How to Easily Make Pour-Over Black Coffee
The term “pour-over” is a blanket term that covers different kinds of coffee makers, including a Chemex, the traditional Melitta Cone, and the Kalita Wave.
Depending on which type of coffee maker you have, you may have to make small changes to the recipe that is included below. However, these instructions are a great starting point for pour-over. You can also use any coffee you want for this particular method.
Pour-over coffee may seem complicated and fancy, but the process to brew it is actually pretty simple. You can actually get amazing coffee results from the pour-over method as long as you practice.
In fact, it can be easier to set up and use than your typical drip-brew machine–and cleaning up only takes a few seconds. Over time, you’ll be able to perfect your brewing process to achieve a perfect cup of coffee every single time.
The pour-over method is an especially great option for coffee lovers who just want one cup of joe every morning or are interested in sampling different kinds of coffees. You’ll be in control of the brew time and temperature of the water.
This gives you better results in terms of flavor, and you can play around a little bit until you accomplish that perfect cup.
Pour-over coffee is perfect for:
- Clear, tasty flavor
- A perfectly-brewed single serving each time
- Medium or light roasts (if you prefer a robust, dark roast, this is not the brewing method for you)
All you need is:
- Paper filters
- A gooseneck kettle
- Medium ground coffee
- A pour-over brewer
- Hot filtered water
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A scale (optional)
Instructions:
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Add in a filter and coffee grounds. Put a filter in your pour-over brewer and set the brewer on top of your carafe or mug. If you like to freshly grind your coffee beans, set your grinder on the medium setting. You can adjust the setting in the future to get the results you want. Then set your mug and brewer on top of the scale (if you have one) and put coffee grounds into the filter. Shake the brewer a little bit, so the grounds level out; this will lead to an even extraction, which is especially important for this particular method.
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Pour the water. Take your hot filtered water, ensuring the temperature is within 200F (or 20 seconds off the boil). Pour the water slowly in a circular motion. Once half of it is in, take a break to let the water level drop, then refill. This part of the process takes some practice and patience; you don’t want the water to drip through too slowly or too fast. Taking a brief pause helps prevent things from overflowing and provides a nice, slow drip.
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Let the coffee drip. As the water drips through, keep an eye on things. Once the coffee grounds appear again, take the brewer from your mug and place it somewhere to drain, either on a cup or in the sink. You don’t want to drink the last couple of drops because they tend to be very bitter. The timer you set should be between 2:30-3:30 minutes. If it’s longer than that, your water’s taking too long to drip through so you should grind the grounds a little more coarsely or pour faster the next time. If it drips through too quickly, grind finer or pour slower.
- Serve your perfect cup. Serve coffee straight from your carafe, or if you’ve made it into a mug, let the coffee cool first and then serve. Simply discard the coffee grounds and rinse the brewer for a quick cleanup.
How to Make Black Coffee in a French Press
Like the pour-over method, the French press sounds like a fancy way to brew coffee. However, in reality, it’s one of the least expensive and easiest ways to create your cup of coffee each morning. And French press coffee isn’t just for coffee-lovers, even though it has a cult following; it’s popular among everyone and especially great for those who enjoy very strong, robust coffee.
The French press is a manual brewing method that’s simple but gives you complete control over how your cup of coffee turns out. Anyone can make it, and French presses are cheaply and readily available. They’ve gained a lot of popularity in recent years and you may see a French press in the break room at work or on a coworker’s desk.
The main thing to note about the French press method is that it is a manual brewing system–meaning that you can’t just press a button and walk away. You’ll have to carefully watch and interact with the press the whole time, and it requires uniform coarsely-ground coffee beans. Once you get the hang of it, though, it’s easy to make delicious French press coffee.
Here is what you’ll need to make black coffee from a French press:
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Whole coffee beans, freshly ground. Try to make uniform, coarse grounds that are roughly the size of breadcrumbs; grains that are smaller will slip through the filter and leave sediment in your cup.
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A burr coffee grinder, to best achieve those coarse and consistent grounds. Burr grinders tend to make a more consistent grind and are most ideal for the French press method. You can buy a manual grinder or an electric one.
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A digital food scale or measuring cups. You can use either option to measure your coffee, but the best way to measure beans is to use a digital food scale and measure your beans before grinding. An eight-cup press (which produces eight 4-ounce servings) needs 56 grams or ½ cup of coffee beans. Use 15 grams of water per every gram of coffee. In general, 1 cup of water (eight ounces) needs 2 tablespoons of coffee beans.
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A French press, which kind of goes without saying. You don’t need to splurge; there are many high-quality French presses available that are $20 or under.
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Boiling water, which you’ll use to warm up the press before you brew. You’ll also need boiling water to brew the coffee itself.
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A stirrer or long spoon, such as a wooden spoon or teaspoon. You’ll use this to break up the topmost layer of coffee. Don’t use spoons made out of metal materials–this could end up breaking the glass.
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A timer, either a kitchen timer or a timer on your phone. It’ll take exactly four minutes to brew your French press coffee.
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A mug or tumbler for serving.
Instructions:
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Warm up the press. The very first thing you’ll have to do is make sure your press is nice and warm, so your temperature remains consistent throughout brewing. You can simply boil water and rinse the press with the boiled water to achieve this.
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Measure and grind the beans. Measure out the beans you need for the perfect coffee:water ratio. Use your burr grinder to create consistently sized coarse grounds.
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Add the beans to the press. Make sure any hot water is completely discarded from your press, then add the coffee grinds to it. Once your water is boiling, allow it to cool for one minute and then pour it into the French press.
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Break up the top layer. With your stirrer or long spoon, stir to break the top layer of coffee.
- Let the coffee steep. Set your timer and have your coffee sleep for exactly four minutes. Once the timer goes off, push the plunger of the press all the way to its bottom. Then serve the delicious coffee right away.
How to Make Black Coffee in an AeroPress
The AeroPress is one of the most unique and newest ways to brew black coffee; it was invented in 2005. It’s quirky, practical, and highly portable. Once you try out an AeroPress, you won’t go back to regular drip coffee.
The AeroPress was invented by a frisbee company, and since then, it’s been creating waves in the coffee world. Although it’s only a little thing, the AeroPress is now considered one of the best methods available to brew coffee, and it’s a cult favorite for coffee-lovers. It’s an especially great option for travelers. Here’s how to make a perfect cup of AeroPress coffee.
You’ll need:
- An AeroPress
- Coffee filters
- Hot (but not boiling) water
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Beans that are freshly ground to a medium-fine size
Instructions:
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Assemble to start the extraction process. Put the basket with the filter at the bottom of your AeroPress’s brewing chamber, then place all of this on top of your mug.
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Add the grounds. If you’re unsure of the quantity you need, all you have to do is fill up the scoop that is included with your AeroPress. Wet the filter before you add the grounds; this gets rid of any residual papery taste.
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Add water. Evenly pour about 220 grams of water. Your water must be between 175-205F. It shouldn’t be boiling; that will burn the grounds. If you don’t have a thermometer, go ahead and boil water and just let it cool down for a minute or two.
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Stir and seal. AeroPresses include a paddle; use it to stir up the coffee. Then seal it by putting the plunger on top of the brewing chamber (do not press it).
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Allow it to brew. Your AeroPress will need just one minute to steep. After a minute, remove the plunger, stir the coffee again, then put the plunger back.
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Plunge. Just as you would with a French press, lower the AeroPress’s plunger. Try to do it slowly over another minute to get great extraction.
- Enjoy! Now you can enjoy your perfect cup of black coffee. If it tastes too weak or too strong, you can change a couple of factors the next time, such as the coffee-to-water ratio or grind size.
The Best And Easiest Ways to Make Black Coffee
The next time you want to make black coffee, you don’t have to just rely on your traditional drip brewer. Using an AeroPress, French press, and pour-over are three amazing ways to create a delicious cup of black coffee. They each are unique and can easily be taken to work or on the go, so you can make a great cup of coffee anywhere.
They also provide a lot of control during the brewing process. You’ll be able to closely control the size of the coffee grounds, the temperature of the water, and the water-to-coffee ratio. Not only does this make it easier to tailor the cup of coffee to your exact preferences, but it makes it easier to experiment as well. If your cup doesn’t turn out the way you wanted, simply change a few factors the next time!
Just keep in mind that all three of these brewing methods are manual, meaning that you can’t just press a button to brew your coffee and then walk away. They require careful watch and some manual work. They also require strict time limits, so you’ll have to keep an eye on a timer as well. If you tend to be in a rush in the mornings, you should probably stick to easier methods and save these ones for the weekend.
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