Most coffee lovers and especially coffee snobs who often find themselves on the go are used to having to make compromises when it comes to their brew. The dilemma usually involves finding a balance between quality and convenience. However, innovations in the coffee industry are now making it so you don't have to sacrifice taste and flavor just to save time. Enter the travel-friendly world of the single serve pour over coffee. And for those wondering, no, this is not the same as instant coffee. It's actually anything but.
The term may sound fancy and intimidating but it's truly not. In this article we took a closer look at the benefits of this unique and trending delivery form. But before getting right into, I'll briefly cover our top 3 picks for the best single serve pour over coffee available.
If you want to learn more about the delivery form itself, click here to skip our recommendations.
Coffee Blender
Topping off our list of the best single serve coffee pour overs on the market is Coffee Blenders. They offer three different brews each from some of the most renown coffee-growing regions in the world: Ruwanda, Guatemala, and Ethiopia. Of this group, their Ethiopian Coffee is most noteworthy offering deliciously bright and floral notes worthy of being served in a coffeehouse or cafe. It'd be easy to justify drinking such an enjoyable coffee at home. But given the fact that's so portable, I'd personally save it for a camping trip or when I'm traveling. Their packaging, like most single serve coffee pour overs, is 100% renewable and compostable. With Coffee Blenders, you get the exceptional taste that comes from a pour over without needing any of special equipment.
Copper Cow Coffee
Copper Cow Coffee needs little introduction as a single serve pour over coffee brand. It's garnered countless positive reviews for its robust flavor. Easily one of the best Vietnamese-style coffees available, this coffee delivers an impressively exotic and unique experience using only 100% natural ingredients. The company offers its high-quality brews in 6 different flavors from salted caramel and vanilla to its best-selling classic black coffee and decaf for those looking to curb their caffeine intake. Whether you're a specific fan of Vietnamese Coffee or not, Copper Cow Coffee offers a brew worthy of being sampled….whether at home or on the go.
Kuju Coffee
Kuju Coffee is another highly-rated single serve pour over coffee that's earned the respect of uncompromising coffee lovers on the move. Their premium coffee is USDA Organic, Fair Trade Certified, and Single Origin. For those who may not know, single origin coffee is coffee that's been sourced from the same farm. This typically yields a higher-quality brew as compared to blends which can contain beans from all different quality levels. As an added bonus, their pour over pouches are nitrogen flushed to ensure the highest level of freshness possible. Kuju offers 6 different flavors which include light, medium, and dark roasts.
Why Use Single Serve Pour Over Coffee
A single serve pour over is just a pouch of ground coffee that can be suspended over the opening of a cup. Simply pour hot water through the grounds and within typically 90 seconds, you're treated to coffeehouse quality coffee without needing any equipment. It's simple yet amazing and in my opinion, a game-changing delivery form. Another huge benefit of single serve pour over coffee is that the packaging is 100% recyclable and thus, good for the environment. Unlike plastic K Cups and coffee pods, these won't leave a large environmental foot print.
Benefits of the Single Serve Pour Over Coffee
- Fast and convenient
- Uses the pour over brewing method which yields a superior quality brew
- Packaging is recyclable
- Individually packaged pouches mean a fresher coffee experience (less exposure to oxygen)
Please note that this deliver form is different than Coffee Tea Bags or Brew Bags such as those sold by Nostalgia Coffee. Rather allowing water to pass through the coffee grounds, tea bag coffee is meant to be steeped in hot water.
More on Single Serve Pour Over Coffee
I was intrigued by the single serve pour over coffee delivery form and for a while, wondered how good their coffee really was when brewed in this manner. Having drunk countless coffees via this method, I can say it's one of the greatest inventions since sliced bread.
For those who may not know, many coffee connoisseurs consider the pour over brew method to be the method of choice. This being the case, I was especially interested to see how this coffee stacked up to coffee made in something like a Chemex. The truth is, single serve pour overs produce coffee that's just as impressive as any other method out there. After all, it's essentially the same as a pour over and the pour over brewing method is often the preferred method of coffee connoisseurs.
In addition to convenience, another benefit of single serve pour over coffee is that because they are individually packaged, you're treated to a fresher experience. Ground coffee in a reusable bag becomes less fresh every time it gets exposed to oxygen. Each time you open the bag, the coffee is becoming staler. If you think that's not a big deal, you'd be wrong. With single serve pour over coffee you don't have this issue and are treated the freshest coffee possible each time, every time.
Closing Thoughts
In many ways, single serve pour over coffee offers the best of both worlds. You get all of the convenience of having coffee on the go while not having to sacrifice quality. That's a immeasurably important benefit for we coffee lovers. I'm confident we'll be seeing more and more coffee being made available through this method. While it's true that single serve pour over coffee pouches are more expensive than just ground coffee, I think it's well worth the expense.
If you're looking to explore other unique yet practical coffee deliver forms, consider checking out Cometeer Coffee. They've created a proprietary extraction method that basically involves flash-freezing already brewed coffee. Unlike instant coffee, this is coffee in its purest form retaining all of its natural aromas and flavor. Add water and essentially melt the coffee back to its previous state of freshness. It's a most fascinating new invention. We'll be doing a full article write up of Cometeer Coffee shortly.
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