Coffee: Exploring Pour Over

Single Origin Coffee (Pour Over) - Kanoo Coffee, Guelph

Ever since I was in high school, I always had a love for coffee. I viewed it mostly as a source of energy to get me through the day. I did not understand what great quality coffee was and it wasn’t until I started working at Balzac’s in 2022 that I realized this. While working at Balzac’s I have been able to gain a lot of knowledge about coffee, I learned how coffee beans are produced, the differences between roasts, different coffee techniques, and how to tell which beans are better quality. Working at Balzac’s helped me appreciate drinking coffee and it is where I developed my passion for making coffee, especially with latte art. I now want coffee for the taste and the experience that comes with it and I care less about the energy it provides.

Working at this café has given me a sense of community both with my coworkers and with the customers. My coworkers quickly became some of my closest friends, and we often go to coffee shops around Guelph to find high quality coffee. I have made important relationships with customers as well, and one of the customers that I value a lot, Professor Adekunle, has given me many opportunities outside of the café. He gave me an opportunity to write a research paper about fourth wave coffee, specifically researching local coffee shops in Guelph. This paper helped expand my knowledge on third and fourth wave coffee and allowed me to discover different types of coffee that I wouldn't typically seek out.

Third/Fourth wave coffee are major developments within the coffee industry that have occurred recently. Both waves mainly focus on the quality of coffee that is being produced in the coffee shops, this has to do with both the bean quality and the process in which is used to make coffee in the cafes. I believe the main aspects that make high quality coffee include the coffee beans, the measurements and the science that is used to produce the coffee. Great quality coffee beans are often single origin, which means the beans are obtained from one single location rather than multiple locations.

                                           Brewing a Pour Over at Cavan Coffee, Guelph

Pour over coffee is a unique technique that is often found in third and fourth wave cafes. Pour over coffee is made by manually pouring hot water over coffee grinds and using a cone filter, but the steps are done in a specific and precise way. Everything is measured; the beans are weighed before and after being ground, the amount of water used is weighed, and there must be a specific water temperature. These measurements are typically different depending on which beans are used, and which cafe you are going to.

My friends/coworkers, Erika and Robbie, and I decided to explore different pour overs from different cafes around Guelph. We started our journey by going to Cavan Coffee. It was the first time in a while that we were all lucky enough to have the same day off, so we decided to make it worthwhile by enjoying each other's presence over some coffee and a game of scrabble. We tried their Los Diamantes Honey pour over from Colombia. There were many beans to choose from, but this was the most appealing based on the tasting notes. Cavan is run by two brothers Rufus and Jeremy. Jeremy was working that day. Since we had come to know him, we were comfortable asking him questions about the brewing process. Jeremy explained the process to us in detail. He started by boiling hot water to a specific temperature, he then weighed the coffee beans before and after grinding them. Next, he poured a little bit of hot water onto the cone filter. He put the grinds in after and then he slowly poured hot water over the grinds for 1 minute and 35 seconds. He let that steep until 2 minutes and 7 seconds, and he then released the brewed coffee into the carafe below the filter. He informed us that he likes to try new things when making pour over coffee and this technique allowed him to ensure the microfibers from the grinds were higher up on the cone. Since Jeremy was precise during the entire process, we could tell that the coffee was high quality. With this pour over we could taste the bold flavours listed in the tasting notes which were vanilla cola, chocolate, and creamy. We enjoyed these flavours because they weren’t too acidic.

During a separate trip, Erika and I visited Kanoo Coffee. Kanoo is one of our favourite cafes to go to in Guelph. The coffee and environment are always great, and we are friends with one of the baristas that works there. Our friend Shae was working that day, and he gave us a pour over coffee from the menu. He gave us Gorra beans which are from Shakiso, Guji, Ethiopia. The tasting notes for these beans were orange, watermelon, white flower elegant, vibrant, and acidic. Unfortunately, we couldn’t watch the process but Shae has told us that they use exact measurements when making pour overs. The flavours were not as strong when compared to Cavan but there was a distinct difference in both the taste and the aroma of the pour overs.

The final cafe that I went to was Planet Bean. I am friends with one of the baristas that works at this cafe as well which made the experience easier and more comfortable. I decided to try the Yirgacheffe beans which are from Ethiopia. The tasting notes were lemon, black tea, and floral notes. When watching them make the pour over I could tell they were not precise, it didn’t seem like they weighed the beans, and they did not check the temperature of the water that they used. The coffee was very strong, and it was hard to taste any notes because they had brewed the pour over too strong. However, the beans here are high quality because they are single origin, fairtrade, and organic. I believe that their coffee made could be better if they used better techniques.

All the cafes that we visited used high quality single origin beans, but the techniques they used when making pour over were different. My favourite pour over was from Cavan as I usually prefer chocolate and creamy flavours in coffee. Kanoo’s pour over was good, but the flavour profile wasn’t my favourite as it was more citrusy and acidic. I liked the pour over at Planet Bean the least because they brewed it too strong which made it bitter.

This exploration of pour over was a great experience! I was happy to learn more about coffee brewing techniques and while also sharing these moments with some of my friends. Having Erika and Robbie there with me made me remember that cafes were made to socialize, enjoy the coffee and the experience. I hope that I will continue to learn more about coffee with friends in my future.

 

Mackenzie Foote | Research Assistant | ECVOntario