<p>Several "automatic pour-over" machines have recently come onto the market from manufacturers such as those you listed.  They are something of a hybrid between the ubiquitous, conventional "automatic drip" machines and manual pour-over methods.  That is, the automatic pour-over machines attempt to perform the same sequence of steps recommended for manual pour-over, but in an automated fashion.</p>

<p>For example, compare the <a href="https://bluebottlecoffee.com/preparation-guides/drip" rel="nofollow noreferrer">Blue Bottle pour-over drip guide</a>. This suggests a multi-step process of pouring. With water at a particular temperature, do the following:</p>

<ul>
<li>heat the cone and wet the filter;</li>
<li>pour a small amount of water to wet the grounds and "bloom", then wait;</li>
<li>pour the rest of the water slowly in the middle of the grounds pile.</li>
</ul>

<p>Some other guides recommend pouring in circular motions, or in multiple iterations, or at a particular rate, or in certain places.  See also the question about <a href="https://coffee.stackexchange.com/questions/339/pouring-technique-for-drip-pour-over-coffee">pour-over techniques</a>.</p>

<p>Regular auto-drip machines, on the other hand, simply drop water in one go over all of the grounds in a somewhat uncontrolled manner.  This also relates to a question: does auto-drip taste different than pour-over? That's a separate, open question.</p>

<p>This article from LifeHacker gives <a href="http://lifehacker.com/automatic-pour-overs-do-they-make-a-better-cup-of-coff-1583005950" rel="nofollow noreferrer">a comparison between the new-fangled automatic pour-over machines and how they compare to real, manual pour-over</a>, and another from <a href="http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2014/12/16/ottomatic-chemex-coffee-brewer_n_6329320.html" rel="nofollow noreferrer">HuffPo</a> about the Chemex model. Their conclusions are varied (see article for more) but:</p>

<ul>
<li>they're more expensive than conventional drip;</li>
<li>some models have controllable settings for certain parameters (e.g., bloom time; temperature)</li>
<li>they provide precise repeatability for certain parameters such as rate, contact time with grounds, water temperature.</li>
</ul>

<p>Ultimately, they provide attention to detail that can be done by hand; some do this better than others. However, most just heat water and drip it over the grounds somewhat better than a conventional drip coffee maker.</p>

<p>If you...</p>

<ul>
<li>don't want to learn the "style" or "art" to manual pour-over, or </li>
<li>if you appreciate the nuances of manual pour-over (over auto-drip), but can't quite focus attention on details that really distinguish manual pour-over,</li>
</ul>

<p>these machines might be for you.</p>

CC BY-SA 3.0
2015-04-15T14:53:20.007Z
2015-04-15T14:53:20.007Z
2017-04-13T12:51:53.733Z
hoc_age
<p>I use 2 manual pourover methods</p>

<p>Method 1: Brown Melitta #4 paper filter rinsed using my Bonavaita drip machine's brew basket. 185F filtered water and beans grinded with Baratza Encore burr grinder</p>

<p>Beans from SquareOne, Intelligentsia, Novo</p>

<p>Method 2: using a Hario V60</p>

<p>Recently I've been noticing several automated pour over machines coming to the market - Poppy Pourover, Bodum, Invergo, Kitchenaid and lots of others getting on the automated pour over bandwagon.</p>

<p>Are these automated pourover machines even worth looking into?</p>

<pour-over>
Do Automated Pour Over Machines provide the same flavor profile compared to manual pour over method?
Guenther
# Do Automated Pour Over Machines provide the same flavor profile compared to manual pour over method?

(Asked by: username_0 on 2015-04-10)

I use 2 manual pourover methods

Method 1: Brown Melitta #4 paper filter rinsed using my Bonavaita drip machine's brew basket. 185F filtered water and beans grinded with Baratza Encore burr grinder

Beans from SquareOne, Intelligentsia, Novo

Method 2: using a Hario V60

Recently I've been noticing several automated pour over machines coming to the market - Poppy Pourover, Bodum, Invergo, Kitchenaid and lots of others getting on the automated pour over bandwagon.

Are these automated pourover machines even worth looking into?

**Tags:** pour-over


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## 1 answers

### Answer by username_1 on 2015-04-15. Score: 3 | Accepted answer

Several "automatic pour-over" machines have recently come onto the market from manufacturers such as those you listed. They are something of a hybrid between the ubiquitous, conventional "automatic drip" machines and manual pour-over methods. That is, the automatic pour-over machines attempt to perform the same sequence of steps recommended for manual pour-over, but in an automated fashion.

For example, compare the [Blue Bottle pour-over drip guide](https://bluebottlecoffee.com/preparation-guides/drip). This suggests a multi-step process of pouring. With water at a particular temperature, do the following:

* heat the cone and wet the filter;
* pour a small amount of water to wet the grounds and "bloom", then wait;
* pour the rest of the water slowly in the middle of the grounds pile.

Some other guides recommend pouring in circular motions, or in multiple iterations, or at a particular rate, or in certain places. See also the question about [pour-over techniques](https://coffee.stackexchange.com/questions/339/pouring-technique-for-drip-pour-over-coffee).

Regular auto-drip machines, on the other hand, simply drop water in one go over all of the grounds in a somewhat uncontrolled manner. This also relates to a question: does auto-drip taste different than pour-over? That's a separate, open question.

This article from LifeHacker gives [a comparison between the new-fangled automatic pour-over machines and how they compare to real, manual pour-over](http://lifehacker.com/automatic-pour-overs-do-they-make-a-better-cup-of-coff-1583005950), and another from [HuffPo](http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2014/12/16/ottomatic-chemex-coffee-brewer_n_6329320.html) about the Chemex model. Their conclusions are varied (see article for more) but:

* they're more expensive than conventional drip;
* some models have controllable settings for certain parameters (e.g., bloom time; temperature)
* they provide precise repeatability for certain parameters such as rate, contact time with grounds, water temperature.

Ultimately, they provide attention to detail that can be done by hand; some do this better than others. However, most just heat water and drip it over the grounds somewhat better than a conventional drip coffee maker.

If you...

* don't want to learn the "style" or "art" to manual pour-over, or
* if you appreciate the nuances of manual pour-over (over auto-drip), but can't quite focus attention on details that really distinguish manual pour-over,

these machines might be for you.


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