The moment I saw a barista count out 17 seconds on a pour over I knew I was doing coffee wrong at home

I always just guessed when my pour over was done, like dump water in until it looked right. Then last week at a shop in Portland the barista actually used a timer and poured in a slow spiral for exactly 17 seconds. I asked her why and she said the coffee needs time to bloom or it tastes bitter. Tried it at home the next day with my $20 scale and timer and the difference was wild. Anyone else have a simple kitchen trick they learned from a stranger that changed their whole routine?

2 comments

2 Comments

adamr141mo agoMost Upvoted

wait hold up you actually timed it?? i just let water sit until i remembered i was making coffee lol

michael_coleman101mo ago

Man I tried the "set a timer" method once and it backfired hard. I was boiling water for pour over and set a 4 minute timer on my phone. Then I got distracted watching a YouTube video about a guy building a log cabin with just an axe. Next thing I know it's 45 minutes later and my water is basically steam and there's this weird mineral crust at the bottom of my kettle. Had to chisel it out with a butter knife. Never doing that again.