# Pour over question



## fluffles (Sep 4, 2012)

Hi,

When brewing pour over coffee (Kalita wave in my case) and am brewing different amounts, should I always be aiming for the same brew time? Or does this vary depending on the amount I'm brewing?

e.g. If I'm making 200ml with, say, 13g coffee this will flow through quicker than if I'm making 300ml with 18g coffee. So do I need to use a coarser grind for the 18g so that I achieve the same sort of time?


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## MWJB (Feb 28, 2012)

As long as the times aren't extraordinarily different, I'd stick to the equivalent ratios (yours are different for the different doses), use the same grind & adjust pour technique to get the same flavour...if the cup is under & you need to slow the flow, break up the pour into smaller pulses. Conversely, to speed it up, use fewer, larger pours.


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## Razaali1 (Sep 20, 2014)

Would just like to ask what settings do people use on their Mahlkonig Vario when grinding for a Hario V60 (02) set up? Also what weight of beans do you grind. For a small mug I grind 20g and for a larger mug it's 25g. I use the Hario for my long strong coffees to which I add a dash of milk! The beans I currently enjoy are Monsoon Malabar and Golden Crema from "Coffee Direct"

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## Mrboots2u (May 10, 2013)

Grind setting for pour over to some degree will vary to some degree deepens on the amount of coffee you use , the type of coffee you use , how much water you use and how you pour that water ..

Perhaps a Vario owner will be able to give you a " ball park " setting for pour over .

What's the coffee from coffee direct like ? Does it come with a roast date for example ?


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## marbeaux (Oct 2, 2010)

I think you can get a bit too complicated about brew rates etc. I have been brewing pour overs for many years initially trying to find a suitable coffee and method. The only changes that I have made recently is to lightly tamp the coffee when it is in the filter before I start the pour. A firm tamp results in a pour time of 5 minutes and a light tamp under 4 minutes:-the latter gives me a nicer taste. I either top it with frothed milk or drink it through fresh cream floating on the surface. I have always used 60 grams of grounds per litre of water after trying minor variations above and below the figure. I don't have a pouring kettle but have an old teapot which works OK.


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## Mrboots2u (May 10, 2013)

Tap or tamp ? Tamp for pour over, not heard of tamping for that .

Milk for pour over ?


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## MWJB (Feb 28, 2012)

marbeaux said:


> I think you can get a bit too complicated about brew rates etc. I have been brewing pour overs for many years initially trying to find a suitable coffee and method. The only changes that I have made recently is to lightly tamp the coffee when it is in the filter before I start the pour. A firm tamp results in a pour time of 5 minutes and a light tamp under 4 minutes:-the latter gives me a nicer taste. I either top it with frothed milk or drink it through fresh cream floating on the surface. I have always used 60 grams of grounds per litre of water after trying minor variations above and below the figure. I don't have a pouring kettle but have an old teapot which works OK.


Tamping for pourover isn't unheard of, but a pour rate of 4 to 5 minutes based on intensity of tamp seems more complicated than not tamping. Plus without knowing brew quantities, bloom time etc., a time doesn't tell us much either, can you tell us what size brews you are doing? Does a 4 min tamped brew taste different to a 4 min non-tamped brew with a finer grind?


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## marbeaux (Oct 2, 2010)

As I said, people are making this subject far to complicated. I make 200 ml of Thai coffee per pour over, light tamp.

I couldn't answer the other questions 'cos I don't know.


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## Mrboots2u (May 10, 2013)

marbeaux said:


> As I said, people are making this subject far to complicated. I make 200 ml of Thai coffee per pour over, light tamp.
> 
> I couldn't answer the other questions 'cos I don't know.


At the end of the day if you enjoy your coffee all that matters .

If you have found a simple way of making it that suits your taste buds great

I brew mine differently and perhaps with more complication but also prefer not to add milk or cream for sweetness .

Different coffees, different people , different taste buds, different methods

Each to their own ...

Cheers


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## The Systemic Kid (Nov 23, 2012)

There are indeed as many opinions on the 'right' way to make coffee. If you are happy with the results you get from your method then stick with it. But it is always worth giving other methods a go to see if they improve on your preferred method.


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## MWJB (Feb 28, 2012)

marbeaux said:


> As I said, people are making this subject far to complicated. I make 200 ml of Thai coffee per pour over, light tamp.
> 
> I couldn't answer the other questions 'cos I don't know.


I'm not criticising your method, nor making any assumptions as to differences in taste, but a method I might use is to brew at 60g/l as a start point (like you), use around 200g of brew water (like you), and have the brew water flow though the bed at a known rate (like you do), but aiming for 1.2-1.6g/s. We're both using time & a ratio to get where we want to be, I'm using pour method to nail the parameters, you're using a tamp. I'm just a bit lost as to where the differences, or advantages, in simplicity/complications are?

If, for some reason, you only had access to a coarse grind then tamping could be a valuable method to slow the flow...but only if we know what it is you're doing (thanks for fleshing that out, it gives a better idea of context). I'm sure that you see your method as simpler, but if you're not conveying certain details, so that someone else can read your post & replicate it, we now have unspecified variables & we are still somewhat in the dark.


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## marbeaux (Oct 2, 2010)

As you will understand, I have wasted far too much coffee in the early days of learning and some of the questions were as i said too complicated and really unnecessary. One point I did forget is that nobody I think has mentioned water temperature. I use a thermometer each time and start the pour between 92 and 95 degrees centigrade. I live in a very hot Country so that heat loss is minimal. In the UK some enthusiasts were using a tea cosy to keep the water warm.


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