Enlightened Bros: How to make good pour over coffee and what you need to do it

The coffee lover on your gift list is in luck. You have the Enlightened Bros on your side and you're about to purchase a gift that will make their life between 15% and 2000% better. Trust us. This has happened to us.

In our coffee podcast, we listed the Aeropress and French Press as our favorites. But a close second-place favorite coffee brewing method is a classic: the pour over.

A quick primer on the important variables of coffee brewing: there are three main scientific variables you need to control to get excellent coffee every time: grind consistency, temperature of the water, and the time the water spends with the coffee. With pour over methods, the grinder addresses consistency and time (size of the grind holds water back or lets it through due to gravity), and temperature is controlled by a good kettle.

Here's what your favorite coffee drinker needs to make the best pour over coffee on earth.

Grind

The "daily grind" means something different to folks like us. And the grind must be on point. Ewan McGreggor's character in Black Hawk Down was a grind afficionado. I thought he was crazy when I first saw that movie. Now he is the hero of that movie (and my whole life) for me. I've read a lot about grind and will boil down the essence here: your grind needs to be consistent and that consistency is not cheap. A blade grinder: not consistent. A conical burr grinder: consistent. Here's our picks for grinders that will take care of you.

Good

Mr. Coffee Burr Mill Not super consistent,
but gets the job done Better

Cuisinart DBM-8 More consistent than Mr Coffee
and a little quieter than it too Best

Baratza Virtuoso This is what the pros
use at home

Pour over brewer

Nothing says delicious coffee like a manually poured-over brewing method. While it's more "work" than an automatic, the simplicity of pouring water over your now freshly-ground beans feels like you're actually aware of what's happening with your coffee. And it tastes better too.

Good