How Cafes Can Make Pour Over Coffee Quickly Without Giving Up On Taste

In a world where cafes are constantly battling a struggle between coffee quality and service speed, how on earth are you supposed to serve consistently excellent pour over coffee during a morning rush? In this article we're going to discuss the best ways for cafes to serve pour over coffee to their customers without compromising on taste.

The Cafe - Pour Over Dilemma

If you're reading this as a cafe owner or barista and have any amount of doubt in your mind about whether manual pour over has a place in your commercial operation, then chances are that you haven't found the right brewing method for your workflow or you haven't thought about what your customers are looking for. The first step is to gather all the necessary information about your cliental, your budget including time and resources willing to put into offering this and all the options available to you to approach this.

After ten years behind the bar in cafes around Melbourne I know first hand how fast paced it can get. As many of my past bosses drilled into my head 'Time is money' introducing a new menu item can be daunting, especially without proper training, knowledge or equipment. Luckily for you there are many different options to start offering pour over coffee to your customers.

Option 1: Hario V60 Dripper Clear Plastic

The Hario V60 Dripper is the most iconic pour over coffee dripper on the market. It’s inexpensive, durable, and capable of making some of the cleanest, brightest cups of coffee you’ll ever serve.

The downside to using a Hario V60 in a cafe is that it requires full attention from the barista. Every variable from pour speed, water distribution, agitation, brew method and recipe requires skill and focus. That also means that the barista has to stand there for the entire brew, which can be a challenge during busy service. 
This all being said, a hand made pour over coffee with the barista brewing and serving the coffee straight infront of the customer can be packaged as an expereince more so than just quickly grabbing a takeaway coffee. It allows the barista to share information about the coffee, discuss the origin and processing the coffee underwent and provide information to the customer which increases the appreciation of the coffee that's just been brewed. 

Offering this in your cafe is the most time consumptive way to do it but at the same time it's the most powerful way to offer a guided experience that your customers will be sure to remember.

Option 2: Hario V60 Switch (Ceramic Switch Dripper)

Think of the V60 Switch as the halfway point between manual pour over and automation. It looks and brews just like a V60, but it comes with a mechanical valve at the base.

This added valve allows you to add your coffee, add hot water, and let it steep.
You can even set a time for 2.5-3 minutes while you focus on other tasks.
Once your brew is ready, simply flick the switch and your brew will draw down.

Provided that the barista adds the correct amount of water and coffee grounds and doesn't forget to open the valve you can make fantastic single serves of pour over coffee with minimal effort required. This method of brewing coffee arguably takes less time than brewing a loose leaf Chai tea and you don't need to be a rocket scientist to prepare this.

Another benefit of the Hario V60 Switch is that if you're not in a rush an have the time to brew and chat with the customer you can push the switch and open the valve, this turns your V60 Switch into a regular V60 Dripper.

The downside to using a Hario V60 Switch in a cafe is that depending on how and where you set this up you might not be able to share as much information with the customer whilst brewing. The coffee however is still going to be exceptional and well worth the investment!

Option 3: xBloom Studio

Now for the biggest time-saver ever: the xBloom Studio Automatic Coffee Machine. This is an automated pour over machine designed with precision and consistency in mind. Best of all, you can pre-program up to three recipes on the front buttons, making it a push and brew solution.

Simply add your beans, filter paper and position the cup underneath the brewer. Press the button and walk away, the xBloom Studio will automatically brew your pour over coffee with the exact recipe set by the barista. 

The xBloom Studio has a built in grinder that grinds coffee at different grind sizes depending on what you set on your recipe. As well as this there are 3 different flow patterns that the spout rotate in and with the xBloom App you have full control over all the other brewing variables such as water temperature, amount of pours, agitation and so much more!

And with the xBloom Studio Inline Pressure Regulator you can plumb it into your cafe water line, meaning no need for topping up the water reservoir. This makes it an ideal solution for cafes that want pour over coffee on the menu, without slowing down their team.

We made our own xBloom Studio (Filter) Recipe, simply click the link and start brewing pour over coffee with our recipe! Change and modify the recipe however you like :)

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