Pour-Over Coffee In My Daily Routine

Pour-over coffee and my daily routine go hand in hand. Learn how I brew my prefect cup at home with some simple steps!

This blog post is sponsored by Melitta Canada, Inc.

When my parents came to visit us last month my favourite thing was sleeping in late in the morning while they chased our 23 month old son. How I was able to say goodbye to that I’ll never know.

Here is the thing, I’m NOT a morning person. I mean, I could lie and pretend I am, but I’ve just never been one of those “spring-out-of-bed-super-bouncy-and-ready-to-rock-my-day” kind of person. I’ve never been an early bird before the baby, and I’m definitely not right now. Mama needs her sleep.

Do We Really Need A Schedule?

But there’s one thing I’ve discovered lately, it’s that having some kind of routine in the AM helps me feel like my life is in order. I don’t really have a schedule, because I like the flexibility and schedules stress me out. If I try to fill every single minute I’ll drive myself to insanity. My stress hormones will rise, I’ll feel anxious, and simultaneously guilty because my schedule will not work and I’ll feel like a failure. A much better idea for me is to create pockets in my day full of nothing. This means I can fill them with activity or no activity. We have some days during the week with activity classes, like My Gym, music and swimming, but I also like to reserve a few days to take it slow, play at the park or read books at home.

There is one thing that remains constant everyday – it’s my coffee. Given that this exhausted momma over here isn’t getting much rest, coffee is a MUST these days! You know, it’s funny – I was never absolutely obsessed with coffee until I became a mom. Now I can’t function properly without it.

In the morning, when things are at the peak of the chaos I take it simple and start my day with a giant glass of water, followed by either a tea or a smoothie, and then once Tihon is down for his nap I brew myself a cup of coffee.

Having coffee ritual in the afternoon has become one of my favourite parts of the day. Especially since I got introduced to the art of pour-over coffee at home with premium coffee and coffee accessories by Melitta. I had an opportunity to test out their manual drip system at home and was amazed how easy it was to make a downright delicious cup of coffee.

What is Pour-Over Coffee

For those of you who have never heard of pour-over coffee, it’s a really simple brewing method in which water is poured in a very steady and slow stream over a filter cone. This method is a similar process to a drip coffee machine but it is done manually, giving you more control over each phase of the process. You decide how much coffee and water goes in and you set the time.

The flavour comes out incredibly clean and bright, without the bitterness or charred taste that can occur with drip machines (when the beans spend more time in contact with the hot water). It does require more of your attention but I actually really enjoy the rhythm of it. And it only takes about 5 minutes from start to finish.

POUR-OVER COFFEE EQUIPMENT

There is all sorts of fancy equipment that you can buy to make your perfect cup using pour-over method at home. But the basic essentials you’ll need include the following:

Digital Scale

Scale is needed for the correct ratio test. It’s important to have a consistent water to coffee ratio since this will help you with your foolproof cup of coffee. As a general rule, it’s suggested to use about a 1:17 coffee to water weight ratio. In other words, I use 21 grams of coffee and about 350 grams of water.

Grinder

Fresh beans are always, always better with coffee. Grinding right before you brew is important because fresh coffee begins to oxidize as soon as you grind it.

Pour-Over Coffee Maker

There are a few options on the market, but I’m so hooked on my Melitta pour-over coffee maker. It comes with easy to use coffee dripper that can either sit directly on top of your cup or the matching serving carafe. I absolutely love this serving carafe because it has good thermal insulation and will keep coffee hot for a long time. It holds about 3.5 cups, which is a good amount, even if you have a few guests over. Also, pastel pink for life! 🙌 Grab your coffee maker here using my promo code Lily15% !

Coffee Filter

You’ll need a matching filter for your coffee maker so choose accordingly. Did you know that Melitta invented the world’s first coffee filter? These guys know a thing or two about brewing coffee for sure. Their filters are made from southern pine pulp and bamboo in order to maximize the absorbency of bitter oils and acids resulting in a less bitter, richer, smoother cup of coffee.

Gooseneck Kettle

The gooseneck pour-over kettle is unique because it gives the brewer complete control over water distribution that a standard teakettle doesn’t. The shape and stream of water flowing through grinds ultimately affects the kind of extraction one will achieve. And better extraction means better tasting coffee.

HOW TO MAKE POUR-OVER COFFEE

Fill kettle with filtered water and bring to a boil. The ideal temperature for coffee brewing is 195-205 F. If you don’t have a thermometer, simply bring the water to a boil, turn it off and let it rest for a minute before using.

Fold the coffee filter according to the packaging instructions and place it inside the brewer. Next, pour some hot water over the filter to rinse paper flavour from the filter and preheat the brewer. Once the filter is completely rinsed, carefully pour out the water from the carafe.

Grab your scale and measure out 21 grams of beans. Then grind them to a medium-coarseness, it should be the consistency of a table salt.

Pour the ground coffee beans into the rinsed, damp filter. Shake it lightly to evenly distribute.

Place the pour-over brewer on top of the digital scale and cancel out the weight so it starts at zero. Carefully start pouring the water on top of the grounds in slow circles. Add only enough water to saturate the grounds.

Wait 30-45 seconds for the grounds to puff up and “bloom”, which allows the gasses to release from the coffee grounds. Then pour twice more water in slow and steady spirals to keep things even. Wait as the water drips through for a few seconds, then continue this process of pouring and waiting until the scale measures about 350 gr.

This entire brewing process will take two minutes and thirty seconds. Remove the filter and you are ready to serve your coffee!

Thank you to Melitta Canada, Inc. for sponsoring this recipe!

More Delicious Breakfast Recipes:

Matcha Latte – so rich, so comforting, and soooo velvety in texture.

Coconut Chia Bowl – superfood overload here!

Kefir Pancakes – my ultimate fave breakfast dish growing up.

Smoked Salmon and Avocado Toast – nutritious, elegant and simple breakfast toast elevated to perfection.

Have you made this recipe? Let me know by leaving a comment and rating the recipe below! Don’t forget to take a picture and tag @gastrosenses and use #gastrosenses on Instagram so I can see your beautiful creations!