If you are a die-hard coffee lover and cannot think of starting your day or functioning with full sanity without a cup of coffee, then chances are that you are also conscious of the type of coffee you consume each time.
People loving one kind of coffee and always having the same kind are completely justified. Drinking coffee daily becomes a mandatory part of one’s routine.
According to a recent report, coffee is loved by people of all ages from all over the world, and naturally, it is harvested and exported from all parts of the world. Owing to this, there have been many creative variations and innovations in preparing coffee.
As a result, we now have a wide range of coffee recipes, with each variant different and unique. People prefer their favorite coffee as per its taste, aroma, and strength, broadly in three main categories: light, medium, and dark blends.
These trends and innovations have given birth to many different coffees, namely Espresso, Filter Coffee, Mochaccino, Americano, Irish Coffee, etc.
Since coffee lovers are well aware of the different yet latest coffee makers, we decided to discuss the types of coffee from the old days here, which came into advent before all these innovations had begun.
The coffees under discussion here are the “Pour Over Coffee” and the “Drip Coffee,” both of which have been around for a long time. It would be safe to say that most people today are unaware of these coffee variants because they have been widely replaced by the other variants of coffee prevalent in society today.
Also, it would not be wrong to say that these types of coffee are not as preferred today as they used to be because their preparation requires time, energy, and skills for perfection, which people don’t want to invest in. People save time by preparing a hot, steaming mug of instant coffee within seconds instead of waiting a long time for the coffee to be brewed.
But there still are people today who prefer the old, traditional ways of brewing up a mug of coffee for themselves, for it gives them the satisfaction that all the goodness of coffee beans has been incorporated into the final product.
So before we start debating whether a pour-over coffee is better than a drip coffee, let us first take a look at where it all started; let’s trace back to the time when both of these coffees came into existence, starting with the ‘pour-over coffee.’
The Pour Over Coffee:
The “pour over” is prepared by pouring hot water on the grounded coffee beans and placed on a cone of filter paper fixed in a funnel. The filter paper allows the water to do its job, extracting all the bold and rich flavors of the coffee beans powder and brewing a flavorful, aromatic mug of coffee.
However, the strength and flavor of a great mug of coffee require a lot of patience, great skill, and the right set of key ingredients to produce a steaming mug of coffee.
The History of Pour Over Coffee:
The pour-over coffee dates back to the 19th Century and came into being when a German lady named Melitta Bentz invented the filter paper. Before this, filters made of linen or cloth were popularly used for brewing coffees.
The filter paper she initially used to brew coffee was a blotting paper taken from a sketchbook. But she liked this innovative way of brewing coffee so much that she introduced it to the world, and thus a “pour-over coffee” came into being, with the filter paper being the key requirement for preparation.
Why do people love the “Pour Over Coffee” so much?
The pour-over coffee was an instant hit in the world because it allowed the brewer to take control of the whole coffee-making process. Unlike a coffee-making machine, which first prompts pre-set instructions to be given and then brews the coffee, this manual way of handling the brewing process is much better and more controlled.
And since it depends on the brewers to take care of the water “pouring over,” they can take their sweet time to let the small quantities of water seep through the coffee granules, extracting all their flavor, rich aroma, and bold undertones present in the coffee granules.
Here is an easy step-by-step guideline on preparing a pour-over coffee .
The Drip Coffee:
Drip coffee is another variant of coffee in which coffee is prepared using an automated coffee brewing machine. The user places the right ingredients in their specified compartments and lets the machine brew the coffee cup.
A heating element in the coffee brewing machine forcefully propels the water upwards, which causes the water mixed with the filtered coffee granules to be poured out from the basket into an awaiting mug outside.
The History of Drip Coffee:
The method of preparing drip coffee emerged soon after the invention of the pour-over coffee method, and this innovation too dates back to the 19th century and has its roots in Germany.
It came into being when the first electric drip coffee maker, the “Wigomat,” was invented by German Gottlob Widmann in 1954. Before this, people widely followed the ancient methods of using cloths, filter papers, or percolators to brew coffee.
Using coffee makers to prepare drip coffee is one of America’s most widely used methods. And, the name “drip coffee” has been shortened to good, old “coffee” only.
Why do people love “Drip Coffee” so much?
The method of drip coffee preparation is an easy job and saves many people time. It helps them do that job, which normally takes hours for people to do by hand. The brewing process has become easier than ever, and now, there is no need to keep pouring water at regular intervals. The machine takes care of that.
So, if both are equally enriching and fulfilling coffees, where does the difference lie? Now, we shall take a closer look at all the attributes and aspects of each of these different brews of coffee to compare them and reach the concluding point, which decides which coffee type beats the other.
Pour Over Coffee Vs. Drip Coffee: The Ultimate Battle of the Brews!
So far, from what we were able to conclude above, we can safely say that initially, the difference between both kinds of coffee lies in their brewing methods, i.e., pour-over coffee makes use of filter paper and is brewed manually. In contrast, drip coffee uses an automated coffee maker machine and breeds coffee for you.
We shall compare the qualities that make either of these coffees the best.
1) Affordability:
Let’s get this straight: pour-over coffee is an unsolicited winner regarding the affordability factor. It mainly requires good quality filter paper, which is easily available at a minimal cost of $10-$30, compared to the hefty amount of money you would spend on finding and then investing in the purchase of a good quality automated coffee maker.
It would cost around $100-$200, so if you are looking for budget-friendly options, it might be too much on the pricier side for you.
2) Controlled Pouring & Desired Consistency:
Owing to their time-saving and efficient nature, drip coffee makers became popular in the industry. But they sometimes failed to filter the whole coffee grounds that were added to them.
Some parts were brewed to perfection, while some were not. This is usually a big disappointment for all the coffee lovers who love their coffees strongly blended to perfection. Real coffee lovers are the ones who love it when every granule has done its job of satisfying them by providing the drinker with all of its flavor and taste.
You get a coffee with unbalanced and unequaled flavors and taste through this incomplete brewing.
Whereas a mug of pour-over coffee would seldom disappoint you in this respect because while preparing a pour-over coffee, it is you, who is taking control of the entire brewing process, and the whole process of brewing up the coffee is dependent on your hands only. You can make changes whenever you see they are required and add or subtract the key ingredients whenever and wherever required.
3) Flavor/Taste of the Coffee:
You must have heard a famous saying, “Slow and steady wins the race.” These words apply to brewing coffee too. The longer you invest in brewing coffee, the tastier and richly flavored it will be.
This is because the longer you give coffee grounds to be brewed, the more flavor and aroma they will impart to the final product. And this long-lasting brewing-to-perfection art is performed by none other than the pour-over coffee method. The drip coffee is made within a short period and often lacks extraction of the oils in the coffee grounds.
4) Time Saving & Efficient:
When saving time and energy, drip coffee wins the battle. It makes things easier for the users and saves much time compared to the pour-over method. So, for people who are always in a rush in the mornings, this could be the best investment for saving their day (and time!)
5) Temperature Control & Stabilization:
Since a drip coffee is prepared using an automated coffee-making machine, the temperature of the water, or the coffee at the end, might not be the one you were anticipating. This is yet another disappointment for the coffee lovers, for it dampens their mood and destroys the vibe they had in their minds regarding the much-anticipated mug of coffee.
But with a pour-over coffee, the water may be boiling or lukewarm, as per your liking, because you are the one who is gradually adding the water to the mixture. This makes things easier and keeps the temperature of the water, and afterward, the coffee is completely balanced and measured to perfection.
Summary:
In light of the factors above, pour-over coffee takes the lead when selecting the best coffee out of these two. But drip coffee automatically dominates the list when it comes to efficiency, tech-savviness, and time-saving options.
With that being said, it is up to the coffee drinkers to decide which type of coffee they like the most according to their taste. Some factors we stated above as the “downsides” of these coffees might be a plus point for some people! So it mainly depends on the people’s preference and the type of taste, flavor, temperature, and aroma that they love the most!
We believe that either way, coffee is coffee, and in any of its forms, it is a delectable, wonderful, and energizing drink that has always been winning everyone’s hearts forever!
Editorial Staff
The editorial staff at Crazy Coffee Crave is a team of coffee enthusiasts & Baristas who enjoy the one thing we all think about as soon as we get up in the morning. Trusted by thousands of readers worldwide.
