What Is A Pour Over At Starbucks? All You Need To Know

There is no real need to ask “‘what is a pour over at Starbucks?“‘ It is as the name suggests a pour over coffee from Starbucks made with their specialized pouring tool, a pour over cone.

I’m a big fan of this style of coffee, especially when made on a per-cup basis, which comes from my time in Vietnam. It’s a lovely laid back, old school approach over there, let the coffee drip, drip, drip away as life goes by.

This article is all about, and literally everything you need to know about Starbucks pour over coffee.

What Is A Pour Over Coffee?

A pour over coffee is a super simple technique that requires very little equipment to produce a great cup of coffee.

The proper brewing technique for this type of coffee requires very little equipment as you pour hot water over fresh ground coffee in a very controlled and slow circular fashion through a paper filter. As the water is passed through the grounds in that circular fashion and through the cone filter, you end up with a good clean taste.

How To Brew A Starbucks Pour Over Coffee Like A Pro

Let’s get you making a great a cuppa Joe with the correct brewing method, cone brewer, great coffee grounds and fresh beans.

Let’s get started and get making a highly recommended coffee that is certainly worth trying out.

Equipment Needed

A filter, a paper filter is fine. If you use a paper filter, ensure it is unbleached and a cone filter. For a better flavor profile, use a metal filter or a cloth filter. Metal is best, then cloth, finally paper. I’ll explain why later.

You will also need a good coffee cup for your coffee, a gooseneck kettle, which is a must for first class pour control. You will need a pour over cone.

Optional: coffee scale and coffee grinder.

Read: How much caffeine in Nespresso Pods?

Step 1: Weigh It Up

For truly quality coffee, you absolutely must weigh both your water and ground coffee. You need to use a coffee to water ratio of 15:1 for a good, tasty cup of coffee. A good large 16 ounce cup (480ml) will need 480 grams of water and 32 grams of a medium to coarse grind size.

Step 2: Boil Your Water

The ideal water temperature is 92C to 96C (195F to 205F). This is by far best controlled by using a digital thermometer. More convenient is the use of a digital gooseneck kettle that has the ability to digitally control the temperature of your hot water.

This is much better than a regular hot water kettle in many ways – which I’ll get into more details about later.

Step 3: Grind Your Beans

Since you want to make a Starbucks pour over buy and use their beans. Consult with your local barista as to which is best for the kind of flavor you are trying to achieve. Quite often they use their espresso roast.

You can use any roast at all. Your single origin beans will work well with pour over coffee. Light roasts are great too.

Weigh and grind 32 grams to medium coarse grind. Your grounds should be kosher salt size.

Step 4: Pre-wet your filter

Wet your paper or cloth filter before you use them. This helps to both bring it up to the same temperature as the water and to help it stick to the side of your cone pour over device, the cone brewer.

Your filter choice has an effect on how your coffee will end up tasting. With a paper filter, unbleached organic paper is best. A paper filter will end up with a good clean taste and will filter out the coffee oils.

These oils have an effect on the flavor of your cup of coffee. I like to have as much of the coffee oils in my brew as possible. A cloth filter will filter some of the oils out and some will get into your coffee. This is good. I like to use organic unbleached cotton.

A metal filter allows all of your coffee oils to get into your coffee. It might appear to be a minor thing to change the filter type, but it is a noticeable difference in taste. I encourage you to experiment and try it – train up your coffee taste buds.

Step 5: The Coffee Bloom

Add your coffee grounds to your coffee filter. Shake them on a level surface and ensure they are evenly distributed and flat.

This is where the advantage of a gooseneck kettle starts to come in. With a pencil thin stream slowly pour your hot water in a very controlled circular motion and with extra precision, pour your hot water evenly over your grounds, fill the cone to the halfway mark and ensure your grounds are saturated.

Pause for approximately 10 to 20 seconds to allow your grounds to bloom. When they are blooming they give off carbon dioxide gas. There is a degree of skill involved in blooming. With practice, you will get it spot on and get the maximum flavor from your beans. Too little and too much is not good.

Step 6: Pour Your Hot Water

Once you have bloomed your coffee grounds, move on with pouring your hot water in a slow, controlled fashion with a steady stream of water.

You are aiming for a pencil thin stream from your gooseneck kettle. Pour in a controlled manner in a circular motion, being careful to cover your grounds evenly – this is very important for a good, even extraction.

It is, as someone who has been meditating daily since 2008, a very meditative practice.

Step 7: Enjoy Your Cuppa

Enjoy your cup of coffee. Pour over with a metal filter is great for getting all the lovely flavor notes from your specialty single origin coffee beans. Alongside a French press, it is one of my favorite brewing methods.

Starbucks Pour Over Filter Size

The filter holder at Starbucks for making their pour over coffee takes a #2 or a #4 filter size. A paper cone filter fits into the holder perfectly. This is the same for cloth filters and metal filters.

Starbucks Pour Over Kettle

Starbucks uses a digital electronic gooseneck kettle with built-in temperature control as their pour over kettle. There are no details or information available as to what brand or model they use.

Starbucks OXO Pour Over

Starbucks does have their own very convenient OXO pour over device to make the process of brewing your coffee easier. This is exactly what it is – a very handy device of convenience.

The functionality of it does not enhance the coffee flavor or help you to get the best possible taste from your beans at all. It is a very handy device, this I am not denying. It is for everyday run-of-the-mill use not for making truly great pour over coffee.

The problem is the way in which the water escapes and drips onto your grounds. It does not ensure a good even pour. If it did, it would come with my blessing!

Starbucks Pour Over Brewer & Mug Set

This does look like a good pour over product and complete set to consider. It sits nicely above your cup, ready for you to pour. It is missing an electronic pour over kettle and is thus a not 100% complete set as such.

Starbucks Ceramic Pour Over

This is the same pour over brewer set that is mentioned above. It is made from ceramic and does make brewing coffee, pour over style, much easier. It is good, I like it. Starbucks ceramic pour over is designed to make only one cup at a time.

Frequently Asked Questions About What Is A Pour Over At Starbucks?

What Is The Point Of A Pour Over?

The point of the pour over method is, like many other brewing techniques, having full control over all the variables of coffee brewing that affect the flavor of a cup of coffee.

You can control the temperature, the grind size, the flow rate and the contact time that your hot water has with the coffee grinds. You can also control the type of filter (conical or flat bottom) and the filter material.

Pour over coffee has proven to get more of the coffee solubles into your cup and is by far better than other brewing techniques at getting the very intricate and delicate flavors from light roasted coffee beans into your cup of coffee.

It really is a case of matching your beans to a brewing technique to get the cup of coffee that you want.

Whats The Difference Between Pour-Over Coffee And Drip?

Pour over coffee and drip coffee are two very different types of coffee and produce different coffee beverages in terms of taste.

A pour over coffee is a very manual way of brewing coffee in which you have full control over and can make adjustments as you are brewing to ensure the coffee is perfect and as you expect it to be.

Drip coffee is an automatic coffee brewing technique that you have no control over the variables and cannot make any adjustments as it is brewing.

Is Pour Over The Same As Cold Brew?

No, pour over and cold brew are  two different cups of coffee and brewing methods. Both produce a very different tasting cup of coffee.

One used hot water to extract the flavors from the bean while cold brew uses cold water to extract the low temperature flavor compounds.

Cold brew is full-bodied, mellow and sweet while a pour over is vibrant, fresh, tangy and sweet.

Is Pour Over Difficult?

No, the pour over coffee brewing technique is easy to learn. It’s not a case of just pouring and flooding your grounds; it’s a matter of mastering the pour in a spiral fashion and monitoring the flow rate. It’s a slow, careful, methodical pour.

You will master it quickly.

Is Pour Over Coffee The Same As Americano?

An Americano and a pour over are two different coffee beverages. A caffé Americano is made with a shot of espresso and hot water while a pour over does not involve the use of a shot of espresso. 

Although both coffee drinks look the same, they taste different.

Which Tastes Better Pour Over Or French Press?

Which taste better is entirely subjective and depends on what beans you are using.

The full immersion brewing that a French press uses is much better with medium-dark and dark roast coffees while a pour over and the constant flow of fresh hot water which makes it a much better technique for extracting the floral, light and intricate flavors of the origin from light and medium roast coffee beans. 

It is a matter of using the best brewing technique for the beans that you have.

Frappé-Ing It All Up – What Is A Pour Over At Starbucks?

Since you asked the question, what is a pour over at Starbucks, we answered your question comprehensively and gave you a tutorial on how to best make a pour over. Unfortunately, it appears that the franchised coffee outlet does not make coffee as best as they possibly can due to an uneven pour or outlet from their OXO device.

I find this to be very disappointing.

Join our fab and fun online coffee community on Facebook/Meta share your fave and funny coffee memes and jokes.

Derek Marshall

Derek Marshall, a certified barista by the Specialty Coffee Association possesses over two decades of experience in specialty coffee shops. He holds professional certifications for coffee brewing and barista skills. Derek is also an author with authoritative books covering various coffee topics including specialty coffee, sustainability and coffee, coffee brewing, coffee recipes, coffee cocktails and books focusing on Brazilian coffee, Vietnamese coffee, Indonesian coffee and Malaysian coffee. As a barista for over two decades, Derek Marshall has worked in specialty coffee shops across the United Kingdom, Spain, Thailand, Malaysia, Cambodia, Indonesia, and Vietnam. His expertise extends to the distinct coffee cultures, specialty beverages, and brewing techniques of each nation. Functioning as a coffee consultant, Derek charges US$50 per hour. To learn more about Derek Marshall and Latte Love Brew, visit his About Me Page. For coffee inquiries, contact him at +34-639-410-375 or Derek@LatteLoveBrew.com, mentioning your name and location