The pour over, so simple and yet so delicious. Ever wonder what all the hype is about? It is, after all, just manually poured water through coffee grounds and a filter, much like what happens with an auto-drip machine. But there are a few key things that can make a pour over much tastier than your average auto-drip machine. This is good news because pour over devices are fairly cheap, so if you can add a few minutes to your daily brewing routine you will get tasty results.
1. Full Saturation - brewing with a pour over allows you to be in control of the water hitting the grounds. What you want is all of the coffee to get wet and saturated evenly, this creates a sweeter and less bitter cup of coffee (more evenly extracted).
2. Cleanliness - pour over drippers a very easy to keep clean. Coffee contains oils that have a stale smell when they build up in an auto-drip machine. You don't want this in your daily brew!
3. Hot Water - you want water that is about a minute off a boil for proper brewing (205 Fahrenheit). Not all auto drip machines have water that is hot enough to extract coffee to its sweet spot.
4. Freshness - coffee is better when it is brewed fresh. Coffee will change in taste as it sits on a burner plate for too long, or as it sits and cools. It's best to brew fresh, or drink your coffee from a thermal carafe within an hour of brewing.
