Pour-over coffee can be easily sweetened by adding some syrup, sugar, sugar substitutes, milk/cream, and/or spices while it’s still newly brewed and hot.
That said, many coffee lovers (or snobs, as some would call them) believe that pour-over coffee shouldn’t be sweetened by any type of additives at all, as it ruins the specific flavor profile.
They believe pour-over can be made sweeter by extracting natural sweetness from the coffee grounds themselves, by following a specific brewing method.
Let’s break down what pour-over coffee is and how each of these sweetening methods would work.
What is pour-over coffee?
Pour-over coffee is a type of brewed coffee that’s made by pouring the hot water over ground coffee in increments, letting it slowly extract through the filter.
This filter is usually placed in a specific device. Most widespread these days is the one called V60 due to its shape resembling the letter V, with angles open at precisely 60 degrees.
In fact, V60’s popularity has made pour-over coffee almost synonymous with it.
What does pour-over coffee taste like?
Pour-over coffee is renowned for its full-bodied flavor. This is the result of longer brewing time, which allows for more flavor to be extracted during the process.
The flavor profile of pour-over coffee strongly depends on the grounds, as well as the water-to-grounds ratio. This is why if the blend used for brewing has natural sweetness to it, the final cup will be sweeter without any additives
Sweetening pour-over coffee with sugar
Probably the one method that would earn you the most scorn from the self-proclaimed coffee lovers would be adding sugar to a cup of pour-over coffee.
But it’s also the easiest. And it works for the cold-brewed pour-over (yes, you can cold-brew pour-over) by the way of making it into simple syrup.
If you simply can’t take black coffee and need at least a little extra sweetness to it, start by adding half your usual amount of sugar, as pour-over is likely to have a more complicated, full-bodied, but at the same time more palatable taste.
Sweetening pour-over coffee with sugar substitutes
Most of the sugar substitutes have a strong, well-expressed taste, even if they’re not as sweet as sugar itself.
If you’ve been sweetening your coffee with stevia, erythritol, or monk fruit sweetener, you might be tempted to do the same with pour-over coffee. But chances are their tastes will be far too strong and overpower the taste of pour-over coffee.
If you’re still determined to try sugar substitutes, use half your usual amount and start there. Erythritol might work best, as it supposedly has less of an aftertaste than other sugar substitutes.
Sweetening pour-over coffee with flavored syrup or creamer
Can flavored syrup be used to sweeten pour-over coffee? Yes. It will also overpower any subtle taste pour-over has.
Pour-over isn’t exactly made for extra flavoring. If you wish to sweeten it with a syrup (ex. If it’s cold), just make a simple sugar syrup of your own.
Sweetening pour-over coffee with milk or cream
Pour-over coffee won’t make a good latte or cappuccino, but if you can’t drink black coffee, adding milk or cream isn’t the worse way of making it sweeter. Some would even say it’s better than adding sugar or syrup to your coffee, as it allows more of the coffee flavor to come through (though that point’s up for debate).
If pour-over coffee is new to you, start shy and add milk/cream teaspoon at a time. Chances are pour-over coffee, especially pour-over coffee brewed to extract extra sweetness (more on that below), won’t need as much of it as you put in your regular cup.
Sweetening pour-over coffee with condensed milk
While sweetening coffee with condensed milk is nothing you, it won’t work particularly well with a pour-over. Condensed milk taste will be just far too overpowering. If you want some condensed milk in your coffee, just make some Vietnamese coffee (and no, pour-over will unfortunately not make a good base for that – same with latte and cappuccino).
Sweetening pour-over coffee with spices
Another, more refined – or at least more refined than sugar – way to add some extra sweetness to your pour-over coffee would be adding a bit of vanilla and cinnamon to it.
Unlike sugar, you can add spices directly to the ground during brewing. While it will cover more subtle notes up, it will add complexity to the flavor without fully overpowering it.
1/4tsp ground vanilla powder and 1/4tsp cinnamon are regarded as the maximum amount you should add to a cup of coffee.
How to “sweeten” pour-over coffee during the brewing process
Those who believe in sweetening pour-over coffee “naturally”, would advise paying more attention to the brewing process and taking your time.
Most importantly, if you like sweet coffee, you should choose the coffee blend that has a sweet flavor profile. After that, it’s all about extracting as much of that sweetness as possible.
You’ll need a V60 device, your filter, 0.6 oz of coffee, and hot water.
Place the V60 over a large cup (or another vessel), line it with the filter, soak the filter with hot water, and place your coffee in it (make sure it’s in an even layer).
You’ll need around 8.45 oz of hot water to brew, divided into 5 even parts.
Pouring the first part is supposed to let the coffee “bloom”, at this stage you can give your V60 a gentle swirl to make sure all coffee is evenly saturated. No swirling during the other pours. Just let the coffee rest for 45 seconds between pours.
The one we’re most interested here is the third pour. This is the one that supposedly extracts all the natural sweetness of the coffee during the brewing process. At this stage, most of the acidity has already been extracted. For maximum effect, make sure to pour slowly and evenly.
This will, in the end, supposedly result in a sweeter cup of pour-over coffee.
But, of course, if it’s not sweet enough for you, you can always use one of the abovementioned methods. Just don’t tell a coffee snob.
Hi, I’m Jen Williams, chief editor and writer for ThirstPerk.com.
I’ve been drinking coffee and tea for most of my life, but it wasn’t until I started working at Thirstperk.com that I became an expert on the subject. I’m a total caffeine addict who has spent hours upon hours reading about and experimenting with the different types of coffees out there in my search to find the perfect cup of joe.
I’ve been a tea lover for as long as I can remember as well. I grew up in a house with a mom who loved to drink herbal tea, and I think that’s where my love for tea first began. These days, I’m always on the lookout for new and interesting teas to try, and I love experimenting with different brewing methods and flavoring combinations.
