Make a Perfect Cup of Pour Over Coffee With a Metal Filter
Do you wake up with a freshly brewed cup of pour over coffee on your mind? Well, that makes two of us. Today, you’re going to take the plunge and learn how to make the perfect cup of pour over coffee with a metal filter.
And I know what you’re thinking, “Is this going to be an ordeal and take forever to clean up?” Not if you follow our advice on how to make the perfect cup of pour over coffee at home. If making a mess is on your mind, make sure to check out our other post:
Make Coffee Cleanup a Breeze – How to Keep Your Metal Coffee Filter Looking Brand New.
Have you noticed more and more pour over coffee shops popping up around town? You can go out and spend money or save by learning how to make pour over coffee at home.
Pour over coffee using a reusable metal filter is a slower process than other methods because it’s a more intimate and meditative experience for the one making the coffee.
We recommend using Amber reusable coffee filters made of 304 stainless steel.
The pour over method is very straightforward but needs patience and precision.
Coffee is ground medium to fine; when poured over hot water, the liquid filters through the grinds in a slow steady stream.
Not only is it an amazing process to witness but experimenting with different grind sizes and temperatures can make for a different tasting coffee every time.
You’ll want to experiment with this new method at home to make sure you get the perfect cup in the morning. But where to even begin?
How do you make pour over coffee with a metal filter?
I want to have that clean, crisp, and flavorful cup of coffee that a french press provides. Pour over offers all this in a simple way. But, not all pour overs are created equal. So, follow along as we make the perfect cup of pour over coffee and avoid any mistakes you might make along the way.
Great coffee starts with great beans
You should make sure that you choose the right kind of coffee beans. This is going to be the most important ingredient of all coffee makers because the coffee bean itself determines whether or not your cup of coffee will taste good or bad.
It all depends on:
- How fresh they are,
- How they were roasted, and
- If it’s fair trade medium roast coffee.
After all these things have been considered, then you will really be able to brew the perfect cup of pour over coffee.
What kind of coffee beans are best for pour-over?
Coffee beans are actually seeds and come from the coffee plant. The main types of coffee beans that you will find on the market include Arabica, Robusta and Liberica.
Here is an overview of the differences between these beans as well as some suggestions on how they may affect your pour over brew.
Arabica
Arabica coffee is the most commonly grown coffee plant and accounts for roughly 60-70% of the coffee produced worldwide. It is native to Africa, but it can now be found growing all across the globe.
Arabica coffee beans are popular for their smooth, rich flavor and well-rounded body. Use these flavorful coffee beans to make a sumptuous cup of java. This medium roast is a classic and offers the perfect balance of smoky notes and low acidity.
Robusta
Rich, aromatic and full-bodied, Robusta blend offers a slow and steady caffeine release. Reminiscent of the original Italian espresso-style, robusta beans offer vibrant acidity with minimal bitterness for a rich, lightly roasted coffee.
Robusta is a powerful, full-bodied variety of coffee that originated in Africa and Southeast Asia. Developed to withstand the intense heat and humidity of an equatorial climate, Robusta is extremely hardy and has been used as a parent plant for creating many new, high-yielding varieties.
The result is a strong, well-balanced coffee with plenty of presence that makes it ideal for espresso blends and other speciality coffees.
Note: most people will be using either Arabica or Robusta to make pour over coffee.
Liberica
Liberica coffee beans are a delicious combination of sweetness and acidity. These organic coffee beans are grown at high elevations in the mountains of Sierra Leone, where the soil is nutrient-rich and the rainfall is abundant.
With their dark chocolate aroma and full-body, Liberica coffee beans make for an amazing cup of coffee, with no bitter aftertaste. Some have described the flavor to have a “woody” taste.
It’s all about the pour-over process
What is it about the ritual of slow coffee brewing that makes drinking pour over coffee with a metal filter so rewarding? I believe the process has something to do with it.
The combination of siphoning hot water and fresh roasted beans in perfect ratios to prepare a real, non-instant cup of coffee using just one brewer, a kettle, a dripper and a cup to capture the finished product is exactly what you need to get your morning going right.
The perfect cup of pour over coffee requires:
- the right beans, freshly ground,
- the perfect coffee-to-water ratio, and
- an equally balanced pour of water.
Basically, you have to be committed to the process (and be a little bit of a perfectionist).
The Art of the Pour-over
What equipment to use
The art of pour over coffee calls for patience, skill, and the right tools in your arsenal. You don’t need hundreds of accessories, though. All you need is:
- A grinder
- Slow-pouring kettle (Gooseneck)
- A thermometer (if your kettle doesn’t have temperature display built in)
- A gram scale, and
- A stainless steel pour over coffee dripper
Instructions
- Start by weighing out one gram of coffee per 16 milliliters of water, which will give you two cups of coffee.
- Next, use a coffee grinder to make the coffee beans as fine as sea salt or table salt.
- Bring your filtered water to a boil.
- Insert the metal filter into the top of your pour-over glass coffee make
- Place coffee grounds in a filter and gently shake the filter until it’s evenly distributed.
- Important: make sure to pour hot water over the metal filter first to warm up. This pre-heating will ensure that not much heat will be lost too quickly and the consistency will be just right.
- Add just enough water (~66ml) to cover the grounds.
- Wait 45 seconds, or until you see gas bubbles coming up, also known as the “bloom.”
- Once your coffee has bloomed, begin pouring the remaining hot water in a spiral-like pattern. Focus on pouring in the inner circle, then making your way to the edges to saturate your grounds completely.
- Like any other filter, you should never let it go completely dry, but you also should not pour really fast. It’s recommended to pour ~200ml of water at a time, and it should take around 3.5 minutes to pour.
- Remove your reusable metal coffee filter and enjoy!
Coffee is very personal, so it’s all about the process that ‘works’ for you.
Bonus Tips
- A coffee to water ratio of 1:17 is ideal, but for a stronger brew, try 1:16 or 1:14.
- Try a finer grind if the taste is too weak or sour. Adjust to a coarser grind if the taste is bitter.
- Bring the water to a near-boil (until the kettle begins to steam, if you don’t have a thermometer).
- Weigh the coffee and water using metric units for the best accuracy.
- Opt for reusable metal coffee filters over paper ones (they also come with a small brush to clean out the used grounds).
- If you don’t have a gram scale, you can measure 4 tbsp of ground coffee, and use 1 ¼ cups of water.
- Choose a good pour-over brewer that meets your needs as they come in various sizes.
- Don’t fill your metal filter cone with more than 2/3rds of grounds. Make sure you drip into a large enough glass pour-over bottle to prevent overflow.
