If you asked us how to taste coffee at its best, we'd hand you a pour-over. It's our favorite way to brew, and it's simpler than it looks.
In this guide, we'll explain why we love pour-over, compare three of the most popular brewers (the Hario V60, the Hario Switch, and the NextLevel Pulsar), and walk you through the gear you need to get started.
Why pour-over is our favorite
- Clarity. A paper filter catches the fine particles and much of the oil that make coffee muddy. What's left is a clean cup where you can actually taste the difference between origins: the chocolate in a Brazil, the caramel in a Colombia, the fruit in a Mexico Chiapas.
- Control. You choose the grind, the water temperature, the ratio, and the timing. Small changes make a real difference, so you can dial a coffee in exactly how you like it.
- It shows off great roasting. Pour-over hides nothing. That's exactly why we love it for our air-roasted coffee: no scorched or ashy flavors to cover up, just the coffee's natural sweetness.
- It's a ritual. A few quiet minutes with a kettle in the morning is a pretty good way to start the day.
Percolation vs. immersion: the one concept to know
Every brewer in this guide uses one or both of two methods:
- Percolation: water flows through the coffee and out the bottom as you pour. This is classic pour-over, and it tends to produce a bright, clean cup.
- Immersion: the coffee sits fully submerged in water for a set time, like a French press. It's more forgiving and tends to give a rounder, sweeter cup.
The big difference between these three brewers is how much of each method they let you use.
Hario V60: the classic
The V60 is the cone-shaped dripper you've probably seen in specialty coffee shops. It has spiral ribs on the inside and one large hole at the bottom. With no valve, the speed of the brew depends on your grind and how you pour.
It's been used to win the World Brewers Cup multiple times, and it's still one of the most popular brewers in the world.
- Method: percolation
- Cup style: bright, clean, and expressive
- Best for: people who enjoy the hands-on craft of pouring and want to bring out a coffee's brightest flavors
- The catch: it rewards good technique. Pour too fast or unevenly, and your results will vary from cup to cup.
- Good to know: it comes in plastic, glass, ceramic, and metal, and in several sizes. The 02 size is the most versatile for one or two cups.
Hario Switch: the forgiving hybrid
The Switch is essentially a glass V60 sitting on a base with a switch. Press the switch closed, and a small steel ball seals the outlet, so the coffee steeps like a French press. Press it open, and the coffee drains just like a regular V60.
Because steeping does much of the work, your pouring technique matters much less. Many recipes use a mix: steep for part of the brew, then open the switch and finish as a pour-over.
- Method: immersion, percolation, or both
- Cup style: sweet and round, with more body than a standard V60
- Best for: beginners, busy mornings, and anyone who wants consistent results without perfecting their pour
- The catch: full-immersion brews tend to be a little less bright and crisp than a well-made V60.
- Good to know: it uses standard V60 paper filters and comes in two sizes.
NextLevel Pulsar: the precision tool
The Pulsar is a newer, more technical brewer from NextLevel, designed together with astrophysicist and coffee researcher Jonathan Gagné. Instead of a cone, it has a flat, wide brew bed with straight walls, so the coffee stays evenly saturated. Brewers like this are called no-bypass brewers, because water can't sneak around the coffee down the sides of the filter.
Two more features set it apart. A dispersion cap on top spreads your water evenly, like a shower head. And instead of a simple open/closed switch, a variable valve lets you control exactly how fast the coffee drains, anywhere from fully closed to wide open.
- Method: percolation, immersion, or any blend in between
- Cup style: very even extraction, with lots of sweetness and clarity
- Best for: curious brewers who love experimenting and want maximum consistency
- The catch: it takes a little learning, it works best with roughly 20 to 30 grams of coffee, and it uses its own round paper filters.
- Good to know: because the cap spreads the water for you, you don't need a gooseneck kettle to use it well.
Side-by-side comparison
| Hario V60 | Hario Switch | NextLevel Pulsar | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Brew style | Percolation | Immersion + percolation | Any mix, with variable flow |
| Shape | Cone | Cone | Flat bottom, straight walls |
| Cup profile | Bright, clean | Sweet, round | Even, sweet, clear |
| Learning curve | Moderate | Easy | Moderate |
| Forgiveness | Low | High | High |
| Gooseneck kettle | Strongly recommended | Helpful | Not required |
| Filters | V60 cone filters | V60 cone filters | Pulsar round filters |
Which one should you get?
- New to pour-over and want great coffee right away? Start with the Hario Switch.
- Love the craft and want the brightest cup? Go with the V60.
- Love to experiment and want precision? The Pulsar is for you.
Honestly, you can't go wrong with any of them. The beans and your grinder matter more than the brewer.
The pour-over gear you need
The essentials
- A brewer: one of the three above.
- Paper filters made for your brewer.
- A burr grinder. This is the single biggest upgrade for any home brewer. Burr grinders crush beans to an even size, while cheap blade grinders chop them into a mix of dust and chunks that brews unevenly. A good hand grinder is an affordable place to start.
- A kitchen scale with a timer. Pour-over is all about ratio and timing. Weighing makes your coffee taste the same every day.
- A kettle and a mug or server to brew into.
Nice to have
- A gooseneck kettle. The thin spout lets you pour slowly and precisely. It makes a big difference with a V60, a smaller one with the Switch, and isn't needed for the Pulsar.
- A variable-temperature kettle, so you can heat water to exactly 195 to 205°F.
- A glass server, handy for brewing two cups at once.
And of course: good coffee
Fresh, specialty-grade whole beans make the biggest difference of all. (Here's how to keep them fresh.)
A simple pour-over recipe to start
This works for the V60 or the Switch with the switch left open:
- Heat water to about 200°F (just off the boil).
- Weigh 15 grams of coffee and grind it medium-fine, about like table salt.
- Rinse your paper filter with hot water, then discard the rinse water.
- Add the coffee, gently shake it level, and start your timer.
- Bloom: pour about 30 grams of water to wet all the grounds, then wait 30 to 45 seconds.
- Slowly pour in circles until you reach 250 grams of water total.
- Let it drain. Aim to finish around 3 minutes.
If it tastes bitter, grind a little coarser. If it tastes sour or weak, grind a little finer. (More fixes in Why Does My Coffee Taste Bitter?)
Our coffees for pour-over
Pour-over is where our coffees really shine. For a sweet, bright cup, try Colombia with its caramel and fruit, or Mexico Chiapas, which layers chocolate, fruit, and nuts. Prefer something richer? Our medium/dark Brazil makes a smooth, chocolatey pour-over.
Every bean is air roasted in Jacksonville, Florida, and you can order whole bean or ask for our medium grind. Shop our single origin coffees.