Coffee Pour Over

make the perf cup at home, from my coffee expert guest, Zak Velazquez (also my brother)

May 20, 2022

Some may call this an “addiction.”””

You may say I shouldn’t be so dependent on a mood-altering substance. You may suggest I try swapping my morning cup of coffee for tea. But alas, coffee is my drug of choice and I actually feel great about it.

Because my first sip of coffee is utter bliss (and it also chases away my morning demons). I also love the ritual of it.

There’s a lot of talk about “the morning ritual”- but coffee is the OG morning ritual. For the past 12 years, it’s the first thing I do in the morning and it honestly just makes me so happy. It sets me up for a great day before anything can happen to piss me off. Every morning, I savor the cup and think “wow, the world is my oyster and I can do anything I put my mind to!”

Growing up in coffee shops, I’ve really seen how important coffee is to our culture. Customers sacrificing being late for work so they can grab their cup (also probably chasing away the demon versions of themselves). All the meetings. All the cute dates. All the chit-chat with us baristas while we’re steaming milk. All of the Instagram pictures.

While I cannot deny the importance of coffee shops as an institution, I personally love making my own coffee at home. Again, the ritual of it all. Especially when I learned how to make it coffee-expert level in my own house.

My brother, Zak, is the coffee expert not only in our family, but of the robust programs he built at Baked&Wired and A Baked Joint. And I talked with him to share with YOU how the best baristas in DC (ahem, at Baked&Wired and A Baked Joint) make you the best black coffee ever.

Working in coffee shops most of my life, I would get the question a lot “soooo… what’s your favorite drink?” And the answer - black coffee.

I’m telling you, when coffee is made with the right equipment, the right technique, and the right coffee beans - it outshines your caramel hazelnut grande latte whatever the hell drink any day of the week.

So first of all, what is a pour over?

A pour over is a method of brewing coffee in which you pour hot water directly over the coffee grinds. When done correctly, it allows to extract the maximum flavor out of the beans, reduce acidity, and get all dat mmm mmmm from your cup. Seems simple - but as with many things I write about here, the technique and attention to detail is what makes this process work.

Zak has been in the coffee world since 2005, worked in best shops in NYC, and is constantly researching and improving the coffee programs in DC, so you’re about to get some next-level-coffee-pro shit right here.

I asked him what draws him to this wide nerdy world and he says that he enjoys the craft and the process. He finds that there’s always something new to learn, and it’s just fun to taste something you make, so you’re also getting the reward of your efforts. I can totally relate to that. This is exactly why I love to cook :)

Additionally, the coffee world is continuously changing and growing so there’s an evolution to our understanding of coffee, which keeps it very engaging. A lot of coffee hobbyist at home are even contributing to the techniques that are being used in cafes.

This is to say, that you too can be a coffee expert! And I promise you don’t need to go buy some expensive coffee machine to make it delicious. You just need the right (affordable) equipment, coffee beans, and technique.

So without further ado, here’s how you make a great pour over.

Pour Over Coffee

First thing is first, equipment.

Invest in a V60 Dripper, V60 Filters, a Burr grinder, a digital scale, and a gooseneck electric kettle.

Now, the beans.

Roast - if you want to taste more roasty flavors, then choose a darker roast. If you want to taste more natural flavors within the bean, then choose medium-to-light roast (medium is a good compromise). We like to drink medium roasts.

Variety and Origin: A common misconception is that all coffees from a certain origin taste the same. Not true! You may find that same origin will taste different from coffee to coffee so its best to look at the flavor notes written on the bag. The flavor notes for the coffee I drank today were “aromatic, round, spiced & creamy.”

Blend vs. Single Origin: A blend takes the best of a bunch of beans and give you a rounder profile, whereas a single origin is more specific in the flavors it showcases. Neither is better than the other - it’s just a taste preference.

Roast date: Buy a bag of beans within 2 weeks of the roast (this date will be written somewhere on the bag) so you can drink it within 1 month of roasting - this is when it will taste the best.

Ground vs. Whole Bean: I’m just gonna be real with you. Never ever ever get your beans pre-ground. Invest in a grinder at home and grind your beans right before you make your pour over. This will allow for optimum flavor!

Now, the recipe

Pour overs are made by a recipe, that you can tinker to adjust to the amount of coffee you want to make and the flavors you want to extract.

We recommend this formula: 16 grams water for every gram of coffee.

The beauty of this method is that you can scale your recipe depending on how much coffee you want to make, yet keep the same strength of your brew. Note: if you want coffee to be stronger, use less water for every gram of water and vice versa.

The Technique, baby!

The keys to success are Evenness and Consistency.

For the purposes of this newsletter, we’re going to break it down for what you need to make a 10 oz (300 grams) pour over, which will fit nicely in your standard 12oz cup. You’re going to lose some of your water through absorption so it’s best to start with more water than what you’ll want in your final cup.

The formula again: So we’ll start with 340 grams water total, then use our recipe to calculate our coffee dose. 340 / 16 grams water = 21.25g coffee beans (can round up to 21.3g)

The weight is based on water weight, once you’ve weighed out your coffee into your filter, tare out the scale, and from here on out, just weigh out the water that you add to the brew.

21.25g coffee
Bloom — 60 g
0:40 min — start 1st pour
1:10 min — 200g
1:30 min — start 2nd pour
2:00 min — 340g (final weight!)

Weigh your coffee (whole bean) - 21.3 grams.
Grind your beans: you want the grind to resemble table salt. After you get into the swing of making pour overs, you can start adjusting your grind to play with flavor notes. If your end cup is too bitter, then reduce your extraction by grinding courser, if it’s sour or tastes like it’s lacking sweetness, increase your extraction by grinding finer.
Boil your water in your electric kettle. Around 212F is the ideal temp, but if you don’t have a thermometer, use water just off-boil.
Place your filter in your V60 and wet with hot water.
Add your coffee grinds to the filter and place the V60 on your 12oz cup or a pitcher.
Place the V60 on the scale and tare it out to zero.
Now time to add the water! Start your timer once you start pouring.
The Bloom - pour water over the coffee until it reaches 60 grams. This is degassing of the coffee, the act of the coffee opening up. There’s a lot of gasses produced that are a byproduct of roasting, so at this point, we’re just adding enough water to release the gasses. Zak likes to also agitate (take the end of a utensil and lightly swirl the coffee around) to make sure there are no dry pockets and the water will be evenly distributed when you start to pour.
1st Pour - at 40 seconds, start pouring water in concentric circles, starting in the center and working your way to the edge of the coffee slurry until the weight reaches 200 grams, and the goal is to regulate your pour so you reach 200 grams by 1:10 min.
Take a break until the timer hits 1:30 min.
2nd Pour - at 1:30 min start pouring again in concentric cirlces until the weight reaches 340 grams, and the goal is to due this by the the 2 minute mark.
Voila!