OXO BREW – Pour Over Coffee Maker

OXO BREW – Pour Over Coffee Maker

Brewers, Drippers, Equipment, Reviews, Uncategorized


OXO pour over coffee brewer

Check out the OXO BREW Pour-over Coffee Maker!

OXO BREW Pour Over Coffee Maker is a new concept to pour-over coffee brewing, by designing a water tank that you fill all at once which then precisely drips onto the coffee grounds in the dripper below. If you love pour-over coffee, but sometimes don’t have time to sit and pour water in stages over several minutes, then this is a great solution. It replaces the need to invest in a typical coffee brewing machine, or worse, a pod system. We have been trying it out for a couple weeks, and so far, very satisfied. The materials are durable high-quality plastic. And an easy to learn method makes the OXO BREW a snap to master.

The brewer takes the Melitta type #2 paper filter, but it is ok to use the #4’s as well.

Full review coming soon.

Buy on Amazon

 

Best Water Temperature for Pour-over Coffee

Best Water Temperature for Pour-over Coffee

Pour-over Coffee Brewing, Technique

202°F is the best boiling point of water for Pour-over Coffee brewing.

Depending on elevation (barometric pressure), water boils at different temperatures. The higher in elevation you are, the lower in temperature water boils; At one atmosphere (sea level) the boiling point of water is 212°F or 100°C. Often you’ll hear that the best water temperature for brewing pour-over coffee is “just off the boil”, but depending on elevation, that boiling point would be different, which is not really optimal for pour-over coffee extraction. Boiling point of water for Ppour-over coffee brewing should be 202°F, not 211°F-203°F.

According this TEDxCoeurdalene video of a talk by Scott Yost, of DOMA Coffee, 202° is the perfect temperature for pour-over coffee extraction. Since seeing that video a couple years ago, we’ve been setting our Bonavita Automatic Kettle at 202°, which seems to be producing the best extractions. After a recent trip we found ourselves at over 6,000 feet above sea level, the water was boiling at around 202° so we were technically using boiling water on the coffee. The water temperature, while boiling, was still 202°. The main thing is that the water shouldn’t be hotter than 202°.

Just off the boil is misleading if you really want the best extraction. Accurate temperature readings combined with a proper coffee grind will work the best for pour-over coffee. But you’ll need some way for accurate temperature gauging. A good kitchen thermometer or a kettle that you can set the temperature with, will provide the accuracy you’ll need for the best cup of pour-over coffee.

For the best pour-over coffee brewing results:

  1. Correct Water Temperature
  2. Properly Ground Coffee

Happy brewing!

Choosing a Burr Coffee Grinder

Choosing a Burr Coffee Grinder

Burr Coffee Grinders, Online Shopping, Product Reviews, Reviews, Shopping Guides

Choosing a burr coffee grinder

choosing burr grindersIf you already using a pour-over coffee cone dripper, goose-neck kettle and only brewing well-sourced freshly-roasted artisan roasted beans but using a blade coffee grinder and disappointed in how your pour-over coffee tastes maybe it’s time to pony-up for a burr coffee grinder. Check out our buying guide, you’ll be surprised that you can find affordable options that work quite well.

The key to proper extraction is an even grind – only a burr grinder can do that

Blade grinders tend to grind very unevenly. Improperly ground coffee can produce a bad tasting cup of coffee by over extracting or under extracting, but usually a combination of both due to uneven grind. If the grounds are too course, the flavors will not release well enough and the brewed coffee will be watery and bland tasting. If the grind is too fine, the coffee will taste bitter. Check out this guide on the different grinds. 

If you’re committed to pour-over coffee, buying a conical burr coffee grinder is going to take your brewing to the next level.

With so many choices among conical burr coffee grinders, your decision criteria should be:

  • Price
  • Brand
  • Quality
  • Customer reviews
  • Personal recommendation

Prices will range from $50 to over $900.

Check out the conical burr coffee grinder buying guide
Hario V60 Drip Scale Review

Hario V60 Drip Scale Review

Equipment, Father's Day, Reviews

The Hario V60 Drip Scale is the perfect digital scale for pour-over coffee brewing.

Hario V60 Drip ScaleUPDATE: We reviewed the Hario V60 Drip Scale 6 years ago. This is an update.

Still works great. After multiple daily uses, after 6 years this scale is still going strong. Everything works as if it was just purchased. One notable item to mention is this: do not let the liquids run over the brim (overfill) of your cup. The liquid will get inside the scale and make it stop working. Aside from accidently over filing the dripper, we found that occasionally a suction formed around the rubber collar and the cone of the Metal Hario V60 Dripper, and caused the coffee to run down the side of the cup and into the scale. If coffee gets inside your scale, don’t panic, remove the batteries, pour out any liquid got inside the scale and place, on end, in a sunny window to evaporate the coffee from the scale. Take care to be certain it’s 100% dry before replacing the batteries and using again. After every flooding event, and following the remedy,  Hario V60 Digital Scale worked perfectly. This is not to suggest that you should make a habit of such acts of carelessness, take care of your digital scale. We still love our Hario V60 Digital Scale! Buy now from Amazon.com >>>

Original Hario V60 Drip Scale post:

After going cheap and trying a standard kitchen scale it became apparent it was fairly useless for accurate pour-over coffee brewing. Why? The one we tested shut off after two minutes, the proper brew time for pour-over coffee is at least 3 minutes. The second issue is the lack of a timer. When brewing pour-over coffee you need to time the bloom and then the remaining pour. Hario V60 Drip Scale has a built-in timer which is pretty handy for the groggy mind in the wee hours.

Hario V60 Drip Scale is easy to use

After unboxing you’ll find the unit compact and well designed. It was refreshing to see the controls simple and easy to press. The scale uses the metric system, measuring to the 1/10 of a gram if needed, an extra push of the ON/OFF TARE button was needed.

Place your cup or carafe and Hario V60 Dripper with a moistened filter on the scale then press TARE button until it reads zero. Add freshly ground coffee to desired measurement, usually 24g. Press TARE again. Bloom coffee with 30-60g of hot water, start timer, bloom for around one minute. The add water in increments for 3 minutes totaling 385g.

Minimalist design

We thought the Hario V60 Drip Scale was a sharp-looking device. Kudos to Hario’s industrial design team and general aesthetic. The construction is plastic and the finish is flat black. Stains will show, but wipe off easily.

The unit is compact, light-weight and easy to handle. We found it felt a bit on the light side after using a heavier kitchen model.

The display is a typical LED, no back light though, we don’t know if this is a problem, figuring that not many people brew pour-over coffee in the dark, but maybe people with vision issues will find it difficult to read.

On the back is a wall hanging hole for wall storage. The plastic will scratch when finding the hook with hole, as we regrettably found out. So be careful.

Conclusion

We are very happy with the Hario V60 Drip Scale, with only one regret: that we didn’t get one sooner! Pour-over Coffee World gives the Hario V60 Drip Scale 4 1/2 stars. Buy one now. A great Father’s Day gift idea.

Pour Over Coffee World Hario V60 Drip Scale
Pour Over Coffee World Hario V60 Drip Scale
Hario V60 digital scale 6 years old
hario v60 digital scale amazon receipt