Okay, so I’ve been wanting to get into pour-over coffee for a while now. I finally took the plunge and grabbed a HARIO “Metropolis Mala” set. I figured, why not document the whole process, bumps and all? So, here’s how my first foray into pour-over went down.
Unboxing and First Impressions
First, I unboxed everything. The set came with the V60 dripper, a glass server, a measuring spoon, and some paper filters. It all looked pretty sleek, I gotta say. I was a little intimidated, but mostly excited.
The Grind
I knew I needed a burr grinder for this, so I’d already picked up a hand grinder a while back. Today, I used medium-fine grind, or at least I think I did. It looked about right compared to the pictures I’d seen online. It’s always difficult to know if it’s the appropriate choice.
Getting the Water Right
This part felt a bit fussy. I heated up some filtered water in my regular kettle. Then, I waited for it to cool down a bit – I didn’t want to scorch the coffee grounds. I don’t have a fancy gooseneck kettle yet, so I just tried to pour slowly and steadily from my regular *’s not difficult, but it is easy to fall.
The Bloom
I put a filter in the dripper, rinsed it with hot water (which also warmed up the server), and then dumped that water. Then, I added the ground coffee to the filter and gave it a little shake to level it out. Next, I poured just enough water over the grounds to saturate them, and waited for about 30 seconds. This is called the “bloom,” and it’s supposed to let the coffee release some gases. It looked kinda cool, all bubbly and stuff.
The Main Event: Pouring
After the bloom, I slowly started pouring more water in a circular motion, trying to keep the water level consistent. This took a few minutes, and honestly, my arm got a little tired. I probably need to work on my pouring technique, it wasn’t as smooth as I’d like.
The Drawdown and the Taste Test
Once I’d poured all the water, I waited for it to finish dripping through. This is called the “drawdown.” Finally, I removed the dripper, swirled the coffee in the server a bit, and poured myself a cup. It’s a little bit sour, but it’s a good attempt.
And that’s it. That’s the whole process of my practice, and I’ll probably try more next time.
