They kinda seem the same to me. Pour over seem fun for one cup at a time, but often I am lazy.
It's an excuse to get a goose neck kettle I guess.
It's an excuse to get a goose neck kettle I guess.
Are Drip and Pour Over methods the same?
- Thread starter Oliviamaynard
- Start date
Nope. Drip is a method with coffee makers like these: The 10 Best Drip Coffee Makers to Start Your Morning Right - https://www.thespruceeats.com/best-drip-coffee-makers-4172200
Pour over uses the goose neck kettle and is slowly poured over the grounds, such as here: Brew Kits - https://www.hario-usa.com/collections/pour-over-sets
Pour over uses the goose neck kettle and is slowly poured over the grounds, such as here: Brew Kits - https://www.hario-usa.com/collections/pour-over-sets
I would say similar but not the same. I believe there to be much more technique involved with pour over but everyone is different and every technique is different. Similar to the way we all make a soap lather differently.
I use pour over since I only have one large cup of coffee daily, it makes great sense for me. My wife is the same. We buy small amounts of beans at a time from a local roaster.
I like that I grind just enough beans to make my cup. I find pour over to really bring out flavor since I drink my coffee black.
The only other thing I will say is that if you are using something pre ground like Folgers, IMO pour over vs drip is just extra steps. If you are using freshly roasted beans from an artisanal roaster or something along those lines the extra steps for pour over could be worth exploring.
I use pour over since I only have one large cup of coffee daily, it makes great sense for me. My wife is the same. We buy small amounts of beans at a time from a local roaster.
I like that I grind just enough beans to make my cup. I find pour over to really bring out flavor since I drink my coffee black.
The only other thing I will say is that if you are using something pre ground like Folgers, IMO pour over vs drip is just extra steps. If you are using freshly roasted beans from an artisanal roaster or something along those lines the extra steps for pour over could be worth exploring.
I have the Fellow Stag EKG kettle, but you just missed the Memorial Day sale, actually you might want to check on that...
Even among different drippers used for pour overs (V60 with or without Melodrip/Gabi Master B/etc., Kalita Wave, Stagg XF), the results can be very different.
I have a Brewista Artisan gooseneck kettle and I am really enjoying it.
I have a Brewista Artisan gooseneck kettle and I am really enjoying it.
This is a drip coffee maker. They make them in single serve, 4 cup, 10 cup, and 12-cup varieties. Mine is of course, a single serve coffee maker, model 49987, or better known as, The Scoop!
Forty years of drinking coffee and I've never owned a drip machine. My fav pour over at the moment is a three hole, flat bottom Kalita wave. Works great for a single cup at the office.
In my way of thinking they are very similar. Where both add hot water to the top of a coffee bed, so that the water can be pulled through by gravity and extract some soluble compounds before passing through some filter medium into a waiting vessel. Rightly or wrongly I associate the term "drip" with "auto drip machine", meaning the biggest difference in my mind is that one is automated and controlled by the machine, while the other is manual control. While auto-drip machines are on autopilot, pour-overs allow for more control and experimentation but require more focus to get good results. The pour-over's flexibility can be a boon or pain depending on a person's routine and needs.
Another way they are different is that many (most?) drip machines have a drip head arranged in a pattern of holes where the water drips out more or less continuously during the brewing cycle. In contrast a goose neck kettle used for a pour-over is a wider and more forceful stream of water that the human has to keep it moving to avoid carving a divot in the coffee bed. A device like the "Gabi Master B" can be used with a gooseneck kettle to simulate something like the flow pattern of an autodrip machine, where the device controls the water dispersion so one does not need to think or concentrate when brewing.
Another way they are different is that many (most?) drip machines have a drip head arranged in a pattern of holes where the water drips out more or less continuously during the brewing cycle. In contrast a goose neck kettle used for a pour-over is a wider and more forceful stream of water that the human has to keep it moving to avoid carving a divot in the coffee bed. A device like the "Gabi Master B" can be used with a gooseneck kettle to simulate something like the flow pattern of an autodrip machine, where the device controls the water dispersion so one does not need to think or concentrate when brewing.
Excellent description of the differences StillShaving!
And because your description is so nice and thorough, I have concluded, I would never enjoy the manual method with a gooseneck kettle or whatever you call it. I simply lack the patience to learn to do it properly. And any attempt at me trying, continuous failures, would have me giving up very early on. For people who enjoy that, more power to them! By all means, please do so enjoy!
But knowing myself as I do, I know all too well, that process would have me frustrated all the time. I've lived my whole life with drip coffee makers, and percolators, its what I know, its what I do, and its what I work good with. Now, some like Arron, have recommended an Aeropress. this is maybe something I could do in the future if I ever want to try it.
But, if its anything like a French press, it probably requires far too many grounds for a single serve cup. Thats the only bad thing about a French press, they are known for just needing a whole lot of grounds for 1-cup, kind of a waste. But who knows, maybe that Aeropress that Arron told me about is different. Lots of options to try, thats for sure!
indeed, it is amazing. I barely use anything else other than it and my la pavoni.I'm going to go off the rails and throw in something else.Get yourself an Aeropress. That's been my preferred method of making a single cup of coffee for years now after having used drip, pour over, and french presses prior to that.
My friend gifted me a plastic V60 when he was given a ceramic one. It was totally an excuse for me to get a gooseneck kettle! Bonavita makes an electric, variable temperature gooseneck kettle. It has about a litre capacity, which was important to me because I usually brew in my 1L French Press. I don't want two kettles on the counter...
Pour-over is good for one cup at a time, but that's how I drink my coffee! It's less good if I want to make coffee for more than one person. It's also more work than auto drip, less consistent, but with practice can give great results. That depends on where you are on your coffee journey.
I definitely agree with @PRobots that quality of coffee determines if you'll even notice a difference.
I retired my auto-drip machine years ago, I do miss it sometimes but I also enjoy the reclaimed counter space.
I would encourage anyone who enjoys coffee on the go to consider a pour-over device(s), even if it sees limited use. Whether one's daily routine is a single cup of aeropress or a pot of autodrip, there mornings where there is a change of routine or some travel required where flexibility in brew size is handy. For example, I have a few travel mugs and thermos of different sizes between 12oz and 1 liter where I can choose the appropriate size dripper and directly brew into it.
I would encourage anyone who enjoys coffee on the go to consider a pour-over device(s), even if it sees limited use. Whether one's daily routine is a single cup of aeropress or a pot of autodrip, there mornings where there is a change of routine or some travel required where flexibility in brew size is handy. For example, I have a few travel mugs and thermos of different sizes between 12oz and 1 liter where I can choose the appropriate size dripper and directly brew into it.
Yep, my only qualification, is that one enjoys coffee, as long as one enjoys coffee, we will get along nicely! HEHE
And with that said, I agree, its a great idea to have mugs of different sizes for different things. I have standard 8-ounce mugs like everybody else, but a real coffee drinker like us, we drink more then 8-ounces of coffee in a day, especially in one sitting! So this is a picture showing my Captains Choice 16 ounce mug, and notice how it fits perfectly in my drip brewer? My drip brewer can brew 14-ounces into this mug. Which is excellent really, cause it leaves room for cream and sugar hehe.
I also have an even larger mug this then believe it or not! I have the largest mug that Yeti makes, I think its 30 OZ, let me Google it to confirm! Yes, its called the Yeti rambler, and is a 30OZ mug! The only problem is, you can't fit this in my brewer, its just an inch too tall.
I also have a bullet thermos mug, it holds less then the Yeti mug, but it too cannot fit in my brewer. Huge mugs like these, are really meant to be filled via a standard coffee pot.
So, now you can see one of the reasons why I wanted that Captains Choice mug, is that not only am I a fan of culture, but I also wanted something that was capable of 14 ounces of coffee, and yet fit in the brewer too hehe. Only problem with standard ceramic mugs, is that they will not keep the coffee hot for long, you need a thermos mug or container for that.
Laziness and desire for good coffee is why the Moccamaster One-Cup exists. It's what I use and is great.
At work I use an Aeropress.
Pour over & Drip are both percolation, so yeah.... essentially very similar. A good dripper like a Moccamaster is a lot less faff and consistent.
Immersion brewing a la Aeropress or a French press is better even if it doesn't lend itself to wafting a gooseneck kettle around. Don't shout at me for saying that... direct it at the marvellously becoiffed coffee nerd James Hoffman. ;-)
For you, or anyone with a Bonavita electric kettle: be advised, within a year or two, the 24V zener diode and one or both electrolytic capacitors will fail. Less than $1 in parts if you know where to buy and how to replace.
Mine gave up the ghost after a very close lightning strike this spring. The design has no isolation transformer. It rectifies directly off the main AC and is always “on” so the push switch is live for the controller. It will dry out or short the electrolytic capacitor which will take out the zener. To prevent this happening so quickly, unplug the kettle from the mains (or hit the switch in the UK).
I roast my own beans and use the Aeropress most for a cup.
speaking of 1 person dripper, we have a Melitta Aromaboy, I was expecting it to make mediocre coffee, but it makes a great cup. I sometimes help it bloom by stirring the grounds when there is enough water so it saturates more quickly/evenly.
Many years ago I was somehow lucky enough to get Mike Sivetz to spend a lot of hours talking. Who's Mike Sivetz? Well, gone to the great coffee plantation in the sky now, I imagine. He was an industrial engineer who -- literally -- wrote the book on coffee production. The guy knew coffee like nobody else I've ever met. He was also one of those people who'd give you a 2-second smile when you came into his store, and that was literally all the communication most people got out of him. He wasn't surly, just quiet.
I used to walk three miles or so each way to get coffee from him. I heard years later that he had told many people about this guy who loved coffee so much he'd walk six miles to get some. All I got was the smile.
Until one day I started asking questions. Hey, I'm a journalist. Asking questions was my job. Suddenly I had the fount of knowledge in my hands. I managed to find a copy of his highly technical text and read it. I asked more questions. I learned about fluidized-bed roasting, keeping an eye on stack temps, and about what he said was the best brew ever done with the "steep and strain" system.
OK, cut to the chase. Steep and strain, for me, is 4 tablespoons of coffee in a pint cup, pour hot water over, stir and sit for five minutes. Then strain through a regular unbleached filter. Been doing that for 40 years. More on that later...
O.H.
I used to walk three miles or so each way to get coffee from him. I heard years later that he had told many people about this guy who loved coffee so much he'd walk six miles to get some. All I got was the smile.
Until one day I started asking questions. Hey, I'm a journalist. Asking questions was my job. Suddenly I had the fount of knowledge in my hands. I managed to find a copy of his highly technical text and read it. I asked more questions. I learned about fluidized-bed roasting, keeping an eye on stack temps, and about what he said was the best brew ever done with the "steep and strain" system.OK, cut to the chase. Steep and strain, for me, is 4 tablespoons of coffee in a pint cup, pour hot water over, stir and sit for five minutes. Then strain through a regular unbleached filter. Been doing that for 40 years. More on that later...
O.H.
I've been using a plastic Melitta pour over coffee maker since 1980, and just purchased my second one a couple of years ago because the original finally developed a crack. I really love the simplicity of it, and the ability to clean it easily. The new one is a large #6, the same size as the original, and was only $20 including the coffee pot.
By the way, in the 40+ years of using this method I've never owned or used a goose neck kettle. I have been using the same soup ladle from my Mother's kitchen all those years ago, to pour the water from the pot I heat the water in.
By the way, in the 40+ years of using this method I've never owned or used a goose neck kettle. I have been using the same soup ladle from my Mother's kitchen all those years ago, to pour the water from the pot I heat the water in.
I'll be waiting. Be sure to tag me, or mention my name, or whatever it's called my friend!Many years ago I was somehow lucky enough to get Mike Sivetz to spend a lot of hours talking. Who's Mike Sivetz? Well, gone to the great coffee plantation in the sky now, I imagine. He was an industrial engineer who -- literally -- wrote the book on coffee production. The guy knew coffee like nobody else I've ever met. He was also one of those people who'd give you a 2-second smile when you came into his store, and that was literally all the communication most people got out of him. He wasn't surly, just quiet.
I used to walk three miles or so each way to get coffee from him. I heard years later that he had told many people about this guy who loved coffee so much he'd walk six miles to get some. All I got was the smile.
OK, cut to the chase. Steep and strain, for me, is 4 tablespoons of coffee in a pint cup, pour hot water over, stir and sit for five minutes. Then strain through a regular unbleached filter. Been doing that for 40 years. More on that later...
O.H.
I bought a used, ancient GE electric percolator that I run 12 ounces of (sorry, blasphemy warning!) water over Sam's Club coffee in.
Just delicious, @Oliviamaynard GIRLFRIEND!
seriously, the short amount of time that stuff perks for is just enough to fill my lovely bride's kitchen with a heavenly smell!
She really appreciates that smell as she is chained to the stove! Hey! I'm joking! Okay? It's actually a very light steel cable.....
Don't rat me out, @dmshaver ! You've seen the looks she gives me!
