Pu’er Coffee

“WOW!!! Why does your coffee bed look like a perfect bowl—so big and so evenly shaped?!” I’m not exaggerating (okay, maybe a little ). Friends often react this way after watching me finish a pour-over. Most of the time, the coffee bed left in my dripper looks exactly like what you’ve seen—a deep, symmetrical crater. Even though I often say that the final shape of the coffee bed doesn’t determine whether a cup tastes good, it’s hard not to feel a bit mesmerized by a perfectly carved-out coffee crater—especially when you’re just getting into pour-over brewing. Some people can’t help but wonder: How do you make a coffee bed look like that? Why does mine always end up flat? So today, let’s break down how to create a beautiful, bowl-shaped coffee bed—and why, in the end, it has very little to do with flavor. How Do You Create a Deep Crater? You don’t need advanced brewing skills. If you meet these three conditions, forming a bowl-shaped bed is surprisingly easy: Use lower-density coffee ...

 A good cup of coffee should always be enjoyed hot — that’s when you can truly experience its full range of aromas and flavors. This is one of those little mantras I often repeat to my friends. Yet here I am, still wearing short sleeves as autumn slowly creeps in. The air indoors is already getting chilly, and a freshly brewed cup of pour-over coffee cools down far too quickly. Before I know it, the rich aroma fades, the taste dulls, and what was once pure pleasure becomes something “too bland to enjoy, too precious to throw away.” Naturally, the thrifty part of me wonders: can I just reheat it? What Happens When Hot Coffee Cools Down? When coffee is first brewed, hot water extracts a variety of flavor compounds and sets them in motion. We enjoy coffee because we not only smell its aromatic compounds released into the air, but also taste the balance of acidity, sweetness, and bitterness on our tongues. However, as coffee transitions from hot to cold, those sensations change dr...

 There’s something mesmerizing about watching a steady stream of water spiral down from a gooseneck kettle. Each gentle pour saturates the coffee grounds, tiny bubbles bloom to the surface, and the air fills with layers of roasted and fruity aromas. That’s the quiet magic of pour-over coffee — a blend of precision, patience, and ritual. In recent years, pour-over brewing has become a favorite among coffee lovers worldwide. It’s not just about the taste — it’s about slowing down, focusing on every movement, and savoring the process itself. But here’s the challenge: with so many brewing techniques out there, beginners often don’t know where to start. In reality, the pour-over world revolves around seven classic brewing styles. Each has its own logic, rhythm, and flavor profile. Let’s break them down one by one. 1. The Volcano Method Originating in Japan, the Volcano method earns its name from its dramatic “eruption-like” blooming effect. It’s typically used with dark-roasted bea...

 When ordering pour-over coffee at a café, most people instinctively choose the hot version. That’s understandable — if you want to experience the full complexity of a coffee’s flavor, hot brewing is absolutely the best way to go. But when the weather turns unbearably hot, it’s not always easy to enjoy a steaming cup of coffee. Many people still want that complete flavor experience, though, and often ask me, “Can I just brew a pot of hot coffee and add some ice cubes to cool it down?” That’s one of the most common questions I get every summer. And my answer is always the same: “You can, but I don’t recommend it.” Sure, it’s possible — adding ice will give you a cold drink. But it will also seriously compromise the taste and aroma. The result? A flat, diluted coffee that lacks the very character you were hoping to preserve. This is exactly why brewing iced coffee requires adjusting your parameters from the start. The Experiment: Hot Coffee with Added Ice To show you what I mean...

 In yesterday’s post, I mentioned that one of the biggest advantages of hand-pour (pour-over) coffee is its high degree of control . During the brewing process, we can adjust the pouring method based on real-time conditions, ensuring the flavor stays balanced and delicious. This isn’t just theory — there are many techniques that help achieve this level of control. Today, I want to share one of my favorite little brewing tricks: splitting your pours into multiple stages . This is a technique I often use in many pour-over methods. “Multi-stage pouring” simply means dividing your total brewing water into several smaller pours. For example, if you’re brewing 15g of coffee using a 1:15 ratio, you’ll need 225ml of water. Normally, we don’t pour all 225ml at once — instead, we divide it into several smaller pours. A three-pour method splits it into three stages; a 4-6 method divides it into five, and so on. That’s how most people brew. But sometimes, you don’t have to follow this routi...

 You’ve probably heard the saying, “Small but complete.” Some customers describe our Front Street café this way. Despite its small size, the shop is packed with character: in addition to all kinds of coffee beans we sell online, you’ll also spot a variety of brewing tools tucked into every corner — siphon brewers, French presses, Clever drippers, Turkish coffee pots, Eritrean coffee pots, and more. Because of this, we often get customers asking if we can use those tools to make their single-origin coffee. When we politely decline, they usually follow up with: “Is it because coffee brewed with those tools doesn’t taste as good?” “Why do cafés always seem to favor pour-over for single-origin coffee?” If you’ve ever wondered the same thing, let’s dive into why most coffee shops prefer to brew single-origin coffee with pour-over methods. 1. Pour-Over Brings Out Distinct and Complex Flavors Since the rise of the specialty coffee movement in the 1990s, coffee lovers have become inc...

 Whenever I brew a pour-over for a customer, if the coffee bed balloons noticeably during the bloom phase, there’s a good chance someone will ask: “Why doesn’t my coffee bed swell up like that when I brew at home?” This is actually one of my favorite topics to discuss. Strictly speaking, the size of the bloom doesn’t directly reflect how the coffee will taste. But it does reveal a lot of other information — such as the condition of the beans and the brewing parameters used. These factors are precisely what determine how much the coffee bed puffs up. So today, let’s break down how these factors affect the size of the bloom — and why, in the end, a bigger bloom doesn’t necessarily mean better coffee. 1. Bean Freshness and Roast Level First, we need to understand why the bloom happens. The main reason is carbon dioxide (CO₂) . During roasting, coffee beans accumulate a large amount of CO₂, which is slowly released after roasting. When the ground coffee comes into contact with h...