simonp47•1mo agoTop Commenter

My buddy in Portland said my pour-over method was basically just making hot bean water

He watched me brew a cup last month and pointed out I was pouring way too fast, like in under 2 minutes total. He said I was just washing the grounds instead of actually extracting. I slowed it down to a 3.5 minute brew and the flavor got way richer. Has anyone else had a friend totally call out a bad habit you didn't even know you had?

3 comments

3 Comments

rose_cooper1mo ago

Wow, that's a solid catch by your friend. So when you slowed down your pour, did you also change your grind size at all, or was it purely about the timing? I'm trying to figure out which part made the biggest difference for the flavor.

drewsullivan1mo agoMost Upvoted

That "purely about the timing" part is a little off. The time is just a result of other things. Slowing your pour usually means you're using a finer grind to create that resistance. If you just pour slower over the same coarse grind, the water will still rush right through. The better flavor came from the finer grind that the slower pour forced you to use.

lopez.karen1mo ago

Hold on, you're saying the better flavor only came from a finer grind. But what if the slower pour itself changes how the water hits the grounds? It's not just about resistance. A gentle pour might not stir up as many bitter bits from the bottom compared to a fast, aggressive one. You could get a different extraction from the same grind just by changing your pour speed. The timing might be the real variable here, not just a side effect.