Our 2024 pourover recipe

We assume most people buying and brewing our coffees, are likely doing pourovers, as opposed to espresso or other methods (although we do love our coffees on espresso), so we're super happy to finally be sharing our method with you.

The recipe we've developed and are continually improving on is quite unique, and while it may not bring out the best of every coffee, it is a trusty recipe that we've found leads to consistently enjoyable cups from our beans. This recipe is based on technique, with emphasis on agitation, flow, and pour height. Drawdown time is not an end-all-be-all here.

And if brewing our coffees, a crucial first step is degassing. Although we only sell coffees which we find to taste great from the first or second day of cupping, our coffees typically require at least 35-45 days of rest before brewing. If possible, we recommend 60 days, as our coffees typically peak from then until the 90 day mark. Our omniroasting style leaves a lot more gas inside the coffee than other roast profiles, and those undesirable gassy notes will be very evident if not left to rest for a sufficient amount of time.

• dripper - Origami Dripper Air (S or M, both are fine)
• filter - Kalita Wave 155 or 185
• kettle - Fellow Stagg EKG, Brewista Artisan
• scale - Acaia Pearl
• grinder - EK43, Timemore 078, Comandante C40 MK3, TImemore C3
• other - Nucleus Paragon

We use the Origami Dripper Air as it fits Kalita wave filters flushly, while having a slope that isn't as steep as other flat-bottom drippers like the Orea, Kalita, Timemore, etc. It also fits the Paragon, which we use at the brew bar, perfectly. We prefer the Air to the ceramic model because it's super light, convenient, and won't break. Technically, it also retains heat better throughout the brew. Regarding the kettle, our baristas like both the Stagg and the Brewista, but we choose to use the Stagg in shop because it's easier to control for our pouring style.

• 50g bloom for 30s, 200g slow circle pour (outer to inner) for 1:15~1:30, 250g finish at around 3:00~3:30
• ratio - 1:16.7 (15g coffee, 250g water)
• grind setting - relatively fine (10~11 on EK43, 9~11 on Timemore 078, 24~27 clicks on Comandante C40 MK3)
• brew temperature - 93°C (up to 97°C based on preference)
• water - 100ppm (we use Aquacode, 1:6 ratio of Aquacode to distilled water)
• target TDS: usually 1.3-1.5 depending on the coffee, but ultimately the taste 

Grind your 15g of coffee, trying to mitigate fines and chaff depending on your grinder.

Place your filter and rinse with hot water, ideally as hot as your brew temp, and more than 100g.

Gently pour your grounds into the filter, as evenly as possible. Once in the filter, lift and tap the sides of your dripper until the bed is flat and evenly distributed. You can use WDT at this time if you prefer, but we don't at the shop.

 

• Set everything on your scale, and tare. Start your timer, and begin pouring 50g of water into the dripper, starting from the center, moving to the outside, and then back towards the center to finish. This 50g should be slightly aggressive and quick, finishing around 10-12 seconds. The goal here is just to sufficiently saturate the grounds, so give the dripper a few swirls to saturate as needed.

• Starting from the center and circling towards the outside, start pouring with a similar flow-rate to the bloom to quickly resaturate the coffee bed and raise the water level, with around 35-50g of water.

• This pour will not stop, but once you hit that initial 85-100g of total water, slow the pour down to where the stream of water is very slow and at a 90 degree vertical. For the next 130g or so of water, until around 230-240g of total water, you'll complete multiple rotations at a very slow pace, circling from the outside to the inside. This is a very slow process, and this pour typically lasts between 50 seconds to a minute.

• Once you reach around 230-240g and you've gotten to the center of the pour, finish with a center-only pour until 250g of total water. This pour should finish around 1:45-2:00.

• Depending on your preference, you may swirl the bed to finish the drawdown, but if you don't, you can study the finished coffee bed to see how your pour technique was. The ideal coffee bed should have clear walls of coffee on the outside of the dripper, with a flat circular bed towards the center. As mentioned, drawdown time does not matter too much, but typically our drawdowns are between 3:15 and 3:45.

• 50g bloom, center to outer, finish with outer to inner at 10-12 seconds
• swirl to saturate grounds evenly
• Main pour starts with 35-50g of water from the center to the outside, without stopping before the slow pour
• aggressive and quick to raise the water level and resaturate grounds
• Main pour after the resaturation finishes at 250g of total water, around 1:40-1:50. Outer to inner pour, slowly, maintaining the water level
• finish with center pour during last 10-20g of water
• Drawdown time between 3-4 minutes

• Maintain a steady stream and flowrate: vertical stream with as low of a flow as possible (without breaking the stream)
• Create a wall of grounds that leads to a flat center, this is done first with the start of the 2nd pour, to create the shape under the water, and then maintained with the slow circle pour
• Relatively quick drawdown (around 1:10) is ideal, and despite using a finer grind setting, this pour technique allows for a clear coffee bed without any cloudiness during the drawdown, ideally the water should be quite clear, and the coffee bed should be visible