How to prepare filter coffee

Preparation with a hand filter

How do you make coffee with a hand filter? And what equipment do you need?

Preparation with a hand filter, also known as filter coffee or pour over, has been a real trend in the speciality coffee scene in recent years and there has been a lot of discussion about the best techniques and tools. But the filter method is not only interesting for the Brewers Cup Championships and speciality coffee shops. Basically, it's a straightforward way to brew a delicious cup of coffee without spending a lot of money.

You don't need much for the filter method - you can start with a limited set and add to it as you go.

The ingredients

The coffee

Light to medium-dark roasted coffee is particularly suitable for preparation with the filter. The coffee should be as fresh as possible, i.e. the roasting date should not be more than 3 months ago, but it should have rested a little (approx. 5 days after the roasting date)

We recommend using 6g of freshly ground coffee per 100ml of water, which can be adjusted to the desired quantity. So if you want to brew a total of 300ml of coffee, you need 18g of coffee.

Water

Coffee consists of 99% water and the latter is therefore a very important component of your coffee. We recommend a water hardness of approx. 8 dH (German degrees of hardness). The water temperature also has a major influence on which and how many flavourings are released from the coffee.

As a general rule, if the water is too hot, the coffee tastes more bitter overall; if the water is too cold, the coffee becomes more acidic. The perfect water temperature is around 93ºC. However, this also depends on the roast, lighter coffee roasts can be brewed at higher temperatures (e.g. up to 98ºC) and slightly darker coffee roasts at lower temperatures (e.g. up to 88ºC).

The equipment

Grinder

Whether you use an electric grinder or a hand grinder is irrelevant, but the grinder should be of the highest possible quality to ensure that the coffee particles are all ground to the same size. Lower quality grinders can produce unevenly ground coffee and many particles that are too fine. These tiny coffee fragments are extracted very quickly and can unbalance your cup.

Grind size: A medium coarse grind should be selected. If you are already familiar with brewing with a portafilter machine, the coffee should be ground much coarser in comparison. When you rub the ground coffee in your fingers, it should feel like medium-coarse sea salt (e.g. kosher salt).

Filter holder

The filter holder is ideally made of porcelain or glass, as these materials are neutral in flavour and heat up quickly.

Filter paper

Hario V60 filter paper is well suited to emphasising the acidity and floral notes while allowing a reasonable amount of coffee oils to pass through the thin filter, allowing a certain body to emerge.

Chemex, with its slightly thicker filter paper, retains more of the oils from the beans, resulting in a coffee with more complexity. Both filter papers are very good. It is also important that the size of the filter paper is matched to the filter holder.

Water boiler

The kettle used for pouring water into the filter should have a thin swan neck. This shape makes it much easier for the water to flow evenly. In kettles with shorter spouts, the water tends to pour out unevenly.

Fine scales

There are various precision scales on the market. A scale of a certain size is particularly suitable here so that the jug with filter holder can be placed on it easily. Ideally, the precision scale also has a timer so that you can keep a close eye on the amount of water and the time.

The standard brewing recipe

A short guide on how to make coffee with the hand filter.

Ingredients

• 18g filter-roasted coffee beans
• 300 ml water
• + approx. 200 ml water, which is poured away before brewing

Equipment

• Hario V60 filter holder
• Hario V60 filter paper
• Hario V60 jug
• Hario V60 watering can
• Grinder (electric grinder or hand grinder)
• Fine scale, preferably with integrated time measurement
• Temperature gauge

Further information on the recipe

• Water temperature: 93ºC
• Total extraction time 2min 30s to 3min 00s

Mise en place

Place the hand filter on the jug and the paper filter in the hand filter. It is best to use a precision scale with integrated time measurement for coffee preparation so that you can determine the exact ratio of coffee to water. If you have one, place the jug and filter on the precision scale.

Preparing for the brewing process

The first step is to boil water in a kettle and run it through the paper filter on your Hario V60 to remove the inherent flavour of the paper and to warm up the jug and filter holder. You then pour this filtered water away and the actual process can begin.

Blooming and brewing process

Set the weight on your precision scale to zero and pour 18g of medium-coarse freshly ground coffee into the V60 filter. Then set the weight to zero again and start your time measurement. For blooming and the brewing process, your water temperature should be around 93ºC.

1. Blooming phase: For blooming, pour 50g of water into the filter. Try to wet all the coffee grounds with water so that they can soak up the water. You will see how the coffee begins to swell (blooming). Blooming releases the carbon dioxide that has built up during the roasting process from the coffee. Light-coloured roasts and fresh coffee usually produce a stronger blooming, as they normally contain more gases. After this phase, take a short break until the coffee stops swelling so that you can then start a controlled brew. If you have a precision scale with time measurement, you can read off the amount of water in g and time. You should have poured a total of 50g of water in the blooming phase and the phase should last approx. 30 seconds.
2. Brewing phase: Then slowly pour 250g of water in a circular motion, either clockwise or anti-clockwise, starting from the centre and working outwards, for 2 minutes. At the end, wait until the water has completely run through.

There is no real brewing recipe. The dosage of coffee is and always will be a matter of taste.