Manual coffee brewing, or pour over coffee, is actually deconstructed coffee brewing. It takes a few basic items to get started and some easy to learn technique to bring your favorite beans to life.

The Hardware

Here's what you'll need for your pour over coffee:

• The Kettle: It should have a gooseneck spout for precise placement of the brew water. The Hario Buono is a classic but requires a separate heat source. The Bonavita 1.0 Litre is a nice dockable electric kettle.
• The Dripper : This is the item that holds your coffee filter and grounds. There are a lot of great options out there but know that most require their own specific type of filter. A few to consider: Hario V60 - Kalita 2-4 Cup - Cafellissimo Stainless Steel Paperless
• Digital Scale: The scale weighs the beans for grinding and the water during the brewing process. There are a lot of options on Amazon.
• Grinder: A quality burr grinder is key to excellent coffee. Read our blog post for some suggestions.

Pour Over Coffee Steps

The following instructions are for a 12-ounce cup of coffee.

1. Fill the kettle with about 20 ounces of water and bring to a boil.
2. Weigh and grind 20-24 grams of coffee so it has the coarseness of table salt. Play with the gram weight to see how it affects the flavor.
3. Place a filter in the dripper and rinse it with some of your hot water. Dump the rinse water.
4. Pour the coffee into the filter and level.
5. Place the dripper on a cup or carafe and put the entire apparatus on the digital scale. Tare weight the scale to zero.
6. The pre-wet: If you have a timer start it, or just count 1000, 1001...  Pour 50-60 grams of water in a spiral from the outside edge to the center making sure all are dampened. Wait 30 seconds.
7. The bloom: Pour 50-60 grams of water in the same spiral from the center outward. Wait 30 seconds.
8. The brew: Using the remaining water to a total weight of 360 grams, very slowly repeat the alternating spiral patterns, center outward; outer edge-to-center. Avoid pouring water directly at the outer edge where grounds meet filter. This step should take about 1 1/2 minutes.
9. Remove the dripper/filter, and stir your finished brew with a spoon.

Ready to Try Pour Over Coffee

Besides the hardware, you'll also need great coffee. Find your new favorite specialty grade coffee by browsing our selection.