans, we offer a range of five grind sizes to make sure you’ve got the best grounds for every device. We only use a burr grinder for all our Two Chimps coffees, which keeps away unevenly sized grounds (this is often the case with coffee ground in a blade grinder) and helps you on your way to a regular, even brew.

Pour overs like coffee that’s ground quite coarsely. If your grounds feel like rough sugar – we’re thinking mid-way between granulated sugar and demerara – then you’re on the money! Feel free to experiment, of course, but just remember that the texture of your grounds affects the extraction. Grounds that are too coarse will let the water trickle through too quickly, causing your coffee to under-extract. The opposite will occur if your grounds are dusty and fine: the water and coffee will steep together for too long, and the coffee will over-extract.

But don’t worry, the odd mistake isn’t a disaster and adapting your pour over brew is easy!

Measure treasure

Versatility is one of the reasons why we love pour overs: it’s really easy to brew the exact amount of coffee you need. So, whether you are brewing coffee pour moi or catering for a crowd, you can tailor the brew to suit. This reduces waste, too, which we always like!

If you are just looking to brew a special single cup, we suggest a starting ratio of 20g (3 heaped tablespoons) of coffee, along with 320ml of water. Treating friends? Aren’t you kind! 45g (8 heaped tablespoons) of coffee and 750ml of water will make three-four cups of delicious pour over coffee. If you prefer your coffee with a bit more strength, try upping the amount of coffee or extending the brew time. To do this, just pour your water over your coffee grounds at a steadier pace. Get experimenting – it’s time to bring out your inner barista!

Take a trip to our filter brew guide for all the brewing basics!

Light or dark: which coffee tastes best?

We run an ethical coffee company and not a military camp, so we don’t get bossy about our coffees. We’ll always advise on which brew device to use for a great-tasting cup but leave the final decision up to you. Because teamwork makes a dream work, right?

Here are a few coffees to get you started with pour over brewing. They all err towards the lighter side of the roasting spectrum, so taste bright and fruity and oh-so-fresh. Lighter roasted beans are suited to a V60 or Chemex because they are less porous than dark roasts. Hence, they take a few more minutes to extract. Pressure devices aren’t always ideal for light roasts because they speed up the extraction, while your pour over device gives it plenty of time to steep and extract.

What’s more, light roast coffees are often brimming with beautiful intricacies. This makes pour over perfect as it gives every tasting note time to shine!

Fancy a peek at our light roast line up? Well, it would be rude not to! Oodles of Ongles is a firm favourite at the roastery; we love its fresh, juicy taste and toffee-like conclusion. If it’s a decaf you’re after, try How many llamas did you say were in the phonebox? This light Ethiopian coffee mingles summer peaches with ripe mandarin sweetness. We also like to brew Have Faith in the Fairies in our pour over. This medium roast has a smooth, creamy profile that’s like a dribbly pool of melted chocolate…

Oh my, oh my, we can wait no longer! Head over to our shop to find everything you need for pour over perfection!

Let's go!