The evolution of the coffee
brewing recipe
Needless to say, my pouring didn’t look anything like the graceful motions I had witnessed baristas apply in coffee shops and the result in the cup was equally underwhelming. Can you relate?
I’d watch them pour water in a jug, add ground coffee from the supermarket to a Melitta filter and push a button. Scales or thermometers to measure the precise amount of coffee or temperature of water were unheard of. And the result was, quite frankly, a bitter, dark brew that I’d avoid like the plague. Needless to say, filter coffee didn’t have the best reputation.
Needless to say, filter coffee didn’t have the best reputation. It wasn’t until the third wave rediscovered pour over methods that had once before enjoyed popularity during the middle of the 20th century, that the perception of filter coffee changed for the better. I am talking about the Chemex, V60 and Kalita Wave. Especially at the beginning of the third wave this gear helped specialty coffee shops to visibly differentiate themselves from regular coffee shops. Until today, you’ll find either one of these and/or the AeroPress in the majority of specialty cafes. However, I’ve also witnessed more and more third wave coffee shops relying solely on batch brew, one example being Bonanza in Berlin Kreuzberg. Progress and innovation have slowly improved the negative perception of batch brewers.
Gooseneck Kettle
Tefal G119S444 Titanium Excel
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Needless to say, filter coffee didn’t have the best reputation. It wasn’t until the third wave rediscovered pour over methods that had once before enjoyed popularity during the middle of the 20th century, that the perception of filter coffee changed for the better. I am talking about the Chemex, V60 and Kalita Wave. Especially at the beginning of the third wave this gear helped specialty coffee shops to visibly differentiate themselves from regular coffee shops. Until today, you’ll find either one of these and/or the AeroPress in the majority of specialty cafes.
The Pros
- By manually brewing coffee the barista can create an experience for customers. Apart from the actual taste of the coffee, the human element can be a decisive factor when it’s about whether a customer would come back to a coffee shop or not.
- The manual brew allows the barista to control and adjust every valuable of the brewing process in the moment.
- When time allows, the barista can customize the brewing depending on the preference of the customer.
- Some cafés offer a variety of single origin beans, sometimes as many as 10 or 12. By doing pour-overs the barista can make quick adjustments to each brew depending on the coffee beans.
- Pour-over gear is much more affordable than decent batch brewers. However, the time spend preparing pour-overs might be more costly than using batch brewers.
The Cons
- When a café is crowded and there is a number of people ordering pour-overs manual brews can become very time consuming and increase waiting times for customers.
- Consistency is a challenge, especially during rush hours when the barista doesn’t have enough time to give your brew the attention it needs.
- While baristas put more effort and time into manually brewing coffee for their customers, many customers might not actually taste the difference between a manual brew and an automated brew.
Gooseneck Kettle
Tefal G119S444 Titanium Excel
This article contains affiliate links to Amazon.
As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases.
