For Smoother Coffee, Don't Skip The Blooming Process

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One of the mistakes you may be making with pour-over-coffee — or with any kind of coffee, for that matter — is to forget to bloom the grounds before you add the bulk of the water. Blooming may be part of how Alton Brown makes his perfect cup of coffee, but it's not a complicated undertaking that involves expensive equipment. As former barista Matt Woodburn-Simmonds explained, "Blooming coffee is adding a small amount of water, about double the weight of the grounds' worth, before adding more for brewing to allow the trapped carbon dioxide and other gases in the grounds to escape."

Woodburn-Simmonds, who blogs at Home Coffee Expert, told The Takeout, "Removing the carbon dioxide from the grounds allows them to interact better with the hot water for brewing. This gives better extraction for better flavor." The technique, which he said is also called "pre-infusion" or "low-pressure pre-infusion," may be most familiar to aficionados of espresso, French press, and pour-over coffee. In Woodburn-Simmonds' opinion, however, "This technique is useful in all coffee brewing methods."

Matt Woodburn-Simmonds emphasized that there's nothing too difficult about the process, reassuring us, "Blooming coffee is very simple." You'll start by using ground beans (Woodburn-Simmonds advocates grinding your own, but you can use the store-bought kind if these are your go-to) and putting them in a filter, as usual. Instead of pouring all the water in straight away, though, you'll start by using about two or three times the weight of the coffee. Unlike blooming yeast for baking, which requires the use of warm water, the water for blooming coffee needs to be hot. In fact, it should be the same water you'll use to make the rest of the coffee. Give the coffee 30 to 45 seconds to start bubbling, since this is a sign that the carbon dioxide is escaping. Once it does, you may continue your pour.

Woodburn-Simmonds does recommend purchasing one piece of specialty equipment, if you can swing it. According to him, "Using a gooseneck kettle will make [blooming coffee] easier as you can control your pour more precisely to get all of the grounds saturated without using too much water." You don't need a super-fancy, temperature-regulating electric one, though. Woodburn-Simmonds didn't mention a specific product or brand. However, a simple stovetop model like the stainless steel Mcilpoog Warrior 1.7 liter gooseneck kettle should get the job done.