Introduction:Pour over coffee, with its refreshing taste and flexible brewing process, has become the top choice for many coffee enthusiasts. This article starts with a comparison of brewing equipment, analyzing the three key elements of pour over — coffee grounds, filter paper, and hot water. It delves into how the material of the filter paper affects flavor expression and clarifies common misconceptions such as "boiling water is not suitable for pour over." At the end, using the 2018 Ethiopian Huila Daye Natural as an example, it provides practical V60 pour over parameters and stage-by-stage flavor analysis to help you refine your brewing skills.
The reason pour over coffee is so widely loved lies in its ability to produce clean, clear, and odor-free coffee liquid, while also being simple, safe, and enjoyable to brew. Compared to other brewing methods such as the French press, clever dripper, AeroPress, and siphon, pour over better highlights the layers and details of the coffee itself and allows easier adjustments based on personal taste preferences.
Let’s first discuss the limitations of other brewing devices. Although the French press can preserve the original flavors of coffee, its metal filter has relatively large holes that fail to effectively filter out fine coffee particles, often resulting in sediment at the bottom of the cup and affecting the drinking experience. The clever dripper is intuitive to use, but if its plastic valve is not cleaned properly, it may release rancid odors; early models were mostly made of plastic, and even though ceramic versions are now available, the valve issue remains unresolved.
The AeroPress was once hugely popular for its rich and full-bodied taste, but the coffee it produces is often cloudy, and its large plastic contact surface may affect flavor purity. As for the siphon, although it was once a star brewing device in coffee shops, it gradually fell out of the mainstream due to its complicated maintenance (such as cleaning the upper and lower chambers and filter cloth), high dependency on heat sources (alcohol lamp, gas, or expensive lightwave stoves), and tendency to break easily.
The strength of pour over coffee lies in its simple yet precise principle: hot water passes through coffee grounds placed on filter paper, extracting the coffee liquid. The core factors that truly influence flavor are actually just three — coffee grounds, filter paper, and hot water. Yet many people overly focus on minor details such as the brewer’s hole size, material, or pour over kettle design, while neglecting these fundamentals.
There are numerous filter paper brands on the market, such as HARIO, KALITA, MOLA, KONO, etc., and their materials and manufacturing processes vary greatly. Some use Nordic oak or Finnish wood, while others use coniferous trees or Manila hemp. These differences affect the hardness, thickness, water resistance, and anti-deformation properties of the filter paper fibers, thereby altering the coffee’s filtration efficiency and flavor expression. Interestingly, whether filter paper needs to be pre-wetted is often debated, but in fact, as long as you choose the right filter paper brand, using it dry is fine — over-wetting may even mask the inherent characteristics of the filter paper.
Regarding pour over water temperature, the common misconception is that "boiling water is not suitable." Although the Specialty Coffee Association (SCAA) recommends a cupping temperature of 93°–94°, actual tests show that brewing with 100°C boiling water can yield a higher extraction rate and does not necessarily lead to bitterness or off-flavors. Extraction is the result of multiple conditions working together, and bitterness cannot be solely attributed to water temperature. If you’re concerned about filter paper odors, a simpler solution is to switch brands rather than obsessing over the wetting step.
The design of the brewer also affects water flow control. The V60, with its single hole at the bottom, allows for stable and easily adjustable water flow, making it better than other multi-hole brewers (like cone-shaped brewers) at precisely controlling flow rate. Many people mistakenly believe that hole size is the key factor, when in reality it’s the material and thickness of the filter paper that primarily influence water flow.
Practical reference: Using the 2018 Ethiopian Yirgacheffe G1 Huila Daye Natural as an example, with a Hario V60 brewer, a 1:15 powder-to-water ratio using small Fuji, and a water temperature of 90°C. First, pour 25g of water for a 30-second bloom, then slowly circle the water vertically until reaching 120g for the first pour, followed by a larger pour up to 226g to finish, with a total brew time of about 2 minutes and 5 seconds.
Flavor profile: The early stage features pronounced cantaloupe and strawberry jam aromas, with a mouthfeel offering the soft acidity reminiscent of jackfruit; the mid-stage showcases strawberry berry flavors, and the finish leaves a sugarcane-like sweetness. The overall profile is layered and well-balanced, ideal for those who enjoy a harmony of fruitiness and sweetness.
The above content is compiled by CoffeeHunters, a coffee news website.
