Chemex/ Hario V60/ Kalita Wave
Pour-over coffee starts with (freshly) ground coffee, a filter, and a filter holder, often called a 'pour-over dripper.' At the most basic level, pour-over brewing involves pouring water over and through the grounds to extract the coffee flavors into your cup or serving vessel. Seems simple, right? But let's get a few levels deeper!
All coffee brewing methods involve the same three general phases: wetting, dissolution, and diffusion. Each phase is linked to the others, and they affect what comes next in some important ways.
Step 1: The Prep
Fill your kettle with clean water (that you would drink) and set to boil.
Open and fold your filter into a cone shape and place it in your brewing device. Rinse with hot water (we suggest about 205°F) and discard water. This will help keep the brewer warm.
Step 2: The Grind (Coarse)
The best coffee is made when ground just before brewing.
Freshly ground coffee begins to oxidize and age immediately -- timing is key.
Choosing the right grind is equally important.
For Chemex/V60/Hario we recommend coarse grind.
Finally, the amount we suggest uses the 1:17 "perfect" ration of coffee to water.
This means 22 grams of coffee to 340 grams of water.
If you want your coffee a little bit stronger, we recommend our personal morning ratio of 1 oz. coffee to 12 oz. water.
Step 3: The Pour
Once your water is boiled, coffee is ground, weighed, and placed in your filter -- the first pour begins. Pour about 30% of your water very slowly in spirals, a method we call "the bloom" which helps evenly saturate the coffee grounds and extract maximum flavor. This first pour should take about 30-45 seconds.
After about a minute, pour in the remaining water slowly in a spiral pattern, beginning from the center to the outer perimeter of the coffee grounds before returning to the center again.
Do not pour directly on the filter above the coffee.
Once the water disappears from above the grounds, your brew is ready.
Enjoy hot and let us know how it tastes!
Cheat Sheet
• 1:17 "perfect" ratio of coffee to water. = 1 oz. of coffee to 12 oz. of water
• Use clean water that you would drink!
• Use water that is 205°F
• First pour (the bloom) is 30-45 seconds, spiral pattern.
• Second pour is 1 minute, spiral pattern.