Before I've even had a chance to process what day it is, I'm pressing buttons on my coffee machine without a second thought. The entire process takes about three minutes from pressing the power button to sipping my cup of joe.
It's a routine that doesn't require much from me (which is a good thing so early in the morning), aside from selecting how many ounces of coffee I want. However, a couple of months ago, I used a pour-over coffee machine for the first time. Similar to how one feels after making a delicious dinner, I was enamored by the slow, intentional process that resulted in a cup of coffee I had brewed myself.
After returning home to my Keurig after a week of using a pour-over coffee maker, I noticed an immediate difference in the quality of coffee. The coffee produced by my Keurig was weaker, seemed watered down and overall wasn't as flavorful. I had missed the caliber of coffee produced by the pour-over method and wanted to see if there were options I could swap my Keurig out for.
To fuel this newfound obsession, we decided to put five pour-over coffee makers to the test to see which one produced the best cup of joe.
Best overall pour-over coffee maker
Ease of use: 5/5 | Coffee taste: 5/5 | Filtration: 5/5 | Portability: 3/5 | Overall average score: 4.5/5
As someone who can appreciate a quick and easy process when it comes to coffee — right now, my morning coffee routine consists of pressing three buttons on my Keurig — it comes as no surprise that this coffee maker earned the award of best overall.
It has a no-frills, straightforward process. It even includes a conversions sheet that describes how many ounces of water and grams of coffee you should use if making a 10- or 12-ounce cup.
Once we measured out our allotted 10 ounces of water and 3 tablespoons of coffee (the controlled factors used with each test), we poured the water in a spiral motion and it started blooming. According to Stumptown's guide on "How to Perfect Your Pour Over," the bloom step is the first pour of water into the filter, covering the grounds. "The bloom pour saturates all of the grounds and will help later with an even extraction," the guide summarizes. From start to finish, the filtration process took about 2.5 minutes.
Once finished, a warm cup of coffee was waiting for me — and I was able to pull notes of caramel out of the coffee grounds we were utilizing (which wasn't exactly the case for others we tested).
While this coffee maker won best overall for its simple process and the flavorful coffee it produced, it wouldn't be my first choice in terms of portability. It has three different parts to it, making it more difficult to pack compared to others we tested that are only one piece.
More pour-over coffee makers, tested by the author
Expert-approved pour-over coffee maker:
Ease of use: 3/5 | Coffee taste: 5/5 | Filtration: 5/5 | Portability: 3/5 | Overall average score: 4/5
When testing the Hario V60, we followed the guide provided by Stumptown Coffee and immediately noticed it requires a more methodological and thorough process than OXO.
Most processes required us to rinse the filter before placing the grounds inside. This is to help "eliminate paper flavor and to heat up the mug or carafe you are brewing into," according to the guide. Then, we took 3 tablespoons of grounds and poured in just enough water to cover the grounds, before adding the rest of the water every 10 to 15 seconds (for a total of 360 grams) in a spiral motion.
The guide says to wait for three minutes and afterwards, a 10-ounce mug of coffee will be waiting for you. This pour-over produced coffee with a lighter flavor profile, one where the caramel notes were a bit more concealed.
While it's more portable than the OXO because it's a single piece of equipment, it's also more fragile because it's ceramic. So portability truly depends on your packing skills!
"I’m always going to point people first to the Hario V60," says Drew Pond, director of development at Stone Creek Coffee in Milwaukee. "It’s cost-effective. It’s wildly user-friendly. And it delivers the kind of sweet, clean and juicy cup that’ll make you keep reaching for it. The V60 gives you control, as well as visual feedback. It’s responsive without being fussy. It’s forgiving without being dull. Whether you’re brewing one cup or three, it’s got the range to meet your needs."
For extra-slow mornings:
Ease of use: 3/5 | Coffee taste: 5/5 | Filtration: 4/5 | Portability: 5/5 | Overall average score: 4.25/5
This was the only pour-over coffee maker we tested that's crafted out of glass. I was initially curious about whether the temperature of the water would remain warm throughout the filtration process, as my glass mugs tend to stay warmer longer while drinking coffee.
Similar to the Hario V60, we followed a multistep guide provided by Stumptown for a perfectly brewed cup of coffee. The Kalita is ideal for someone who has time and patience, as the process requires a lot of precise timing and measurements.
After rinsing the filter, we added 3 tablespoons of coffee, ensuring the bed was flat before pouring any water in (per the instructions). 60 grams (a little over 2 ounces) of water are then used to saturate the grounds before stirring it with a spoon, to ensure all the grounds are covered with water. We poured water in a circular motion over the grounds for 45 seconds, while also reaching a total of 200 grams of water to ensure an "even extraction."
For the third pour, Stumptown's guide says to pour between 25-50 grams of water "periodically" throughout a two-minute time period until you reach a total of 375 grams of water.
Aside from the highly detailed process, the coffee filtered through seamlessly and brewed a solid cup of joe. I was able to pick up notes of caramel, signaling to me that we had successfully gone through the process to produce a flavorful, strong cup of coffee. Plus, it was piping hot, retaining the temperature from the boiling water.
Good for on-the-go:
Ease of use: 3/5 | Coffee taste: 4/5 | Filtration: 3/5 | Portability: 5/5 | Overall score: 3.75/5
As an avid Yeti fan, I was excited to try their take on pour-over. Plus, it was one of two that are made out of stainless steel that we were testing, so I was curious if that would have any impact on the temperature and flavor of coffee.
"Some people also swear it adds a metallic taste, but I think that’s mostly in their head," Pond says of stainless steel equipment. "Many of us brew into stainless steel carafes and never talk about that imparting metallic taste."
Yeti's eight-step process involves similar steps to the other pour-overs we tested, including starting by rinsing your coffee filter. Once rinsed, these are the main steps to Yeti's pour-over process:
- Bloom the coffee. Yeti instructs users to pour 30 grams of water over the grounds in a circular motion, ensuring all of the grounds are covered with water by the end of it. Let it sit for 45 seconds before moving on to the next step.
- Pour water while stirring the grounds until you reach 150 grams.
- Within the next 30 seconds, pour more water in until you reach 250 grams.
- Do one final pour of water “in one direction and again in the other direction to release any grounds,” per Yeti (a step that the brand says should take up to 3.5 minutes).
We found that there's a lot of room for user error within this process. It requires a gentler hand than you may think (definitely gentler than we initially thought). The filter broke on our first attempt, so we had to be sure our pours were light and intentional the next time around.
Once brewed, the coffee had a strong profile and didn't have a metallic taste. Plus, the coffee maker itself wasn't as hot as I had anticipated for being stainless steel. I was expecting the pour-over coffee maker to have the same temperature retention as their mugs, that are made of the same kitchen-grade stainless steel material and keep drinks piping hot for a while.
Best for beginners:
Ease of use: 4/5 | Coffee taste: 2/5 | Filtration: 4/5 | Portability: 5/5 | Overall average score: 3.75/5
One of the perks of this pour-over coffee maker is the fact that it comes with its own mug. To brew, we followed the instructions provided in the package, which also included some quick mental (or in my case, calculator) math.
The brand says for every 1 tablespoon of grounds, 4 ounces of coffee is brewed. So, to stick with the same grounds-to-water ration we'd be utilizing, we decided to scoop 3 tablespoons into the built-in filter (no need for paper filters here!) to brew a total of 12 ounces of coffee.
Then, Stanley instructs to pour 118 grams of water into the filter, letting it bloom for 30 seconds before pouring the rest in — careful to do so in a circular motion.
The instructions say it'll take 3-4 minutes for the process to complete, however it took 5 minutes for us to reach 12 ounces. Because of its two-step process, this pour-over also proved to be no-fuss, aside from the need to do some quick conversions in the beginning.
Similar to the Yeti pour-over, the Stanley one is made out of stainless steel and I didn't notice any metallic flavor in the coffee. It also got just as hot as the Yeti and Kalita pour-overs, however I wasn’t able to pull many flavors out of the coffee as I was with the OXO.
Since it comes with the mug and built-in filter, I found this to be the best for portability. You can take it camping, to house rentals or practically anywhere else you desire.
This pour-over coffee maker seems like a beginner-friendly option that still allows me to adopt a slower morning routine and receive a quality cup of coffee.
Frequently asked questions
“There are a lot of varying opinions for the best pour-over method, and it will depend on what type of pour-over brewer you’re using, but I find my...method to be pretty failsafe,” says Allin Skiba, a roaster at Variety Coffee located in New York City. Skiba’s approach (which she does with her Chemex) is similar to the ones we utilized, which require timing each time you pour water in a spiral motion, to perfect the bloom step.
"The key is the “bloom” step, which will be your first pour," she says. "If you are starting your Chemex with 45g of ground coffee, you will start your timer and pour 90g of water in a circular motion to bloom the coffee, and wait about 30 more seconds. Pour 160g more water into the Chemex in the same circular motion, and wait another 30 seconds. Pour 200g more water using the same method, making sure to pour the water against the sides of the filter to push any grounds stuck to the side back down into the filter, and wait another 30 seconds. Your final pour will be the longest as you pour 270g more water, so there should be a total of 720g water used to brew 45g of coffee. Let it drain completely for about 5 minutes, and enjoy! You can use the same ratio of coffee to water and pouring method in other pour over brewers if you don’t have a Chemex."
"Blooming is the opening act of coffee brewing," says Pond. "It’s the moment when hot water first hits the dry grounds and they “breathe out.” What’s happening is the release of trapped CO₂ gas that built-up in the bean during roasting. If you skip this step, those gases fight back against your brew water, repelling it and preventing full extraction. That leaves you with a cup that tastes flat, sour or oddly hollow."
"By pouring a small amount of hot water over your grounds and letting them swell and fizz for 30-45 seconds, you’re giving that gas an exit ramp," he continues. "Once it’s gone, the rest of your water can move through the coffee bed evenly, pulling out the sugars, acids and aromatic compounds you actually want. Blooming is a very helpful step to prepare the rest of the brew for balance, clarity and depth."
"Most materials are appropriate for brewing coffee, as long as it doesn’t absorb taste or smell," says Cody Kinart, director of coffee at Colectivo Coffee, a Midwest-based coffee brand. "Ceramic and glass are the easiest to clean, but stainless steel is also a great option."
Pond agrees that glass and ceramic are among the best, yet they're easier to break and aren't as durable.
"While it’s definitely not my favorite option, plastic has its benefits," he says. "Cheap, durable, fast to heat up and if it’s BPA-free, it’s not gonna hurt your coffee. Some of my favorite brewers, like the Hario V60 and the Kalita Wave, come in plastic. Then there’s stainless steel, which looks cool, is built like a tank and is generally underrated in brewer construction. It does conduct heat quickly, which can cool your brew slurry a touch. So, for someone like me, someone who wants things to look cool and to hold up to my lack of coordination, stainless is a great option if you can get it."
"This shape...forces you to be intentional with your pour," says Pond. "The geometry matters. Too fast, and the water shoots right through the middle; too slow, and it chokes out. That’s why pour-over is half art, half science. Cone shapes aren’t just aesthetic, they’re engineered to give you more control over extraction. [There's a] better flow, deeper saturation and a cleaner cup if you know what you’re doing."
While Pond focuses on the more technical aspects of the cone shape, Kinart also considers the taste, saying that the shape plays into how the water interacts with coffee, directly contributing to how it tastes once filtered through.
"We talk a lot about “bed depth,” or how much coffee the water passes through when brewing," says Kinart. "The deeper the bed depth, the more opportunity for your water to pick up soluble matter, increasing the sweetness and body of the brewed coffee!"
Pond says the process not so much depends on the coffee maker itself, but the coffee grounds.
“There’s no squeaky-clean answer here,” says Pond. “Each batch of coffee is unique. When you get a new bag of coffee, it might take you a couple of brew batches to “dial it in.” That’s the process of adjusting your grind size, coffee to water ratio and pouring methodology in order to bring the most out of the coffee.”
How I tested each pour-over coffee maker
If instructions were provided by the brand, whether in-box or online, we followed those. If no instructions were provided, we sought them out via Stumptown Coffee's brew guide, which offers instructions for various brands.
For each pour-over coffee maker, we used 3 tablespoons of Door County Coffee’s heavenly caramel decaf grounds with the goal of achieving 10 ounces of brewed coffee (or 12 ounces, in the case of Stanley). If the instructions called for a certain amount of water throughout the blooming and filtration process, we were careful to follow those. If they didn’t, we used a digital food scale to ensure we were hitting the average weight in grams for a 10-ounce cup of coffee.
Coffee grounds and the 10 ounces we were hoping to achieve as an end result, were our controlled factors. As mentioned above, we used three tablespoons to create 10 ounces (or in Stanley's case, 12 ounces) of coffee. If the instructions called for a certain amount of water throughout the blooming and filtration process, we were careful to follow those. However, if they didn't, we used measurements on the side of the coffee makers to ensure we were hitting our 10 ounce mark.
Why trust Shop TODAY
Sierra Hoeger is an associate editor who started writing and reporting for Shop TODAY in 2022, covering topics such related to travel, clothing, beauty and more. She's even assisted in other Ranked testing processes, so she's familiar with the rating system we apply to our product picks.
Meet the experts
- Cody Kinart is the director of coffee at Colectivo Coffee, a coffeeshop with locations in Chicago, Madison and Milwaukee.
- Drew Pond is the director of development at Stone Creek Coffee based in Milwaukee, Wisconsin.
- Allin Skiba is a roaster at Variety Coffee located in New York City.
The Flat Lay Co. Flat Lay Makeup Bag
The Flat Lay Co. Flat Lay Makeup Bag