Pourover 3: Grind, Pour and Agitation

Getting there.  I'm managing to brew into the "Ideal" zone of the Brewing Control Chart more frequently now.  Key findings include:

1. Grinding coarser than before.  Since I'm now making several pours instead of one or two (to maintain a higher average temperature in the slurry), the grinds aren't rising as high in the filter and aren't sticking to the sides.  This means that there is more water resistance because the depth of the grinds in the base of the filter is thicker.  This slows down the extraction. To compensate I've had to grind several notches coarser.

2. As mentioned above, temperature is staying higher. By the time it reaches the cup it has dropped from boiling (the water, just before filling the pouring kettle) to an average of 60C.  I believe most of the temperature is lost through the V60 cone, which is the transparent plastic one.  Anyway, I need to find ways to maintain a higher temperature for longer, since the resulting coffees are heading towards sourville.  (My French Press coffees are averaging 65C in the cup and are free from the sourness.)  A metal filter cone perhaps? Also maybe a better pourover kettle, since this one is cheap & thin and therefore may lose heat.

3. The pour itself is much more skill-based than I had thought.  It's not purely the aim, nor the speed, nor technique, nor adhering to a video tutorial that someone else has recommended.  The skill comes from reading the bean, and adjusting the pour accordingly to ensure the correct extraction.  How much is it blooming? What were the TDS/Extraction Yields in earlier pours using the same beans, so that you can now pour higher/lower readings without using a meter (i.e. in a busy shop environment).  Simply pouring the same way every time is definitely NOT the way to consistency in the cup.  The beans are changing, so the pour must compensate.  The barista must 'dial in' his pour to the beans each morning, and throughout the day.  Thinking about it now, changes to the grind might be a better way to compensate, in the same way as an espresso grind must be constantly re-dialed.  More experiments necessary there.

Anyway, here's a recent video showing two different V60 pouring methods and results...