The Art of the Pour

Hello, my name is Jennifer and I’m a coffee addict. There, I said it.

But recently my four-cup-a-day habit hit a roadblock: I had my first pourover coffee, and the experience was so divine that I’m now pushing aside my machine brew. Why the change of heart? Well, I’d describe my daily cuppa joe as acidic, strong, bitter and, at times, smooth—but after tasting a freshly made pour-over coffee, my mouth was overcome with flavours of apricots, peaches and bergamot. I feel there’s a clear winner here. I’ve tasted coffee in its purest form, and now there’s no turning back.

My first encounter with this brewing method was in Portland, Oregon, a city always on the forefront of trends. I watched customer after customer order this slower style of drink at places such as Stumptown Coffee Roasters and at smaller, independent shops. I wondered why someone would wait three to four minutes for a coffee when they could be enjoying an Americano in less than a minute. Pure hipster nonsense, I decided.

In my naïveté, I failed to recognize that pour-over coffee is not new, as it’s been around since the early 20th century. This traditional hand-poured style has been percolating—pun intended—in the background through the rise of espresso bars, coffees to go and single-use capsules. As is the cyclical nature of trends, what was old is now new again.

It was in Germany in 1908 that Melitta Bentz invented the paper coffee filter. She recognized that cups of coffee were often littered with grounds, and felt that cleaning linen filter bags after every use was nothing short of a hassle.

Her inspiration came from her son’s homework—she took blotting paper from his workbook to create her first paper filter. Her innovative, patented product led her to start Melitta, a major coffee company that still sells paper filters.

So is the return to this simple brewing style more than just a passing trend, or does it represent a bigger shift in coffee culture? In 2002, the term »third-wave coffee« was coined in reference to some of the largest coffee movements of the past century. First came the massive tins of pre-ground beans that sat on the shelf of every household in North America. Next arrived global chain domination (Starbucks), with gourmet, espresso-based drinks replacing a simple pot of coffee. Suddenly, the plain ol’ stuff became a has-been; we demanded two-pump, extra-foamy caramel lattes with whipped cream— made in two minutes, or less. Now we’ve arrived at hand-poured, single cups of black coffee. Customers are paying attention to where the beans are being sourced (Ethiopia, Kenya, Colombia, El Salvador, etc.) and become jittery with excitement at the thought of tasting their new bag of beans using the pour-over method. It has become an artisanal product, not just a commodity. Cafe owners are no longer just setting up shop to flog bags of beans and average beverages; instead they are travelling around the world, directly to the farms, to view the entire process behind growing, harvesting and roasting the beans. And it doesn’t end there: top-notch owners and customers regularly attend cupping sessions to smell, swirl and sip new roasts before buying. So perhaps it’s not a passing trend but rather a renewed appreciation and respect for the basics.

In Berlin, where third-wave coffees houses are booming in popularity, I decided to test a single-pour coffee and made my way to The Barn, a local cafe and roastery in Mitte. I was shown the menu of beans for filter pours that day and chose the Mesele Haille, an Ethiopian roast with elegant notes of bergamot and apricot. I watched the barista heat the water to an exact degree, measure and grind my beans, and finally pour the water over in delicate circular motions. When the cup arrived at my table I was advised to let it sit another minute, allowing it to fully bloom. My wait paid off, as the first sip sat heavy on my tongue and the fruity notes bathed the inside of my mouth. This is how coffee should taste. We’ve been drowning in milkbased caffeinated drinks for so long that it’s quite shocking to see how far we’ve drifted from the original flavour. In the end there’s no sugar crash from dessert-style coffee, just the lingering taste of flavourful black brew. There’s nothing between you and your beans. No milk, no sugar. Just a pure journey for the senses, one that changes with every roast and every origin. And it’s not just the absence of these additives that changes the drink; the beans are different for pour-over coffee. With espresso drinks, beans tend to be a darker roast, so they pack a powerful coffee punch without the flavour profiles. The pour-over method calls for a lighter roast, allowing for a better release of aromas and flavours. The result is bright, not bitter.

I’m not entirely ready to abandon my 10-cup coffee machine on the side of the road—the convenience on a busy workday morning is too good to pass up—but I’ll slow down on weekends, and settle in with a new bag of beans to enjoy my hand-poured coffee. You can always taste the difference a little extra time and effort makes.

Try it at home:

1. Purchase a bag of freshly roasted, single-origin beans from your favourite cafe.

2. Gather up your brew equipment: scale, timer, thermometer, kettle, grinder (hand-cranked recommended), filter paper, mug, and choice of drip method (V60, Kone, Chemex, Bee House or Kalita Wave).

3. Grind 7 to 9 grams of coffee per 100 ml of water (the average mug holds 300 ml). The consistency should be close to coarse sea salt.

4. Set the paper filter inside the dripper and place it over the mug. Rinse the filter with hot water to remove the flavour of paper, eliminate starch, and preheat your mug. Dump that water.

5. Add your ground beans, levelling them out, and pour a bit of not-quite-boiling filtered water (roughly 92° C to 96° C) over top to allow the coffee to bloom for about 30 seconds.

6. Continue pouring the hot water in slow, counter-clockwise movements until you reach the top of the brewer. This should take between 2 to 3 minutes.

7. Remove the drip brewer and filter once your mug is full.

8. Sip and savour.

Resources:

Coffee Circle

Everything you need to know about quality coffee in Germany. Purchase beans and equipment online. Instructional videos on how to pour the perfect cup.

Ozone Coffee Roasters

Artisan coffee company from London with an online shop and information on everything from roasting to brewing.

Stumptown Coffee Roasters

Helpful tips on how to brew. Freshroasted beans shipped internationally. Coffee bean subscriptions available.

Text Jennifer Patterson

Photos Ashley Ludäscher

Layout Judith de Graaff