Pour-Over for One: Equipment, Techniques, and Advice

[JoNorvelleWalker]

A friend gave me a tea bag.  How every good story should begin.  And so, down the rabbit hole...

 

Her kind tea bag and the current sales led me to order a Fellow Stagg EKG Pro Studio kettle -- since I couldn't see employing my priceless, high maintenance iron tetsubin for herbal tea.  I must say, the Stagg is rather nice.  Which got me thinking.

 

I have not been a regular coffee drinker for years.  And I hate bad coffee.  My first coffee experience was with my high school Latin class at a Greek restaurant.  At home I was not permitted coffee, but occasionally I could sneak out to a brew to order vending machine that actually was pretty good.

 

In college I eventually kicked the caffeine habit.  Until one night I was assigned to provide coffee for an evening genetics class.  Not to do things halfway,  I went out and purchased some half decent beans, the best that I could find.  Of course I had to try some.  Good coffee I enjoy.

 

Over the years since I've gone through instant coffee, which I despise.  I've tried a plastic Melitta filter, a French press, even an espresso machine which once sat where my Ninja Creami resides now.  I never could achieve potable coffee with any regularity.  I have no use for drip machines, percolators, that sort of thing.

 

However since I now have the Stagg kettle in house, I have made a commitment to pour over.  I poured over (sorry) ancient eGullet threads and googled much opinion.  But I need sound advice.  Please, in this topic let's not discuss, compare, or contrast other types of coffee making.

 

 

In addition to the new Stagg kettle and my trusty scales I have the following accouterments on order:

 

Bodum 11592-109 pot (couldn't afford Chemex)

TIMEMORE Manual Coffee Grinder Chestnut ESP Pro

Chemex paper filters

Wablade Japanese ceramic filter

 

In the past @weinoo has mentioned George Howell as bean purveyor.  I have three bags for delivery tomorrow:

BOA VISTA

GUADALUPE MIRAMAR

DOTA

 

These are all light roasts which George Howell recommends for pour over.

 

 

Things with which I need help:

 

How hot the water (which tastes better in Celsius)?

How fine or coarse the grind?

Ratio weight of beans to water?

How long to brew, which I believe comes down to how slowly to add water?

 

 

I'd love advice on best beans and best filters:  the Wablade ceramic filter was something new I saw today.  I'm not thrilled by the Bodum metal and plastic filter.  I'm sure there are more questions than I've thought of.  But, no, @rotuts, I have no space in the bathroom for a coffee roaster.

 

Thanks in advance.

 

[blue_dolphin]

No mention of the water source?

[donk79]

My recipe (using a hario v60) 

 

15 grams of coffee,  ground medium/fine

Water at 100C, or close

 

Enough water to wet the grounds (20 to 30 grams)

 

Wait 1 minute

 

Over the course of 1 minute, add 250 grams of water.

 

Let drip/brew for 90 to 100 seconds. 

 

Remove the brewer and allow to drain into another cup.   This latter portion often has flavors I don't prefer. 

 

 

[JoNorvelleWalker]

29 minutes ago, blue_dolphin said:

No mention of the water source?

 

Good question.  The source is the Millstone river by way of a Mavea water filter.  Of course I could go down to the creek.

 

[rotuts]

Coffee is the ultimate personal beverage.  

 

you can control a lot of the process

 

start w the coffee itself .   try this and that and decide what you like.

 

then move back one step and consider what you are drinking it out of .

 

if you are after a caffeine kick , that won't matter much.

 

where are you going to get decent roasted beans , w good variety to sample

 

so you then know what you really like , independent of the Boola-Boola ?

 

trader joes has a decent variety , decently packed so Id start there 

 

and not over priced .  

 

no Tj's near you ?  become a bit problematic .

 

any roasters locally ?    if not , then you enter the mail order swamp of Hocus-Locus 

 

hopefully you will find what you really like in your cup eventually

 

at an affordable price. 

 

personally I don't care for lighter roasts , thats just me.  they taste dusty to me.

 

spend you energy early on on different bean types , and go from there.

 

the roasted beans matter the most .

 

 

[Katie Meadow]

15 hours ago, JoNorvelleWalker said:

 

Good question.  The source is the Millstone river by way of a Mavea water filter.  Of course I could go down to the creek.

 

Talk about putting coffee back on the front burner. Jo, you are the Original Pioneer. Rig up some kind of pulley system from your kitchen window so you don't have to go down to the creek every morning. I'll be on the east coast in May and will stop by for a cup of...Jo!. By then you should be able to make it in your sleep. Then when you wake up, you'll have perfect coffee with lovely curls of steam rising from the cup. 

[JoNorvelleWalker]

5 hours ago, rotuts said:

Coffee is the ultimate personal beverage.  

 

you can control a lot of the process

 

start w the coffee itself .   try this and that and decide what you like.

 

then move back one step and consider what you are drinking it out of .

 

if you are after a caffeine kick , that won't matter much.

 

where are you going to get decent roasted beans , w good variety to sample

 

so you then know what you really like , independent of the Boola-Boola ?

 

trader joes has a decent variety , decently packed so Id start there 

 

and not over priced .  

 

no Tj's near you ?  become a bit problematic .

 

any roasters locally ?    if not , then you enter the mail order swamp of Hocus-Locus 

 

hopefully you will find what you really like in your cup eventually

 

at an affordable price. 

 

personally I don't care for lighter roasts , thats just me.  they taste dusty to me.

 

spend you energy early on on different bean types , and go from there.

 

the roasted beans matter the most .

 

 

 

There are at least two bean roasters in Princeton, the town south of me.  Even though they are fairly close it would be difficult for me to get there.  Used to be walking distance when I was younger and in better health.  @weinoo had said good things about beans from George Howell.  If the George Howell beans are bad I can blame @weinoo.  There is a Trader Joe's on the highway south of Princeton but I have never been there.

 

Speaking of beans, what is the best way to keep them fresh?  Freezing?  Vacuum sealing?  I forgot to put that in my list of questions.

 

[blue_dolphin]

15 minutes ago, JoNorvelleWalker said:

Speaking of beans, what is the best way to keep them fresh?  Freezing?  Vacuum sealing?  I forgot to put that in my list of questions.

 

The beans should be fine for several weeks at room temp, in a closed container that's either opaque or kept in the dark. 

You can freeze for long term storage but you don't want to be pulling them in and out and getting condensation on them so vacuum seal them in portions that you'll use up in 2-3 weeks. Then let each pack come to room temp before opening. 

[lindag]

I use a pour over method (sort of) with this where I steep my coffee.

I get my beans here here.

Very highly rated.  You can also buy directly from them; some maintain that they're fresher that way.  I love the coffee and have been buying it for a long time.

I use the Fellowes burr grinder which I love.

[weinoo]

3 hours ago, JoNorvelleWalker said:

 

There are at least two bean roasters in Princeton, the town south of me.  Even though they are fairly close it would be difficult for me to get there.  Used to be walking distance when I was younger and in better health.  @weinoo had said good things about beans from George Howell.  If the George Howell beans are bad I can blame @weinoo.  There is a Trader Joe's on the highway south of Princeton but I have never been there.

 

Speaking of beans, what is the best way to keep them fresh?  Freezing?  Vacuum sealing?  I forgot to put that in my list of questions.

 

 

You can blame me, but they won't be bad.

 

We just returned from two weeks in Europe; I brought one of my pourover units with me, and it's the perfect size for single bev...

Kalitta Wave. (eG-friendly Amazon.com link)

 

AT home, I usually use a V60 as well.

 

A few other thoughts...

 

1. I tore my rotator cuff on a trip to Italy 10 years ago, using a hand grinder and making coffee for 4 people.

 

2. I've been brewing at 205℉ with Howell light roasted beans.

 

3.  

19 hours ago, donk79 said:

15 grams of coffee,  ground medium/fine

Water at 100C, or close

 

Enough water to wet the grounds (20 to 30 grams)

 

Wait 1 minute

 

Over the course of 1 minute, add 250 grams of water.

 

I don't think that's enough coffee for that much water, but that's personal preference.  I go for around a 1:15 ratio of coffee to water. YMMV.

 

4. For storage, I like these...from tightvac.com

 

 

2 weeks is probably optimal for storage, pushing it to 3 is fine, I'm sure.  With Howell, I always aim for free shipping, and with the price of coffee these days, that's easy enough.

 

Don't refrigerate or put in freezer to use on a daily basis. Condensation will fuck up the beans. However, I sometimes take 1/4 lb. of beans, vacuum seal them and freeze that for emergency use, in case my inventory control doesn't work out perfectly.

 

If you find the light roast is not to your liking, they do a medium roast on any number of their beans as well.

[JoNorvelleWalker]

6 hours ago, lindag said:

I use a pour over method (sort of) with this where I steep my coffee.

I get my beans here here.

Very highly rated.  You can also buy directly from them; some maintain that they're fresher that way.  I love the coffee and have been buying it for a long time.

I use the Fellowes burr grinder which I love.

 

That coffee looks like scary stuff!

 

[Deephaven]

15g coffee, 250g just under boiling water, medium-fine grind.

 

50g bloom - lightly swirl -> then bloom

50g more at 0:45 sec

50g more at 1:15

50g more at 1:30

50g more at 1:45

2m - light swirl

Goal with the grind is to have it "empty" at 3m, but not much earlier.

 

Basically same as above, but I stretch the pour over time a bit.

 

As for storage, vacuum canister for sure.  If not, you have a couple weeks best from the roast date.  The less air the more you can stretch that.

[weinoo]

It's nice to use a scale, I suppose, when first starting out with your ( @JoNorvelleWalker ) new coffee adventures...you know, to set some parameters. ( I always use it to weight the beans, however).

 

For me, I figure that after 40 or 50 years of making pour over coffees, I can do without. And I don't need a timer, either. And no one is any the wiser.

Edited November 29, 2023 by weinoo
To add when I use scale. (log)

[Deephaven]

I have a real cheap Chinese scale with a built in timer.  Being I weigh beans before grinding it is already out so using it is easy.

 

I mostly drink espresso drinks though which the scale is super critical for.

[JoNorvelleWalker]

Made my first cup, using Boa Vista beans:

 

Beans 15g

Water 225g

Water Temperature 96C

Bodum pot, Chemex filter.

Total time about 4 minutes.

 

Smell is great.  Flavor not everything I had hoped for.  I would describe the taste as somewhat sour.  I have read it is almost impossible to prepare a single cup of decent coffee using a Chemex filter.  Maybe there is some truth to that?

 

Another observation:  it is more difficult to grind coffee manually than I thought!

 

Suggestions on parameters for next time, please.

 

[blue_dolphin]

If you are or were accustomed to darker roasts, it’s not surprising that the more acidic and fruity flavors of lighter roasts give a sour taste. That was my response when I first tasted some but I’ve gotten to like it. Maybe you will, too, or maybe you'd prefer medium or dark roasts. 
 

I use an Aeropress rather than a Bodum pot so it’s not directly applicable but I use 20g coffee with 225g water.   

[Deephaven]

I would grind coarser and get it closer to 3 min overall.  See what that does.  If that doesn't take enough of the bite off lower your water temperature a few degrees.  Those are what I do for espresso but would assume it correlates with pour over.  I like a pour over as well, but have my roast and time dialed so that I don't have a bunch of variation to chase.  I am using 83mm burrs though which also help with the lighter roasts.

[Duvel]

I now feel somewhat inferior for just pressing a button …

 

[weinoo]

11 hours ago, JoNorvelleWalker said:

Another observation:  it is more difficult to grind coffee manually than I thought!

 

This I might have cryptically mentioned:

 

On 11/28/2023 at 4:21 PM, weinoo said:

I tore my rotator cuff on a trip to Italy 10 years ago, using a hand grinder and making coffee for 4 people.

 

Your temperature sounds about right to me.  You did run hot water through the filter before you used it?

 

And, as @blue_dolphin mentions, it may just be that you're not used to that flavor profile...I actually find even the medium roasts too roast-y for me, at this point.

[weinoo]

57 minutes ago, Duvel said:

I now feel somewhat inferior for just pressing a button …

 

 

You have a lot of other things to take care of in your life, @Duvel!

 

When that auto coffee maker gives up the ghost, try a Techni Vorm...

 

 

It looks so much cooler!

[lindag]

Yeah, I used to have one and it made really great coffee.

Had to give it up when I started making coffee for just myself.

But I prefer the model with the thermal carafe.

[donk79]

Jumping to pourover and light roasts at the same time is a pretty big leap.  I was using an aereopress when my tastes shifted to lighter roasts.  Then I personally found that pourover brought out more of the flavors I  preferred in the light roasts (mainly fruity sweeter flavors).

 

That said, my first pourover device was a Kalita wave.  I find it to be more forgiving than the V60, and produces a cup with rounder more dark chocolate flavors than the sharper flavors from a Chemex or V60.  I still go back to it occasionally when I have a coffee where I just can't get the V60 to make a cup I like.

[rotuts]

Technivorm  usually wins the highest ratings for Auto-Drip systems

 

as its water temp for the brewing is higher than others ,, 

 

and at the correct temp for proper extraction.

 

as previously mentioned , it is also the best looking .

 

get the version w the insulated carafe 

 

 

Edited December 3, 2023 by rotuts (log)

[JoNorvelleWalker]

7 hours ago, weinoo said:

 

This I might have cryptically mentioned:

 

 

Your temperature sounds about right to me.  You did run hot water through the filter before you used it?

 

And, as @blue_dolphin mentions, it may just be that you're not used to that flavor profile...I actually find even the medium roasts too roast-y for me, at this point.

 

It would have been kinder to have mentioned before I got the grinder.  Yes, I did wet the filter before I used it.

 

[weinoo]

50 minutes ago, JoNorvelleWalker said:

 

It would have been kinder to have mentioned before I got the grinder.  Yes, I did wet the filter before I used it.

 

 

Apparently, you'd already ordered the grinder before you asked only this:

 

Quote

 

Things with which I need help:

 

How hot the water (which tastes better in Celsius)?

How fine or coarse the grind?

Ratio weight of beans to water?

How long to brew, which I believe comes down to how slowly to add water?