The 8 Best Coffee Beans for Pour Over to Enjoy Your Daily Cup of Coffee

Pour-over coffee is a popular method of brewing coffee that more and more people are starting to appreciate. Compiling a handy list of the best coffee beans for pour-over coffee brewing is important so that you will enjoy your best cup of coffee every time.

Today we will take a look at some great beans and some awesome ways to zero in on your ideal mode of coffee beans. Keep reading to discover more about the best coffee beans for pour-over coffee!

The 8 Best Coffee Beans for Pour Over

Tanzania Peaberry

Grown on Tanzania’s superb mountains that imbues these beans with fruity, floral, pineapple, citrus, coconut, medium-bodied, with some fruit tones and some wine-like hints and notes. The mouthfeel is smooth, silky, and a bit velvety.

Water Avenue Coffee Brazil Rio Brilhante Frutado

These beans grow in a nearly perfect environment. Plenty of rainfall and other native trees for natural shading and shields against harsh rain, these beans are grown on a family-run farm. The flavor hints and notes? Dried cherries, almonds, and a bit of caramel.

Fabula

These Peruvian beans are roasted fresh and grown in some of Peru’s stupendous coffee regions high in the Andes mountains. These beans are great for pour-over due to their roast type and also because of the amazing flavor and aroma profiles they possess. These beans are nutty, chocolatey, and rich with some sweet, sugary, and fruity aromas.

Stumptown Coffee Roasters Holler Mountain

Stumptown Coffee is one of the heavy hitters in the coffee bean world, and for very good reason once you give these beans a brew. Holler Mountain delivers some citrus and berry jam flavors with some creamy caramel notes to further enjoy.

Stone Street Brooklyn Roast

This exceptional blend is great for pour-over coffee and an exceptional example from another big name with Stone Street. These beans present a superb syrupy character and display some medium and light characteristics, too.

Partner’s Coffee Brooklyn

Another representative of Brooklyn, here we have Partner’s beans which are stellar for pour-over. These beans are sustainable and deliver up a great gallery of flavors and aromas including cocoa, dried fruits, and toffee.

Kicking Horse Kick Ass

These beans are sure to kick your ass awake or to wake you up to kick ass all day. Kicking Horse is known for intense and sustainable beans and they certainly deliver with their Kick Ass whole beans. Flavor and aroma notes include smoky and sweet with some molasses and chocolate hints to jazz things up.

Dunkin Original Blend

America still runs on Dunkin’ even in the year 2022. Once you try these beans you will understand why America will most likely continue to run on Dunkin’ with these beans that serve up a classic, rich, and flavorful cup of coffee that will quickly become a staple of your morning.

How To Choose the Best Pour Over Coffee Beans

When trying to decide on the best coffee beans for you and your brewing needs there are a few key variables to take into consideration. They usually have to do with your overall interest in taste but also your brewing style, too luckily we have narrowed down the list to five key points to consider.

The Roast Intensity

The roast intensity refers to the roast type. This plays a huge role in the flavor, aroma, mouthfeel, and even the ideal brewing style for your coffee. By knowing exactly which roast type you’d prefer you can narrow down or broaden your range of coffee bean options. The main roast types are;

• Light- Hardest density and fruitier and lighter aroma and flavor palette.
• Medium- Still a bit hard in density but easier to grind than light roasts. This roast type still also maintains some natural flavors.
• Medium Dark- Softer in density and a flavor and aroma palette that is a bit toastier and roastier.
• Dark- Softest beans, and ones that are bread-like, toasty, and taste like the roasting cylinder rather than their natural environment.

There are roast types that go by fancy names like Italian or French roast but in reality, they fall into one of these four main categories. The alternate names are mainly for marketing purposes. 

What’s Your Favorite Flavor?

Knowing your favorite flavor of coffee can also help you zero in on the best coffee beans for you. This one ties in a lot to roast type and intensity as roast type helps to determine the flavor of your beans, too. 

But another key factor that determines bean flavor is the country and region where your beans came from. While countries have different flavor and aroma profiles so too do their different regions. This is because the different geographical features different regions can provide have an effect on the coffee plants and therefore the coffee beans. 

So countries that have diverse geographical regions can offer up some different flavors and aroma hints and notes, too. That is why Colombian beans for example will be differentiated between Huila and Caldas.

If you like something fruity with a touch of wine then Ethiopian beans have a lot to offer. How about bright and acidic? Then Colombian beans are your go-to bean. What about something a bit more robust, earthy, and bitter? Indonesian coffee beans like Sumatran beans are waiting for you.

The Freshness of the Beans

Ensuring your beans are as fresh as possible will lead to only the freshest, tastiest, and highest-quality coffee brews. Otherwise, your coffee will be bland, musty, and lack a lot of great aroma and flavors that they would otherwise serve up had they been enjoyed fresh. 

To make certain you are getting fresh beans, be sure to choose beans that have been recently roasted. Usually, freshly roasted beans maintain their maximum freshness after a week or two of coming out of the roasting cylinder.

Other ways to keep your beans fresh includes choosing whole coffee beans. The larger surface area of whole beans keeps them from drying out and losing their flavor and aroma like what can occur with pre-ground beans. 

Another way to further make sure your beans are fresh is to keep them properly stored. Coffee beans should be kept in an air-tight, opaque container. This way the sunlight and oxygen that can make them dry out can’t get in to do just that!

Can You Use Pre-Ground Coffee?

When it comes to brewing the best coffee possible freshness is a key variable. That is why we suggest using whole beans and grinding them only when you are brewing as much as possible. So when it comes to using pre-grounds we would only recommend using pre-ground beans when whole beans are not a realistic option. 

For example, if you are particularly short on time, or do not have a proper grinder that can grind your beans to the medium-fine consistency they require for pour-over brewing. So yes it is certainly possible to use pre-ground coffee beans but as mentioned before, whole beans will be fresher than their pre-ground counterparts. 

This freshness adds and enhances one’s brews a lot and is an indelible part of brewing for sure. So, if you have no other choice, opt for pre-ground beans, but be sure it is medium fine as this is the ideal grind size for pour-over. Anything bigger might lead to uneven extraction or under-extraction, while smaller grind sizes may lead to over-extraction and a silty and crunchy pour-over brew!

What Are the Best Origins for Pour-Over?

Some coffee beans synergize with brew styles a bit more smoothly than others do like for example, the synergy that exists between Ethiopian beans and cold brew. So while it is tempting to say the best bean origin is the one you like the most, some bean types make for the ideal pour-over coffee experience. 

• Honduras- Beans from Honduras offer up a spectacular flavor and aroma palette that sports tropical fruits and berries, apricot, caramel, and some chocolate, too. This makes for an aromatic, sweet, and tasty pour-over experience.

• Ethiopia- Beans from the original home of coffee beans are perfect in every brew, including pour-over. Usually, Yirgacheffe is the bean of choice, but Sidamo makes for some fine brewing, too. Silky, smooth, and with cantaloupe, grape, lime, cherry, green apple, peach, red fruit, and wine flavors, hints, and aromas.

• Hawaiian- Beans from Hawaii are as smooth and clean tasting as their lovely mountains and ocean views. The flavor and aroma profile fits the bill for a great pour-over bean with flavors like milk chocolate, molasses, brown sugar, and honey. 

• Colombia- We have mentioned this coffee powerhouse a few times now, and once again we are invoking the great coffee-producing nation of Colombia to suggest using beans from any number of its exotic coffee regions to prepare pour-over coffee. Colombian beans serve up diverse flavors and aromas but some key ones include nuts, herbs, chocolate, fruit, and some citrusy brightness and acidity.

What is Pour Over Coffee?

Pour-over coffee, also sometimes alternatively known as “brewed coffee”, originated in the 1900s. It gained a ton of popularity in Japan’s coffeehouse scene, especially in Kyoto and so today we often associate pour-over and drip coffee with Japanese and Korean coffee house culture and Japanese brewing device brands like Hario. Famous is also the 4:6 method invented by Tetsu Kasuya.

Pour-over coffee is a style of brewing where grounds are suspended above a carafe or pot, and hot water, usually from a kettle, is poured onto the grounds from above. As the water is poured it extracts coffee and drips it down into the pot below where it collects. The result is a bright, tasty, and very aromatic cup of coffee that feels great to brew since it is all done by you!

Advantages And Disadvantages of Pour Over Coffee

All brewing methods have their positives and not so positives. Pour-over is the same in this capacity. There are certainly lots of great things about pour-over brewing. But there are also some things to be aware of before deciding to brew pour-over coffee. 

Some of the benefits of pour-over are the highlighting of coffee bean aromas and flavors that come out in a great display alongside the coffee bloom. Pour-over coffee also has the benefits of versatility, agility, and control one can maintain while brewing their coffee which comes from how much variance and adjustability pour-over coffee has compared to other brewing methods out there.

The way one pours their water from their kettle is completely under your control and baristas can all experiment and develop their own style and method of pouring water for different results. Pour-over coffee can also be enjoyed iced and the whole method of brewing this way opens itself up to a lot of possibilities.

Not to mention a lot of the brewing vessels and devices for pour-over just so happen to look sharp, handsome, sophisticated, and chic. 

Some drawbacks to pour-over include the time and skill needed to brew pour-over properly. For first-timers, it may be a bit daunting and may result in some spills and messes here and there the first few times around. Another negative of the pour-over includes how time-consuming it can be.

There is no doubt that enjoying a cup of coffee you have painstakingly created yourself from the whole bean to finished java is a pleasure that can’t be beaten. But it does take a lot of time and effort to prepare said coffee!

That makes pour-over the perfect coffee for a lazy or relaxed morning or afternoon, not a hectic morning when time is limited and of the essence. One final drawback would be the cost of pour-over. Pour-over brewing requires a few specialized items and brewing vessels which may be costly compared to some other types of brewing devices. You usually need to grab them all separately, though pour-over sets do exist on the market!

How Do You Make a Pour Over Coffee?

Pour-over coffee is easily one of the most fulfilling modes of coffee to brew. This is because of how much control and attention the brewing process needs and how much variation and technique you can apply. 

Pour-over allows one to feel like a real barista, even if they are the farthest thing from one! Pour-over brewing yields an enjoyable cup that will make you feel accomplished knowing you brewed it all yourself. So, let’s take a closer look at pour-over brewing to see just what makes it so special, and why a little research will save you a mess and a miss-brew or two!

What you will need

Coffee beans- preferably whole beans, but if opting for pre-grind for medium fine.

Coffee grinder- if using whole beans

Coffee bean scale (optional)

Kettle- Gooseneck is still the kettle style of choice for pour-over!

Filtered or purified water

Coffee pot or carafe

Coffee filter- we will take a closer look at filters further on, but for now, you have 3 options with filters; paper, stainless steel mesh, and none.

Coffee dripper- There are also a few different options for drippers, but for now we suggest ceramic drippers for first-timers!

A note on filter types

When preparing pour-over one has two main choices when it comes to filters. There are paper filters and stainless steel mesh filters. They both have their pros and cons and have unique things to offer coffee lovers. 

Paper filters are the quickest and most convenient. You can just place one in, dampen it a little, brew and then recycle the grounds and toss the filter. The results are a clear and crisp cut that lacks a lot of the high-cholesterol coffee oils that can come through with a stainless steel mesh. But paper filters have their environmental issues and also require you to keep buying more filters.

Though a pack of paper filters will most likely be much cheaper than a mesh filter the mesh filter can be used for a long time. That is if you clean it properly. This is a con for stainless steel filters as they require special cleaning to be enjoyed properly. They are also pricier. 

However, stainless steel does serve up an unmatched rich thick, and full-bodied coffee. The stainless steel mesh allows the natural oils and fats to brew through to your cup. These are packed with flavor and aroma but do contain bad cholesterol too. So whichever one you choose you can still enjoy a delicious albeit a little different-tasting cup of coffee.

How to brew

• First, measure and grind your beans. You will want a medium fine consistency for even extraction.

• Next, boil your filtered or purified water in your kettle. An electric gooseneck kettle is still the most coveted type of kettle for pour-over. This is due to the large amount of finesse and control a gooseneck allows.

• Place your ceramic brewer on your carafe or pot. If you are using paper filters, dampen them with some water for a more thorough brewing of coffee.

• Now pour your grounds into the filter and prepare to pour soon. 

• Once your water has reached its boiling point wait about 30 seconds. This allows some of the heat to die down a bit so your grinds don’t burn.

• After 30 seconds pour slowly and carefully in a circular motion. The technique can be up to you but with circular motions, one can be sure to immerse all their grinds. For this first pour, it is important to just drip a little bit of water. That is because the initial pour will result in what is called the coffee bloom. 

The bloom comes as a result of a chemical reaction that the grinds have when hot water is poured on them. The grinds will rise with the water and release a cloud of pleasing coffee aroma. The bloom is crucial but can lead to spills if you pour in water too fast or too zealously. After the bloom dissipates continue to pour more motion in short pulses. Don’t pour a continuous stream but rather short circular doses of water. If you pour like you are watering a plant your grinds will flood and spill!

Once you have extracted enough coffee. Carefully remove your brewer, grinds, and all, and enjoy a stupendous cup of pour-over coffee!

Frequently Asked Questions

What Does Bloom Mean and Do You Need To Do It?

Pour over coffee “bloom” refers to the first moment when your grinds are doused by hot water. The various chemicals and natural gases in the grinds react to the hot water and will rise a bit before dissipating back down again. The bloom releases some great coffee scents, too. The bloom cannot be avoided with pour-over coffee but if you are certain to just pour in a little bit of water at first at a time then your bloom won’t overflow and cause a big mess!

Does Pour Over Coffee Have More Caffeine?

The amount of caffeine in one’s coffee depends on a few different variables, the most important of which is determined by the coffee-to-water ratio one is using. Other factors include whether the beans one is using are robusta or arabica. 

Robusta beans tend to have a bit more caffeine than their arabica counterparts. It has also been argued that lightly roasted beans have more caffeine than dark roasts. This has more to do with the general overall surface area of the beans than the roasting method though. 

But does pour-over coffee contain more caffeine on average than other brewing methods? Only if the coffee ratio is higher than the water ratio. This is up to you as the barista and so if you would like a strong brew, use lots of caffeine with a little water. For those seeking a milder experience use less ground with lots of water instead.

Conclusion

Try this amazing and exciting mode of coffee brewing for your next caffeine experience. Pour-over coffee has a lot to offer and once you have picked out the perfect beans then your brewing experience will be a cinch. Happy brewing friends!

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