when a pour-over recipe says “bloom,” it is not asking you to become a florist.
it means: add a small amount of water first. wet all the coffee. then wait before you keep pouring.
roasting leaves carbon dioxide inside coffee beans. when hot water hits freshly ground coffee, that gas starts escaping. you see bubbles. the coffee bed may puff up.
if you pour all the water at once, that gas can get in the way of even contact between the water and the grounds.
so i bloom first.
put the ground coffee in your rinsed filter. start your timer. pour just enough hot water to wet every bit of coffee.
a useful starting point is about twice the weight of the coffee. if you used 20 grams of coffee, try about 40 grams of water.
wait around 30 to 45 seconds. then continue the rest of your pour.
do not panic if the bloom is small. older coffee has already released more gas. roast level and freshness change what the bubbles look like.
also, do not turn the bloom into a chemistry final. the job is simply to wet the whole bed and give the gas a moment to leave.
if you see one dry island, pour a little water onto it. if the coffee is floating in a tiny swimming pool, use less bloom water next time.
that is it. small pour. short wait. then make the rest of the coffee.
if you want beans that make the morning part easy, Couplet has coffee for that.
coupletcoffee.com / @couplet
gefen