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

[JoNorvelleWalker]

2 hours ago, weinoo said:

 

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

 

 

 

Sorry, the grinder complaint was intended to be humorous.

 

 

Second batch, much better!  So far as to say good.  Same beans.  I increased the grind by three clicks (23 microns per click) and used a Japanese ceramic filter rather than the Chemex paper filter.  The pour was completed in three minutes.  Everything else the same.

 

After yesterday's cup I was afraid I had made a tragically expensive mistake in taking up a new obsession.  However now I see great promise.  Thanks, everyone for the suggestions.

 

 

The ceramic filter is this one:

(eG-friendly Amazon.com link)

 

[weinoo]

12 hours ago, JoNorvelleWalker said:

Sorry, the grinder complaint was intended to be humorous.

 

Sorry - I do get antsy/cranky on football Sundays!

[Deephaven]

IMO, it is well worth the effort/time/coffee expense to play with a bunch of variables back to back and taste them.  You will then quickly learn what you need to do in order to make your perfect cup.  ie, grind size/brew time and water temp.  Making 6 cups and comparing them will go a really long way.  As a first test I would do 3 grind sizes and then with the middle grind size use three different water temps.  None should net you the "best" coffee, but they will tell you the difference that is made when doing it.

[JoNorvelleWalker]

Trying to change only one variable at a time, tonight I used the metal and plastic filter that came with the Bodium pot.  There was still liquid left at three minutes so I let it drip an extra thirty seconds.  Probably a mistake.  The taste is kind of muddy with a note of sour.  Not as good as last night when I used the ceramic filter.

 

[JoNorvelleWalker]

Worse -- with the metal and plastic Bodum filter there is significant sediment and gunk left in the bottom of the cup.  I don't think I'll be using that filter again.  But if I do it will be with coarser grind.

 

[Deephaven]

Yeah, don't use those, lol.  V60 filters are cheap....and worth it.

[weinoo]

For quite some time now, I've only used the real deal V60s or Kalitta filters. I've tried any number of "alternative" filters to brew pour overs, none of which I find satisfactory.

 

 

[JoNorvelleWalker]

3 hours ago, weinoo said:

For quite some time now, I've only used the real deal V60s or Kalitta filters. I've tried any number of "alternative" filters to brew pour overs, none of which I find satisfactory.

 

 

 

I see the V60 filters come in at least three sizes, bleached or unbleached, tabbed (whatever that is) or untabbed.  If I were to try them which would you recommend?

 

[lindag]

I prefer these:

[weinoo]

1 hour ago, JoNorvelleWalker said:

 

I see the V60 filters come in at least three sizes, bleached or unbleached, tabbed (whatever that is) or untabbed.  If I were to try them which would you recommend?

 

 

1 hour ago, lindag said:

I prefer these:

 

 

Those won't necessarily fit in a V60.

 

@JoNorvelleWalker = you want the same size as your V60 dripper, no?  I buy bleached...and I've never had to choose between tabbed or untabbed...

 

 

Since this is my 10th package out of 10, time to reorder!  I don't pay more than $.04  or $.05 per filter.

[JoNorvelleWalker]

7 hours ago, weinoo said:

 

 

Those won't necessarily fit in a V60.

 

@JoNorvelleWalker = you want the same size as your V60 dripper, no?  I buy bleached...and I've never had to choose between tabbed or untabbed...

 

 

Since this is my 10th package out of 10, time to reorder!  I don't pay more than $.04  or $.05 per filter.

 

I do not have a V60 dripper.  I have Bodum.

[Deephaven]

I would spend the $3 on a v60 and get matching filters.

[weinoo]

9 hours ago, JoNorvelleWalker said:

 

I do not have a V60 dripper.  I have Bodum.

 

I can't keep up.

 

9 hours ago, Deephaven said:

I would spend the $3 on a v60 and get matching filters.

 

Yes.

[Deephaven]

(eG-friendly Amazon.com link)

 

It went up to $9 but will instantaneously improve your pour overs.  As an aside.  You can make one cup in a size 2, but not a 3.  For the price though if you usually do 1 I would get a 1.

[JoNorvelleWalker]

Experiments continue!

 

Since last I wrote I've acquired an Aspen pour over dripper:

(eG-friendly Amazon.com link)

 

It looks like the Aspen is similar to, if not identical with, a more expensive product Fellow offers:

(eG-friendly Amazon.com link)

 

I wasn't sure what to expect with the Aspen but keeping all other variables the same I thought the Aspen coffee was more than good.  Better than the quite satisfactory result I obtained from the Japanese ceramic filter.  And with much less mess and clean up.  (Though I'm still pleased with the oilier coffee I got from the ceramic filter.)

 

The next day I brewed I forgot to put the pitcher on the scale to weigh the water as I was pouring it over the grounds.  The result was less water, even better coffee, and much stronger.

 

I'm delighted with my little Aspen and I gave it a correspondingly exuberant Amazon review.  The Aspen accepts Kalita 155 paper filters, which are not all that expensive.

 

[weinoo]

Anyone who pays $70 for that ellow pour-over dripper is insane.

 

And the Aspen, at $45, is borderline, but if it makes you happy, that saves you money for the psychotropic drugs you'd otherwise need.

[Deephaven]

The $9 Hario is world's better than the Aspen.  I'd return it and buy what we recommended.  The shape is all wrong on the aspen.  Don't "upgrade" to the ceramic Hario either as it is way harder to manage thermally

[lindag]

@JoNorvelleWalker

I don't see you as a 'cranky old woman', far from it.  You are very witty and entertaining (and charming).

[weinoo]

40 minutes ago, Deephaven said:

Don't "upgrade" to the ceramic Hario either as it is way harder to manage thermally

 

After I broke my Hario ceramic, along with however many other pour-over units I had which were not made of stainless or plastic, I decided never again for anything breakable.

[Deephaven]

Anything that is a conductor is bad as it will cool the water quickly.  Much easier to preheat the plastic than anything else.  The flow and brew works better on the hario than others as well.  I had other choices, but got rid of all them as the hario made a superior cup.

 

[JoNorvelleWalker]

3 hours ago, lindag said:

@JoNorvelleWalker

I don't see you as a 'cranky old woman', far from it.  You are very witty and entertaining (and charming).

 

I seem to have outed myself.

 

[JoNorvelleWalker]

4 hours ago, Deephaven said:

The $9 Hario is world's better than the Aspen.  I'd return it and buy what we recommended.  The shape is all wrong on the aspen.  Don't "upgrade" to the ceramic Hario either as it is way harder to manage thermally

 

The Aspen is funnel shaped.  From the pictures the Hario appears to be funnel shaped.  What makes the shape of the Aspen all wrong?

 

Granted there are differences.  The Aspen has a restricted opening at the bottom of the funnel which (again from the pictures) the Hario does not.  The Hario filters seem to be smooth sided, whereas the Kalita filters for the Aspen have a wave pattern on the sides:

 

(eG-friendly Amazon.com link)

 

[Deephaven]

3 hours ago, JoNorvelleWalker said:

 

The Aspen is funnel shaped.  From the pictures the Hario appears to be funnel shaped.  What makes the shape of the Aspen all wrong?

 

Granted there are differences.  The Aspen has a restricted opening at the bottom of the funnel which (again from the pictures) the Hario does not.  The Hario filters seem to be smooth sided, whereas the Kalita filters for the Aspen have a wave pattern on the sides:

 

(eG-friendly Amazon.com link)

 

Funnel shaped is part of it.  The Aspen is powder coated metal.  It takes a lot of patience to preheat and keep it at the right temp while pouring.  Just rinsing the plastic hario in hot water is better than all the work on the aspen.  The Aspen filters are corrugated and terrible at allowing a circular pour.  Grinds get stuck in those folds and it creates a very uneven bed of grounds for the brew.  This means that you end up with only a partially brewed cup instead of one that is consistent.  In tests of all shapes the v60 wins in helping this.  It is also harder to pour evenly into with the circular motion to help keep that bed.  The Aspen makes more of a slow drip and less of a pour over, ie, it is way less consistent.

 

I realize you already bought it, but I would highly encourage a swap.  The Hario is the gold standard for a reason.  And amusingly it is really cheap.

[Deephaven]

I should clarify that of course I take things all too far.  Captain overboard is a reasonable name for me.  That being said the Hario makes the process much easier avoiding some of the overboard steps in the process.

[JoNorvelleWalker]

I have a confession:  I made a pot of Turkish coffee.  Far better than any drip or pour-over I've had.