A no-fuss guide to pour-over at home

Pour-over is the best way to taste what makes a coffee special. It is clean, bright and shows off the fruit and floral notes that get lost in a milky latte. It also has a reputation for being fussy. It does not have to be.

This is the recipe we teach in our Wednesday evening class, simplified for a sleepy kitchen at 7 a.m.

What you need

• A dripper, such as a Kalita Wave, Hario V60 or Origami
• Paper filters that fit your dripper
• Freshly roasted beans, ideally 5 to 21 days after roasting
• A burr grinder, even an inexpensive hand grinder
• A kitchen scale, or a tablespoon if you must
• Water just off the boil

If you can only upgrade one thing, make it the grinder. Blade grinders smash beans into a mix of dust and boulders, which brew unevenly and taste both bitter and sour at once. A burr grinder gives you consistent pieces and a sweeter cup.

Our everyday recipe

Use 20 grams of coffee to 320 grams of water. That is roughly three heaped tablespoons for a large mug. Grind it about as coarse as sea salt.

Rinse the paper filter with hot water to remove any papery taste and warm the dripper, then pour that water away. Add the coffee, give it a little shake to level it, and pour about 50 grams of water to wet all the grounds. Wait 30 to 40 seconds while it bubbles. This is the bloom, and it lets trapped gas escape so the water can do its job.

Then pour the rest slowly in small circles, keeping the water level steady, until you reach 320 grams. The whole brew should take between three and three and a half minutes.

Taste first, then adjust. Your tongue is a better tool than any timer.

Dialling it in

If your coffee tastes sour, thin or sharp, grind a little finer. If it tastes bitter, dry or harsh, grind a little coarser. Change one thing at a time and you will find your sweet spot in two or three mornings. Write it down on a sticky note inside the cupboard, and you will never have to think about it again.