How To Make Pour Over Coffee (with An Inexpensive Plastic Coffee Dripper)

Don’t turn your nose up at a cheap coffee dripper.

We put an inexpensive plastic coffee dripper to the test and were able to make a decent cup of pour over coffee.

Polls by Euromonitor as reported by Quartz show that the sale of traditional drip coffee makers has remained stagnant in the last years while coffee pod machine sales have increased by more than 6-fold.

Besides drip coffee makers and coffee pod machines, there are a whole lot of ways to brew coffee, especially the manual brewing methods. Today we will show you how to make one cup of pour over coffee with a plastic coffee dripper.

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What is pour over coffee?

Pour over coffee is pretty much what the name suggests. The brewing process involves pouring water over coffee grounds. The water drips through a filter into your cup via a coffee dripper. It doesn’t require any electricity or machines, just you and your coffee dripper and some hot water.

We have Melitta Bentz to thank for this method. In 1908, she was just a housewife in Minden, Germany when she came up with the idea of punching holes through a brass pot and placing a paper (the filter) inside. You can read more about the history of the company she started as M. Bentz. Today, her company known as Melitta, continues to innovate and offers a range of coffee beans, paper filters and coffee makers, including variations of the pour over coffee maker.

What’s the difference between Pour Over and Drip Coffee?

We went over what pour over coffee is. So what’s drip coffee then? Drip coffee is coffee made with an electric coffee maker, versus pour over where you use a coffee dripper and there’s no electricity required.

Drip coffee is a lot faster and convenient to make, and there’s a difference in the flavor and control. With a pour over coffee dripper, you can choose how fast the water filters through. The longer you pour, the stronger the coffee will be. So with pour over coffee, you can control the flavor to your liking.

Plus, if you get a drip coffee maker that’s on the cheaper side of the spectrum, it may not last long. Meanwhile, pour over coffee drippers last forever (we’ve had our plastic one for years) and it’s also so much easier to clean.

What You Need to Brew a Simple Cup of Pour Over Coffee

You’ll need a coffee dripper (we used a plastic one in this guide, but you can also use a ceramic coffee dripper or Chemex), coffee filter, ground coffee, a mug and hot water.

Coffee Dripper

Photo Credit: Hario on Amazon

You have a choice of getting either a ceramic or plastic coffee dripper. This plastic coffee dripper from Hario is simple and gets the job done. Plus it’s available in several colors like white, brown and this red one. There’s a ceramic version also from Hario that’s more expensive.

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You can also use a Cafellissimo Paperless Pour Over Coffee Maker if you prefer not using paper coffee filters.

Coffee Filters

Photo Credit: Melitta on Amazon

The coffee filter size will depend on which coffee dripper you get. We suggest using #2 coffee filters from Melitta. The Hario coffee dripper above is made for #2 filters, which is for 1-4 cups of coffee. We find this the perfect size for our morning brew so it can accommodate both a small cup and a large one, depending on how we’re feeling.

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Optional: Gooseneck Kettle

A gooseneck kettle is a must-have gadget for coffee lovers who enjoy making pour-over coffee. It boils water on the stovetop like any other kettle. The difference is, gooseneck kettles feature a long and narrow spout that resembles the neck of a goose, which give you precise control over the water flow rate with minimal movement of the kettle.

Read our review of the Zell Gooseneck Kettle for Pour Over Coffee.

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