A Beginner's Guide to Pour Over Coffee Brewing

Hario V60

Design

The Hario V60 uses a cone-shaped design with spiral ridges along the inner wall and a relatively large single hole opening at the bottom. The design helps to push the filter off of the side wall of the dripper. This allows extraction out of both the bottom and the sides of of the brewer. We carry the V60 in two sizes and in glass, ceramic, or plastic.

Grind

We generally recommend a grind between fine and medium coarseness for the V60. For reference, this correlates to a 10-20 grind setting on the Maestro Plus, dependent upon batch size, pour rate, roast, and processing of the coffee.

Technique

With the V60, the best technique is to make a small divot in the middle of the coffee grounds and starting in the middle of the divot: pour enough water to wet the grounds, let it sit for 30 seconds, and then starting in the middle pour slowly in and out in concentric circles until the desired volume is reached. When pouring, stay ¼ of an inch away from the edge of the dripper and keep the water volume in the dripper at the same height for the entire brewing process.

Advantage

The Hario V60 filters are thinner than any other pour-over filters, and this is a good thing. While we still recommend pre-rinsing your filters, the V60 filters give off a minimal paper taste. The design of the V60 helps produce some of the best cups of coffee we’ve had. When pouring carefully, the spiral ridges on the V60 facilitate a more even extraction than other brewers that extract only out of the bottom of the dripper. With the glass or plastic V60 dripper, you can easily watch the entire brewing process.

We especially enjoy the V60 with fruit-like bright and floral coffees. Generally, coffees from Kenya, Costa Rica, El Salvador, and Guatemala taste delicious brewed with the V60 method. For recommended brewing parameters, see our V60 listings.

Chemex

Design

The Chemex brewing method features a cone-shaped pour-over design. The decanter carries a classic hourglass design that doubles as a server, but the heart of the Chemex is the thick paper filter.

Grind

We generally recommend a medium-coarse grind setting for the Chemex. Using the Maestro Plus as a reference, anywhere between a 20-30, depending on batch size and processing of the coffee, should be a good range.

Technique

Start by thoroughly rinsing the filter to remove any paper taste before brewing. After dumping the water, add ground coffee and settle it evenly in the filter. With water around 200-205 degrees, slowly pour about 10-15% of your total water volume, evenly wetting all the coffee. After about 30-45 seconds, begin to pour the rest of your water in a controlled motion. Ideally with the Chemex, you should finish your pouring around the 3 minute mark, with the final drip falling somewhere close to 4 minutes. Compost your filter and grounds, give the Chemex a few swirls for aeration and evening out the brew, serve, and enjoy!

Advantage

Because of the thick paper filters sitting flush against the walls of the server causing a slower drip rate, the Chemex features pour over brewing with a greater dwell time. This is helpful, as getting a good brew is less dependent upon the skill of the barista and conditioned more upon using good brewing parameters. The Chemex method will highlight the higher and brighter notes in your coffee, and provide a very clean and sweet cup.

Bright coffees with higher fruit notes do very well in a Chemex. Try a washed coffee from Kenya, Ethiopia, or Panama. For recommended brewing parameters, see our Chemex listings.

Coava Kone

Design

The Kone is a stainless steel, cone-shaped pour over filter, designed to fit in a Chemex server. The stainless steel has been laser cut with tiny holes all over the surface, keeping the ground coffee filtered and allowing the brewed coffee to extract and exit down through the server.

Grind

We generally recommend a grind setting between a V60 and a Chemex, around 15-25 on a Maestro Plus, dependent upon batch size, pour rate, and processing of the coffee.

Technique

First, “rinse” the stainless filter with hot water; you’re not technically rinsing here as you would with paper, but rather warming the filter a bit. Dump the water and fill the Kone with ground coffee. Give a few taps to even out the bed. With water around 200-205 degrees, start your pre-infusion, pouring about 10% of your total water volume evenly across the coffee, and wait about 30-45 seconds allowing the carbon dioxide to release and your coffee to “bloom”. After this time, start with your pour. Pour slowly in a circular, in-and-out motion for about half of the brew, and then for the remaining pour stick the middle, keeping the water level stable. A good total brew time for the Kone is between 3:00-3:30. Take the Kone out, dump the grounds, give it a quick wash, and serve straight from the Chemex server!

Advantage

Because of the holes and that the filter is sitting just off the walls of the Chemex server, the Kone really is its own brewing method, and not merely a stainless Chemex filter alternative. With the porous nature of the Kone, the brewed coffee is quickly released from the ground coffee. Also, the cup is going to be different from a normal Chemex. You will get more body and oils from the Kone, cleaner, but similar to a french press brew, yet with the higher notes characteristic of pour over brewing. The Kone is reusable and should last for years, producing little waste compared to paper filters.

Natural-processed coffees seem to do especially well with the Kone. Try a DP coffee from Ethiopia, El Salvador, or Panama, or a good washed coffee from Costa Rica. For recommended brewing parameters, see our Coava Kone listing.

Bee House

Design

The Bee House dripper pour-over brewing method features a cone-shaped, wedge design. The dripper can sit on top of any standard diner mug, as well as the Hario or Kalita servers. The Bee House is considered a cone dripper, but slightly flattens out at the bottom and features two very small holes for brewed coffee to drip from the filter. Melitta brand filters work for the Bee House, a #2 for the small dripper, and a #4 for the larger one.

Grind

We recommend a grind about the same as a V60, perhaps a tad coarser. Around a 15-25 on a Maestro Plus is a good start, dependent upon your batch size.

Technique

Fold the edges of the Melitta filter, and place within the dripper. With near boiling water, rinse the paper thoroughly and then dump the water from your vessel. The dripper should now be warmed and free of any paper taste. Place your coffee in the dripper. With water around 200 degrees, pour about 10% of your total volume lightly and evenly over the grounds for pre-infusion, allowing the coffee to bloom. After about 30-45 seconds, begin your main pour. We recommend three rounds of pouring, each consisting of a third of your remaining volume. You don’t want to pour so high that your water level rises and you have high walls of coffee left to dry during the extraction, so pouring in three rounds, keeping the water level with the coffee bed works best for even extraction. With a slow controlled pour you should aim for around a 3:00-3:30 minute total brew time, depending on batch size and grind setting.

Advantage

The Bee House features an easier learning curve than the Hario V60, and more forgiveness because of its design that promotes a slower draw-down time and coarser grind. Like other pour over brewing methods, the Bee House produces a clean cup and accents higher notes, yet can bring out more of the subtle notes and sweetness because of it’s slower brew time.

Try the Bee House method with coffees from Sumatra, Papua New Guinea, and Tanzania. For recommended brewing parameters, see our Bee House listings.

Kalita Wave

Design

The Kalita Wave is a flat-bottom brewer with three triangulated holes along the bottom of the dripper. This dripper is the only flat-bottom manual pour over dripper that we know of. The idea behind the design is that the shallow, flat-bottom brew bed allows less turbulence than other cone-shaped brewers and encourages a more even extraction throughout the entirety of the brew. The accordion-edged filters help push the filter away from the brewer wall.

Grind

We generally recommend a medium-coarse grind for the Kalita Wave, similar to that of the Chemex. This would be around a 20-30 grind setting on the Maestro Plus, dependent upon batch size, pour rate, roast, and processing of the coffee.

Technique

In order to take full advantage of the flat-bed geometry on the Wave brewer, we recommend keeping the spout of the kettle as close to the brew bed as possible, pouring onto, not through, the coffee bed. After pre-infusion, a soft pour in concentric circles appears to be the best approach. Many will pause and let the coffee soak through the grounds during the brew, we’ve had great brews doing this as well as continually pouring for the entire time.

Advantage

The wavy filters provide increased temperature stability for the coffee by insulating with air rather than the material of the dripper. While time will tell if this new dripper really can compete with the likes of the V60, it has received excellent reviews as to the quality of coffee it can produce. Similar to the V60, the Kalita Wave Dripper caters to the style-conscious with its variety of sizes and materials (glass, ceramic, and stainless).

Lots of coffees perform well with the Wave. The coarser grind, slower brew time, and low agitation help to bring out the more subtle and complex characteristics in the coffees we've tried. For recommended brewing parameters, see our Kalita Wave listing.

Hario Woodneck

Design

The Hario Woodneck (also known as the drip pot) has three main pieces: the wooden neck, the glass decanter, and the brew handle with filter. The brew handle has a loop on the end which is ran through a cloth filter. The handle then rests on top of the glass server. This design allows for the coffee to extract out of all sides of the cloth filter.

Grind

We generally recommend between a fine and medium grind for the Hario Woodneck. This would be around a 12-18 grind setting on the Maestro Plus, dependent upon batch size, pour rate, roast, and processing of the coffee.

Technique

For the Hario Woodneck we recommend the same technique as the V60: place a small divot in the middle of the grounds, pre-wet the coffee using about 10% of your water, let it infuse for 30 seconds, and then pour slowly in concentric circles until the desired brew volume is met.

Advantage

To put it simply, cloth filter brewers have the capabilities of producing the best cups of coffee you’ll ever drink. The elimination of any sort of papery taste as well as the ability to catch more coffee “fines” produces a super clean cup.

We like every coffee we've tried with this method. That being said, a more complex coffee is best featured in a cleaner cup and will be better complemented by the cloth filter brew of the Woodneck. For recommended brewing paramaters, see our Hario Woodneck listing.