I recently started getting into pourover coffee. For about 3 years now, I’ve been using the Aeropress with a Prismo filter attachment, which keeps the device sealed entirely (I wish I didn’t throw the original filter away, because now I can’t just let the coffee drip from the Aeropress).

Harvey told Fei about his setup from Seattle. He has really cool equipment. I know equipment is not everything, but dang, I now want a scale that has a built-in timer! How come I never thought of that? He also has an electric gooseneck kettle. By contrast, I’ve been pouring water from my regular kettle into a stovetop gooseneck kettle. It’s kind of inefficient, but I kind of wanted to try this thing out for fun first before dropping $$$ on better equipment.

So far I get why people do pourover. I’m sure there are myriad technical reasons that have to do with flavor profiles, total dissolved solids, and the ways in which varying degrees of kitchen luminance react with the grooves on the Hario V60 (lol, getting carried away). I myself like watching the coffee bloom. I feel like I’m running my own cafe. Just because I’m spending a few extra minutes pouring water at various intervals. I can’t just set it and forget it, like I do with the Aeropress.

I also like how Fei approaches pourover the same way she approaches cooking. I’ll call it, um, intuitive. She doesn’t mess with a scale. Just pours however much she feels like it. Ten minutes later, after straightening her hair, or whatever, the coffee will have cooled substantially. The ultimate result is that it always tastes underextracted… which is exactly how she likes her coffee!

Anyway, this little coffee corner takes up a ton of space relative to what else lives on the kitchen counter. Which is another reason to follow in Harvey’s footsteps and get some smarter equipment. Or, maybe set up a separate coffee bar cart of sorts behind the counter.