Portable Pour Over

[Heinz Francis]

Enjoy your perfect cup of coffee as is, or use as a base in beverages like our Mushroom Latte 2 Ways! It can also be used in recipes like our Coconut Coffee Ice Cream, Cold Brew Caramel Frappuccino (just cool your coffee first), Vegan Chocolate Coffee Ice Cream Sandwiches, and 3-Ingredient Vegan Mocha Milkshake.

Do you have to use a Chemex for pour-over?
No! But it is one of the best options for making multiple cups of coffee. For single servings, I use a Beehouse or this slick travel coffee maker.

I made my first Chemex coffee brew this morning. For some reason, I am unable to change the measurements on here to US standards (fl. oz. and cups) from ml. So, I looked up the conversions and wrote them into my printed instructions and will share my notes for anyone who might find it helpful:

I weighed 32 g. of coffee beans (an older bag so not fresh) and ground it with my Mr. Coffee burr mill grinder. With so few beans in the coffee grind (32 g.), it would not let me move it to a Course (French Press) setting. I was only able to select between a Fine (Expresso) setting to a Medium (Drip) setting. I chose the setting close to the Drip setting and the grinds were about the size of sea salt. I guess I chose the right setting and size.

I have about 35 different brewing devices, from Durobor press pots to dripolators to moka pots to percolators to several different pour overs (including a Chemex), so I know a little about brewing joe.

A big difference in the flavor comes also from freshly ground coffee. After 15 minutes, ground coffee loses about 60% of its aroma. So make sure you buy quality whole coffee beans and grind them right before you brew :)

I have read that there are various compounds in coffee that are thought to raise cholesterol and the concentrations of those compounds in the brewed coffee can be reduced through the use of filter paper. You can find a summary and links to some of the primary research on the nutrition facts website.

Because you are constantly pouring fresh water over the beans, you end up with more of the solubles extracted into the cup, so if all goes correctly, you should end up with more of the flavour of good beans. Matt P has a good explanation on YouTube.

Back when pour-over coffee got a popularity boost on North American shores in the late aughts, I was fairly certain it wasn't my cup of joe. I kept shelling money to try it at coffee shops, but between the price and the flavor, it felt like an "it's not you, it's me" thing.

At the end of the brew, I let the V60 drip a bit more into the beverage, then I place the V60 on top of a small glass and gently move it up and down to get a few more drips and measure the approximate TDS of the slurry at the end of the brew.

After that, I clean up the refractometer and measure the beverage TDS, but I make sure to taste it before looking at the TDS measurement, otherwise I found that it can affect my taste perception. Also notice how I mix the brew with a spoon before sampling it; this is better at mixing up all coffee layers than just spinning the brew.

Dear Jonathan,
I have to admit that I LOVED your pouring style. I -of course- tried it -not with Gardelli but with a decent Colombia Supremo- right away. It resulted well. The method that you use -holing?- was quite impressive. How do you think scooping affect your coffee in terms of aroma and consistence?
Also what is the best way to pour for you if taken scientifically? Some make it turbinal, some finish it in the middle and some finish it on the side wall and explain it with the inside pattern/form of V60.

Is light vertical tapping (with water inside the brewer) a good thing for killing possible water channels and even out the coffee bett or do fines also migrating to the bottom of the brewer and I should avoid it?

Great Video! I am just wondering what setting you would use on BG for this method, if you have aligned it and re-zeroed it on 1m. And one more question, the spin would minimize the channeling of water, but is there any possible that the water would pass by through the V60 wall (more like channeling)?

Hey Stiven, grinders that produce more fines may indeed require less agitation. I recommend trying it out and see if it clogs. Here are some strategies to reduce clogging: (1) pour lower and slower, (2) do a generous swirl during bloom to catch some fines up on the filter walls, then do the subsequent swirls very gently, (3) do not knock the fines down the walls by pouring water directly on the filter, leave them there for the whole brew after the bloom, (4) grind coarser, and (5) use a smaller dose of coffee. I would definitely avoid any stir of the bloom, replace it with a swirl to avoid fines migration.

For the water draining, I now always leave almost an inch of water on top of the coffee bed, because I have recently realized that this makes a big difference in preserving a high slurry temperature. A lot of heat is lost when there is almost no water left in the slurry.

I noticed that this video was posted nearly a year before than the kettle stream one, so is the suggestion about pouring height something you developed after the video, or, I should look for even louder splattering sound to apply your suggestion?

The pour-over may be my favorite coffee topic of all time, and that might have to do with it being my favorite coffee brewing method. I'll share a little about how it all started. I grew up drinking coffee from a percolator every Sunday at church. Percolator coffee was a staple if you were in an American church through the 80s and 90s. That would all change the day I was introduced to the pour-over. At first, I didn't think much of it. It was fine coffee. After drinking a few weeks from a pour-over, I went back to church like I always did and poured myself a cup of lovely percolator coffee. It was the first time my palette noticed the difference. And what a difference it was! If I can describe the flavor of the last cup of percolator church coffee I would ever have in one word, it would be DIRT! That's right; it tasted like dirt. I wish I were exaggerating.

You may be thinking that I'm just a coffee snob. If you were to have a coffee snob rating from 1-10, one being the least and 10 being the most, at that time, I was about a two. Even after working as a barista at a well-known coffee shop, my palette could still accept just about any coffee. I credit the pour-over with my conversion from drinking any coffee under the sun to turning into a level seven on the coffee snob scale. I rate myself a seven because as seriously as I take my coffee, some take it even more seriously than I do. There are times when I hear of brewing methods and am highly skeptical that they bring anything new because why would anyone try anything else once you've discovered the pour-over.

Even with the popularity of espresso-based drinks, the tried-and-true pour-over has the longevity that can stack up against any other form of good brewing. It may not be ideal for a large party, but it's perfect for your every morning cup of coffee to start your day.

It's such a simple method that it seems odd that it would have a long and extensive history. It goes right back to the innovation of people who are not satisfied with good enough. Even with something as simple as pouring water over coffee, making sure each step, ingredient, and tool works just right can produce a cup of coffee so delicious, you wonder how you ever lived without it. It all started with Amalie Auguste Melitta Benz, in 1908. She was dissatisfied with the flavor of the coffee from her percolator. She wasn't happy with the bitter taste that over-extraction caused. She was so determined to find a better way to brew her family's coffee that she experimented with different tools. If you've bought filters at the store, you may be familiar with Melitta filters. When I worked as a barista, a common request was "ground for a Melitta" when customers wanted their coffee ground. It sounded odd to me because I knew very little about coffee at the time.

Amalie Auguste Melitta Bentz was one amazing woman. She took her dissatisfaction with her coffee and used her creativity to create something that would revolutionize the coffee experience. She took a brass pot, punched holes at the base, placed a filter which was a page out of her son's school book over the holes, put her coffee grounds on it, and poured water through it into a cup. This method was successful in removing the bitter flavor from over-extraction. Her goal was simple; she just wanted a good cup of coffee. From there, she continued to develop the design and would sell her filters at fairs. She received a patent for her invention and built a business that has grown to the next generation. Today, the Melitta name is commonplace in the coffee community, and family members still operate her company. She opened the floodgates to pour-over possibilities. Innovation wouldn't stop with her, but it would continue around the world.

When she decided that she wanted better-tasting coffee, she probably didn't know that it was the start of something special. She was just after a great-tasting cup of coffee. She was a housewife taking care of her family as many women did during her time. She probably had no idea that over 100 years later, people would be writing about her and celebrating her accomplishments. History is full of pioneering women who didn't let social obstacles keep them from experimenting with ideas and accomplishing great things.

While Amalie Auguste Melitta Benz's undeniable impact on the creation and evolution of the pour-over is clearly seen today, others were not without their own ideas. If you travel to Japan, you'll find that they were busy refining their products and would eventually bring the Hario V60 Pour-over brewer. The V60 is the preferred method used to brew our pour-over options here at Sagebrush. If you come in and order a pour-over, you'll see our baristas using the Hario V-60 Copper Dripper. The V60 doesn't go as far back as the Melitta filter, but it's also full of rich history. The company started back in 1921 under the name Hiromu Shibati Works located in Japan. They were mainly a glass manufacturer. They would eventually transition beyond glass to include ceramic, plastic, and copper. Ultimately, it would change its name to Hario, which means the King of Glass. It would be a long time before the first V60 would be available to the public. Finally, in 2004, the first ceramic V60 was mass-produced and sold. Now you can find it in plastic, glass, copper, and of course, ceramic.

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