If you follow my updates on Flickr you might have seen a few pictures recently of my Hario Range and V60 pour over cone.

As far as non-espresso coffee goes, I have always had a great love for the Aeropress and Cafetiere. One of the problems that I have with the aeropress is that it doesn’t make enough coffee (greed), and the main problem that I and many others have with the good old French press, is that you inevitably get some sludge in the cup no matter what you do to avoid it1. Incidentally my other criticism of the press pot is that a plunged pot, in my eyes, is still brewing away albeit at a slower rate.

I guess the main negative of pour over for me, was that it almost seemed too simple! How can you make coffee brewing easier than by pouring hot water through a filter holding ground coffee? Well you can’t, but as with most things in life – simple is often better.

And that’s true in this case.

Up until quite recently I had been enjoying some great results from my ceramic cone and old school filter. I also own a Bodum Kona and a Bodum Bistro pour over setups, with the gold filters that don’t actually work. But after watching this downright amazing video, which details in perfectly spoken Japanese how the Hario V60 dripper works, I was sold. (Paerhaps it was the rather suggestive young lady holding that oversized paper filter that did it for me?)

So I have been playing around with grind size, dose and even pouring technique. I liken the pouring technique bit to stirring or shaking a cocktail, everyone does it differently, but often little thought is put into exactly why we do things one way or another. Well, there is no doubt in my mind that the way you pour water is crucial to the quality of the final cup. I have even gone as far as to pilfer an an olive oil pourer from my own mothers house, to aid me in my quest for the perfect pour. I want one of those Hario ones, but they have eluded me for the time being! (By the way, anyone know where to pick one up in LA?)

You'd better believe that the spout on that thing delivers water where I want it to be.

I have also been referring to the SCAA coffee brewing control chart. This nifty chart asks you how many grams of coffee you are using per litre of water and then indicates the anticipated TDS (total disolved solids) for the brew. By measuring the TDS you can find the percentage of solubles yield from the extraction, and from this you can gauge how successful the brew was and whether or not you need to alter your dose, grind size, or pouring technique. It can also clear up issues involving a bitter tasting or underdeveloped cup of coffee.

Of course we all ultimately rate the quality of a cup of coffee by the level of enjoyment we get from it, but it really is even more enjoyable when you have the science to back it up. My Hario produces a wonderful clean cup of translucent red coffee that exhibits all of the characteristics of the bean that I want transferred into the drink. It’s quick to use, a great economical way of drinking coffee and hardly any cleaning is required. What more can you ask for?