Brewing Single Origin Coffee
Single origin beans act as a window into a specific region's climate and soil. When brewing, your goal is to draw out the bright acidity and unique floral or fruit notes that define the cup, rather than just extracting bitterness.
Water is the majority of your cup.
Use filtered water that has no distinct taste or odor. If you wouldn't drink the water plain, don't use it for your coffee.
- Digital scale
- Gooseneck kettle
- Burr grinder
- Pour-over dripper
- Paper filter
What goes in.
- 20gfreshly roasted whole bean coffee
- 320gfiltered water heated to 205°F
Expelling Carbon Dioxide
Pour just enough water to wet the grounds and let them sit for 30 seconds. This releases trapped gases, allowing the remaining water to flow through the coffee bed evenly.
The method.
Grind the beans
Aim for a medium-coarse consistency, similar to kosher salt. Too fine, and the cup will taste muddy; too coarse, and it will be sour and weak.
Rinse the filter
Place the paper filter in the dripper and rinse with hot water. This removes any papery taste and preheats your brewing vessel.
Add coffee and bloom
Place the dripper on your scale, add the ground coffee, and tare to zero. Pour 40g of water, ensuring all grounds are saturated, and wait 30 seconds.
Begin the draw down
Pour the remaining water in slow, concentric circles, keeping the water level steady. Avoid pouring directly against the filter walls to prevent bypass.
Assess the bed
Once the water has dripped through, the coffee bed should look flat and even. A crater in the middle suggests you poured too aggressively.
When it doesn't go to plan.
Always grind immediately before brewing to preserve volatile aromatic compounds.
If the coffee tastes bitter, coarsen your grind by one or two clicks next time.
If the coffee tastes thin or watery, use a finer grind to increase contact time.
The ones that keep coming up.
Why does my single origin coffee taste sour?
The coffee is likely under-extracted. Try using water that is slightly hotter or grind your beans a bit finer to increase surface area contact.
Does the roast level change the brewing method?
Lighter roasts are denser and benefit from higher water temperatures (near 208°F), while darker roasts extract more easily and prefer cooler water (near 195°F) to avoid charcoal-like notes.
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