It was only a matter of time before someone took my Four Barrel Coffee cherry (pun intended). No one could be more worth than @KaylaGettys as proxy to @MattnWells. I had honest only ever seen a free-pour brewing of coffee once in my life, at Picasso in St. Louis with @SamuelAveryHunt.
For being a coffee lover it is pretty lame that I had never had a pour-over.
“What is a pour-over cup of coffee?” asks the general public. It’s glorious, that’s what it is. Instead of really hot water flooding grounds at high temperatures and inconsistent times, pour-over coffee is treated like a work of art.
The beans are weighed, ground and placed in pre-warmed ceramic or glass brewers (like a Hario V60) with a pre-rinsed filter. A weight, not volumetric, measure of just off boil water is poured through a long-necked kettle (like a Hario Buono Kettle).
The first two ounces of water degasses the coffee, the brewer watches as the coffee blooms. Shortly after, careful pours of water are continued until the ideal weight (grams of coffee to grams of water) is reached.
Then served. Enjoyed. Delicious.
Coffee this was is richer smoother, cleaner, lower in oil, lower in acide and all around better. It’s really not that much more work and not any more expensive in the long run as these devices are pretty much lifetime tools. Sadly, it’s just enough more work than I want to bother with so it’s stovetop, Bialetti espresso for me. For now at least.
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I dissagree. Every pour-over cup of coffee I have had has been horrible. So bad that I couldn’t even finish the cup of coffee. I’ve tried several times at well established places here in SF and each time dissappointment. 🙁 Plus the extra $2 they charge to do it is kind of a rip off in my opinion. I know, I know, people such as yourself rave about it but I can’t help but think it’s just a placebo and people are “tasting” the better cup of coffee because they are told it is. But hey, to each their own.
I dissagree. Every pour-over cup of coffee I have had has been horrible. So bad that I couldn’t even finish the cup of coffee. I’ve tried several times at well established places here in SF and each time dissappointment. 🙁 Plus the extra $2 they charge to do it is kind of a rip off in my opinion. I know, I know, people such as yourself rave about it but I can’t help but think it’s just a placebo and people are “tasting” the better cup of coffee because they are told it is. But hey, to each their own.
@threekevins Sounds like you’re getting ripped off. A pour-over cup of single origin, hand picked, one day roasted, hand ground cup of coffee at Four Barrel is $2.75. Unless you’re getting $0.75 coffee somewhere else (where?!) then you’re getting the short end of the stick.
Try it there perhaps. It’s no more expensive than a cup of coffee from Philz or Starbucks but much more care is put into each cup. Plus the beans are much higher quality and fresher.
There is most likely /some/ placebo effect. I don’t think anything is unvulnerable to that. It’s why a joke kills in one audience but another like-minded audience just doesn’t get it. There is some sort of influence that causes a change to occur.
It’s why I like most wine while “wine professionals” dislike most wine. I’d rather like the majority of what is around me than the minority. Right? I think you’re like me on this one.
@threekevins Sounds like you’re getting ripped off. A pour-over cup of single origin, hand picked, one day roasted, hand ground cup of coffee at Four Barrel is $2.75. Unless you’re getting $0.75 coffee somewhere else (where?!) then you’re getting the short end of the stick.
Try it there perhaps. It’s no more expensive than a cup of coffee from Philz or Starbucks but much more care is put into each cup. Plus the beans are much higher quality and fresher.
There is most likely /some/ placebo effect. I don’t think anything is unvulnerable to that. It’s why a joke kills in one audience but another like-minded audience just doesn’t get it. There is some sort of influence that causes a change to occur.
It’s why I like most wine while “wine professionals” dislike most wine. I’d rather like the majority of what is around me than the minority. Right? I think you’re like me on this one.
@justex07 Actually, Four Barrel is where I have been. 🙂 I must have gotten the more expensive coffee (which then wasn’t worth it.) I really don’t like Philz at all, again their coffee has been very dissapointing and their organization, or lack thereof, grates against my German heritage to put everything in order. I fully accept that those issues are all on me though. I think most of my unsatisfaction comes from purchasing “higher” grade coffee and just being flat outright disgusted with it. I think the best coffee I’ve had around here is from little local no-name places that aren’t trendy and I get the beans and brew them at home. Perhaps I should just open up my own coffee shop just so I can get coffee I like all the time! Kevin’s Java? Kaffe der Kev? Hmmm…
@justex07 Actually, Four Barrel is where I have been. 🙂 I must have gotten the more expensive coffee (which then wasn’t worth it.) I really don’t like Philz at all, again their coffee has been very dissapointing and their organization, or lack thereof, grates against my German heritage to put everything in order. I fully accept that those issues are all on me though. I think most of my unsatisfaction comes from purchasing “higher” grade coffee and just being flat outright disgusted with it. I think the best coffee I’ve had around here is from little local no-name places that aren’t trendy and I get the beans and brew them at home. Perhaps I should just open up my own coffee shop just so I can get coffee I like all the time! Kevin’s Java? Kaffe der Kev? Hmmm…