Brewing is the final stage of the coffee-making process. It’s the part where you finally extract those delicious flavour notes and aromas from the roasted and ground beans to make the drink we all love so much.
One of the more traditional manual brewing methods, the humble pourover is one of our all-time favourites because it’s so simple and meditative. It’s also getting increasingly popular with coffee enthusiasts who are interested in experimenting with different variables and creating their own coffee recipes in the comfort of their own homes.
In this brewing guide, we will provide a starting place for those who would like to start brewing their own pourover coffee at home using NOC house blends or single origins.
Ingredients and equipment
You will need:
- NOC coffee beans
- coffee grinder
- pourover kettle (we use the Fellow Stagg pourover kettle)
- pourover dripper (we use the December dripper)
- filter paper (if required for the dripper you have at home)
- server/coffee mug
- hot water
- thermometer
- scale
- timer
- coffee spoon
Getting the water temperature right is crucial in order to achieve a delicious coffee. Avoid using boiling water and check the water temperature before your start brewing – the optimal water temperature is 91–92°C.
Check the size of your equipment. Drippers work best when they are half or two-thirds full; for example, if you have the Hario V60-VD01, which is meant for making a maximum of two cups of drip coffee, don’t try to make five cups of coffee at once because the dripper will overflow.
The amount of coffee and hot water you need depends on how many cups of coffee you would like to brew. For every cup of coffee we serve in-store, we use 240g hot water and 16g ground coffee.
Grind size matters; a finer grind allows for more extraction and results in a stronger cup of coffee, while a coarser grind allows for less extraction and results in a weaker cup of coffee. Adjust your grind size to taste.
Step-by-step guide
Step 1: line your dripper with filter paper and put it on top of the server. Wet the filter paper with hot water and dispose of the water that drips into the server.
Photo credit: Little Coffee Place
Step 2: grind the coffee to a fine, sugar-like grind. To preserve the flavours in your coffee, it’s best to grind your coffee seconds before you start brewing.
Step 3: pour the ground coffee into the dripper. Give your dripper a little shake to make sure the ground coffee is evenly distributed.
Step 4: zero your scale. Pour 40g hot water into your dripper in an outward spiral, starting from the centre of the dripper. Finish pouring in 30 seconds. Your ground coffee will rise like yeast – this is called blooming, a process in which the CO2 escapes from the coffee beans.
Step 5: pour an extra 120g hot water in an outward spiral, starting from the centre of the dripper. When you reach the edge of the dripper, begin pouring in an inward spiral and finish at the centre. Finish pouring in 50 seconds.
Step 6: pour another 200g hot water into the dripper in an outward, then inward, spiral motion. Once finished, put down your kettle and observe your coffee.
Step 7: when your coffee grounds start to dry and almost all the water has dripped down to the server, pour another 40g water in the centre of your dripper.
Step 8: set aside your dripper and give your coffee a little stir. Your home-brewed NOC pourover is now ready to serve!
It may take some trial and error for you to figure out the best pourover recipe for every coffee. The taste of a pourover may vary according to the roast level of the coffee, choice of dripper, water temperature and more.
For more brewing tips, take a look at the video below or feel free to have a chat with our baristas the next time you drop by for a coffee:
RELATED: NOC Brewing Guide: Cold Brew
Keep an eye out for more brewing guides from us here at NOC!
