HOW TO DRINK COFFEE BLACK: THE POUR OVER

Hopefully you're reading this in the morning because I want to talk about coffee. Specifically, my favorite way to make coffee: The Pour Over.

I believe that everybody has a coffee that they would enjoy drinking black. The problem is, we hear the words "black coffee" and immediately picture some stale, bitter cup of coffee you'd get at a gas station or some classic Folgers or Maxwell House. Yes, if you drink Folgers or Maxwell House, you are part of the problem. No judgement, just addressing the reality of the situation.

See, I discussed buying higher quality coffee in a previous writing. The main things to take into consideration:

1. Roast Date
2. Whole bean

Folgers? Maxwell House? Most other commercial coffees? Roasted a very long time ago. Roasted very dark. Ground immediately. Coffee is like bread, or chips—it can stale, and once it does, it's got this terrible flat flavor that is often accompanied by a litany of quinic acid. Imagine somebody has only ever tried stale chocolate chip cookies and says "I hate cookies, they're so gross." You'd understand why they think they don't like chocolate chip cookies, but it isn't an accurate representation of what cookies can be. Not only are there not stale cookies, but there's so many different kinds of flavors and shapes and sizes, etc. But back to coffee: I mentioned quinic acid. Quinic acid is the compound that makes coffee bitter. The darker the roast level of a coffee, the more quinic acid is present. So when people talk about "strong coffee" they usually are referring to that coffee that has a bite to it because of all the quinic acid. Little do most know the more quinic acid, the less caffeine. Caffeine gets roasted out of the coffee as it goes through the roasting process. The lighter the coffee, the more caffeine.

Speaking of light roast coffees, these coffees hold on to the majority of their origin characteristics. That's because the qualities of a coffee i.e. sweetness, acidity, brightness, mouth feel, and tasting notes are all a result of the coffees growing environment and processing methods (including roasting). When the coffee is taken to a light or medium roast (between first and second crack) the light roast/medium roast coffee will give you some pretty crazy flavors.

First and second crack? Simply put: first crack is the change in structure of the coffee bean. Think popcorn. You apply heat, the coffee bean expands and results in a loud popping sound. Second crack is the breaking of the cells of the coffee and sounds more like you're pouring milk into a bowl of Rice Krispies. Some coffees can maintain origin traits when taken to second crack, but most cannot. Compounds start getting lost in the breaking of the cells. Compounds that lead to good taste and mouth feel. 

I feel like a lot of people get confused when people talk of tasting notes and how coffees can have hints of caramel, or some fruity coffees can have notes of cherry or blueberry. These are not flavorings or syrups or anything of that nature. These are a result of the processing. Elevation (different respiration), soil type, climate, fermenting process, drying process, etc. Some of these coffees have wildly fruity flavors. Some have extreme sweetness making it taste like there's heaps of sugar in it. This is what's so cool about coffee. Each bean has a story. Instead of listening to that story, we tape its mouth and put in noise cancelling head phones by adding cream and sugar and syrups and all kinds of other wild concoctions.

I'm convinced everybody has a coffee that they would drink black. It's all about experimenting and seeing what your taste preferences are. I might not be able to tell you what that coffee is, but I can tell you this—what you're used to a black cup of coffee tasting like, or what you imagine it tastes like, is far off from what it can taste like when discussing high-quality, well-roasted, well-brewed coffee.

I honestly forgot I was supposed to be talking about how to make a pour over... I'll keep this brief. The manual pour-over style of making coffee allows you to maintain control over many components of the coffee. You can brew faster, slower, more aggressive, lighter, etc. Point being, you can control many of the variables that impact brewing. This allows for another way in which you can tweak the taste of the coffee to cater towards your liking. SO MANY VARIABLES.

Now, I'll share the "recipe" that I use. What you will need:

• Kettle
• Pour over
• Scale
• Grinder
• Filters
• Coffee (My favorite coffee brand: Fellow. Home of Fellow drops. I have an affiliate link with them)

Details:

Step 1: Heat at least 275g of water to 205°F 

Step 2: Weigh out 15g of coffee

Step 3: Wet the paper filter to get rid of the paper taste

Step 4: Grind your coffee medium-fine

Step 5: Add coffee to the filter

Step 6: Pour 50g of water into the coffee bed

Step 7: Wait 30 seconds (Bloom)

Step 8: Pour until you reach 155g of water

Step 9: Swirl the pour over 3 times

Step 10: Wait until the water reaches the coffee bed (you can see the ground again)

Step 11: Pour until 260g

Step 12: Swirl the pour over 3 times

Step 13: Let the remaining water drip through

That's it. I've gone on too long about coffee and pour overs so I will end this conversation. It's been fun. Go experiment with coffee. If you're like me you'll dive too deep and start a coffee roasting company. It's a good time and an easy business to stay productive in. Copious amounts of caffeine are consumed.

~ Bonde