A Beginner's Guide To Making Coffee At Home

Nothing beats that first cup of coffee in the morning.

That delicious, satisfying jolt gives you the courage to power through the day. With each sip, you feel yourself waking up to the world.

You really know your way around coffee makers, too. Heck, you could push the buttons in your sleep.

But maybe you’d like to savor something different for once. Something that will rock your taste buds.

Have you ever heard of manual brew coffee? Or perhaps, pourover, filter coffee, or craft coffee….hmmm now we’re cooking with gas.  

Manual brew coffee is a special kind of coffee made by pouring water over grounded beans, giving you a fresh, flavorful cup to enjoy. Many people believe this brewing method produces a tastier, more adventurous cup of coffee. We’re talking about coffee brewed in just the right way that brings forward the natural flavor of the beans. Flavor that is so unique that you just might shift away from heavy flavored creamers to drinking your coffee straight black.

Want to give it a try? 

What you’ll need:

• Coffee Pourover Dripper
• Fresh, Whole Bean Coffee
• Coffee Cup or Carafe
• Kettle
• Coffee Grinder
• Paper Coffee Filter
• Measuring cup or gram scale

Manual Brew Coffee Beginner Recipe: The Tablespoon Method

While there are manual brew techniques using a gram scale that will produce even better results, with a more cleaner and balanced cup of coffee, we’ll focus this article on using basic kitchen measuring devices such as the tablespoon and measuring cup.

Instructions:

1. Fill the kettle with around 12 ounces of fresh cold water (if you only want one cup) with a little extra so you can rinse the filter. If you can control the kettle’s temperature, set it anywhere from 200°F to 205°F. Bring the water to a boil.
2. Grind the coffee to a size similar to ground black pepper. You’re going to want two tablespoons of ground coffee for every six ounces of water.
3. Put the coffee filter in the drip coffee pour over, then place the pour over on top of the coffee cup or carafe.
4. Rinse the filter with the water, then dump the water out of the cup. This will help remove any residual paper taste.
5. Measure out the water. For example, if you have two tablespoons of ground coffee, put in six ounces of water. 
6. Put the coffee grounds in the filter and slowly pour a bit of water over them. The coffee will quickly “bloom”.  This bloom phase is important to release the natural flavor of the bean (extraction). You can read more about the science of the bloom phase here.
7. Wait for the bloom to settle down. Then, starting from the center, carefully pour the water in a spiral direction.
8. Let the coffee sit for a minute so the water can completely drain into the cup.
9. Enjoy!

Got a Gram Scale? Try this when you’ve mastered the Tablespoon Method

Most people will use the two tablespoons recipe. It's an effective, easy, and low cost way to make great coffee at home. If you’re on a quest for next-level coffee I highly recommend measuring by weight and using a brew ratio. Measuring by weight provides more precision and the ability to repeat really great cups of coffee. It's why bakers use detailed recipes that involve weighing ingredients. Coffee ratios between 1:12 and 1:17 work best depending on the brewing device.  

One of my favorites is a 1:16 ratio and the one I use the most is 23.5 grams of fresh whole bean coffee ground to a medium grind (black pepper consistency) and pouring of 400 grams of coffee on the gram scale using many of the same steps above for temperature, technique, and sequence.

Got a long weekend coming up? Looking to shake up your winter? Get pouring! This could be your new favorite thing.

Do you enjoy manual brew coffee at home and have a favorite recipe to share? We’d love to hear from you. Feel free to leave a comment or send your recipe to info@brewtoria.com