We believe great coffee doesn't need to be complicated. It just needs to be done right. Pour over is the most honest brewing method there is—it strips everything away and leaves the bean alone with the water, which means it rewards good coffee and exposes the rest. Our beans are Hand Picked, Carefully Selected, and Roasted to Order, and pour over is where all of that work finally lands on your palate.

Why We Love Pour Over with 100% Kona

Most brewing methods blur a coffee. Pour over does the opposite. As water passes slowly and evenly through a single bed of grounds, it draws out the subtle flavor compounds that faster methods leave behind—the aromatics, the gentle acidity, the sweetness that defines a true single origin.

That clarity is exactly what 100% Kona was made for. Grown on the rocky volcanic slopes of Hualalai, our beans carry the signature of their terroir: a silky, medium body, a bright-but-balanced acidity, and notes that run from honeyed sweetness to milk chocolate, marzipan, and soft stone fruit. Pour over lets every one of those notes speak.

A clean, transparent brew makes a great bean transcendent—and a mediocre one taste flat and muddy. A $15 grocery blend has nowhere to hide in a pour over. A bean that was grown under avocado and mango canopies and roasted in small batches finally gets to show what it's been holding back.

What You'll Need

You don't need a lab. You need a few basics and a little attention: a cone-style dripper (V60, Kalita Wave, or Chemex), paper filters, a digital scale, a gooseneck kettle for a slow controlled pour, a burr grinder (or our pre-ground Kona), fresh 100% Kona, and a timer.

The Best Beans for Pour Over

The best beans for pour over are fresh, single origin, and roasted light to medium—the roast levels that preserve a bean's natural character instead of burying it. That's our Medium Roast exactly: bright and sweet, but forgiving enough to brew well on a Tuesday morning. You'll be brewing coffee that was roasted to order, not sitting in a warehouse shelf for who knows how long.

The Process

Our go-to recipe uses 22 grams of coffee to 360 grams of water—roughly a 1:16 ratio, about two generous cups.

Grind medium-fine, like table salt. Too fine and the brew turns bitter; too coarse and it runs weak and sour.

Heat your water to about 200°F (93°C)—just off the boil.

Rinse the filter with hot water, then discard it to remove papery taste and pre-warm the dripper.

Add the grounds, tare your scale to zero, and start the timer.

Bloom: pour about 44 grams of water over the grounds and let them swell for 30–45 seconds. A vigorous bloom means fresh coffee.

Pour in slow, concentric circles, working from the center outward, until you reach 360 grams total.

Let it draw down—the full brew should land around 2:30 to 3:30.

Swirl gently, then pour and taste it black first.

No scale? About 3 tablespoons of coffee to 12 ounces of water gets you close for one mug; 5 tablespoons to 20 ounces for two.

How to Dial It In

Your first cup is information, not a verdict. Change one variable at a time—almost always grind size first. Brewing too fast and tasting thin or sour? Grind finer. Too slow and bitter? Grind coarser. Weak overall? Add a gram or two, or move toward 1:15. Too intense? Open the ratio toward 1:17. Three or four brews in, you'll find your sweet spot.

How We Drink It

Black, first and always. A clean Kona pour over needs nothing. From there, a splash of cream rounds the chocolate notes without smothering the brightness. And when the Big Island turns warm, we pour the finished brew over ice—though for a true slow-steeped batch, that's a job for our Cold Brew Guide.

A Few Brazen Tips

Weigh, don't scoop—a $15 scale upgrades every cup. Grind right before you brew. Keep the pour slow and centered; drilling water into the edge of the bed channels it and weakens the cup. Mind your water—filtered tastes noticeably cleaner than hard tap. And buy fresh, buy small, buy often: because we roast to order, the freshest possible Kona is the whole point.

More Than a Method

Pour over isn't really about gear or grams. It's about attention—the same attention we pour into every step from tree to cup, the same kuleana (responsibility, stewardship) our family carries for this land. When you slow down and pour with care, you're finishing a journey that started on a hillside in Holualoa. That's the Kona ritual. Be brazen, and make it yours.

Bring It Home

Start with the bean that makes pour over sing: our Medium Roast 100% Kona (1 lb, $49) is the showcase roast for this method—bright enough to reveal Kona's sweetness, balanced enough to brew forgivingly every morning.

And with Father's Day on June 21, give the brew, not just the cup. A Brazen Hazen Gift Basket pairs Medium Roast for weekend pour overs with Dark Roast for everyday—the move for the coffee lover who already has the gear and just needs beans worth using it on.