RETURN AFTER POUR-OVER In the late aughts, when coffee became more popular in North America, I was quite sure it wasn’t my cup of java. I kept spending money to sample it at coffee shops, but given the cost and flavour, I started to feel like it was all about me.
I was able to realise that my ambivalence was simply a result of a major misunderstanding thanks to the well-regarded Japanese business Hario, which creates a variety of affordable devices to brew and serve pour-over coffee. Pour-over coffee, to the uninitiated, resembles a handcrafted version of drip coffee. A gooseneck kettle is usually used to pour a thin stream of hot water over a basket or cone of coffee grounds, frequently dividing the flow into a series of exact pours and pauses over a period of several minutes. Although labor-intensive, the outcomes can be extraordinary.
The Mugen ($13), the Switch ($44 and up), and the Drip-Assist ($14) are three of Hario’s most recent pour-over items that I had requested to be lent to me along with a V60 dripper ($12 and up).
The V60, a ribbed cone with a sizable, scary hole in the bottom and a platform allowing it to sit on top of a brewing vessel, is one of the classics of the coffee world. To accommodate the distinctive conical shape of the V60, Hario sells paper filters. The Mugen, also known as the V60 One Pour Dripper Mugen, is named after a word that, according to my friend Ted, a professor of Japanese literature, corresponds to the idea of infinity or boundlessness. On the outside, it resembles the V60, although the internal wall has less ribbing. With this arrangement, you can pour in a steady stream rather quickly while still giving the ground plenty of time to come into contact with water. The Drip-Assist is a tool with sets of holes in two concentric rings that rests on top of a dripper and helps beginners pour more steadily. The Switch Immersion Dripper, which is similar to the V60 but has a stopper in the bottom to turn the water flow on and off, is the last option.
I concentrated on learning how to use the V60 by following the instructions in Craft Coffee by Jessica Easto, knowing that I would soon be speaking with some professionals. I slowly poured water over the grounds using a stopwatch, scale, and gooseneck kettle, giving them time to become saturated, and pouring in small, exact circles to ensure that each ground received nearly equal amounts of water. In the end, it took me around three and a half minutes to pour 400 grammes of water, the majority of which ran through the grounds. There are countless ways to use a V60, and like Easto’s, the majority of them are deliberate, methodical, and calmingly meditative. It is neither quick nor practical. I always had her instructions in front of me when I poured, but after that first cup of French roast, which was robust, smooth, and smoky, I went from being eh to being oh.
I have a lot to learn still. I enjoyed the idea of pour-over as my reflective afternoon brew, but the process of making it took too long for me to use it when I wanted a lot of coffee quickly in the morning.
Why did your opinion change? I made a previous error when I initially tried pour-over at coffee shops and thought the effect was from the process rather than the beans. Instead of unusual beans with a very distinct flavour profile, I should have started with the dark roast that I regularly drink.
The outcomes were consistently unexpectedly good, whether I used the premium beans from Café Con Cé in San Juan, Puerto Rico, or Costco Columbian. Although I like the French press, pour-over produced comparably good results without the sediment or the unpleasant cleanup.
For more thorough testing, I went to Olympia Coffee’s Seattle lab with my bag of toys—the V60, Mugen, Drip-Assist, and Switch—and met with Sam Schroeder, a co-owner of Olympia Coffee, and Reyna Callejo, a retail trainer, two people I frequently approach to help me test coffee-related products for WIRED. It was entertaining to see them test while also getting a giggly glimpse of coffee fanatics having fun while learning about the principles of coffee.
Making coffee is a ballet of variables where each adjustment affects the result. There are several variables to consider, including water volume, temperature, the type and roast of the coffee beans, the size and consistency of the grind, agitation, and the amount of time the water is in contact with the grounds. With pour-over, where talent and technique can mean the difference between a delicious cup and a bitter brew, every adjustment can alter the end product. Nowhere are all of these factors so nakedly on show as they are with this method of brewing.
The thing that shocked me the most was observing what appealed to Sam and Reyna and what didn’t—a mix of divide-and-conquer and personal taste. The Mugen, which is intended to speed processes, is what I thought they would find most interesting, yet it was the first to be destroyed.
