Quick answer

Brew Remera as a medium-fine pour-over with water just off the boil, and keep the recipe simple so its sweet, bright Burundian character stays front and center. Start with a 1:16 ratio, a gentle bloom, and two or three controlled pours.

What Remera tastes like and why the brew method matters

Remera is a Burundian coffee that the catalog describes as a harmonious medley of sweetness and acidity. That balance is the point: you want enough extraction to carry the sweetness, but not so much that the acidity turns sharp or the finish turns bitter.

Pour-over gives you the most control over that balance. Immersion methods can work, but they tend to round off the acidity that makes Remera distinctive. If you already have a flat-bottom dripper, use it; the even bed helps keep extraction consistent from first pour to last.

Grind size: start medium-fine and adjust by taste

For a standard pour-over, start with a medium-fine grind that feels like fine sea salt. If the cup tastes thin or sour, grind finer; if it tastes drying or bitter, grind coarser. Change one variable at a time so you can tell what actually helped.

Because Remera is a sweet, acidic coffee, a grind that is too coarse will leave the sweetness underdeveloped and push the acidity forward. A grind that is too fine will mute the acidity but add bitterness. The sweet spot is usually just shy of where bitterness begins.

Step-by-step Remera pour-over recipe

  1. Weigh and heat: Weigh 20 g of Remera and heat 320 g of water to just off the boil, about 200–205°F (93–96°C). Rinse the filter with hot water and discard the rinse. A hot, pre-rinsed brewer keeps the first pour from stalling; a cold brewer will drop your extraction temperature.
  2. Add coffee and level the bed: Add the grounds to the dripper and gently shake or tap to level the bed. Place the dripper on your scale and tare to zero. An uneven bed creates channeling, where water runs through one side and leaves the rest under-extracted.
  3. Bloom: Start the timer and pour 60 g of water in a slow spiral, saturating all the grounds. Wait 30–45 seconds. If the bed looks dry in spots, you did not saturate evenly; those dry pockets will taste sour in the cup.
  4. First pour: At 0:45, pour in a steady spiral to reach 160 g total. Keep the water level below the rim of the dripper. Pouring too fast raises the water level and shortens contact time, which can leave the cup thin.
  5. Second pour: At about 1:15, pour to 240 g. Let the bed settle slightly between pours. A gentle, controlled pour keeps the bed even; a hard pour disturbs the grounds and can clog the filter.
  6. Final pour and drawdown: At about 1:45, pour to 320 g. Give the dripper a gentle swirl and let it draw down completely. The total brew should finish around 2:30–3:00. If drawdown runs past 3:30, your grind is too fine or you poured too aggressively.
  7. Taste and adjust: Let the coffee cool for a few minutes, then taste. Sour or thin: grind finer or raise water temperature slightly. Bitter or drying: grind coarser or lower temperature. Wait until the cup is warm rather than hot; the sweetness and acidity of Remera are easiest to judge as it cools.

About this coffee

  • Remera: Remera is a Burundian coffee selected by Jonny, the San Francisco Flagship store manager and tasting panel member with 10+ years of barista experience and a background as head roaster. That roaster background means the roast is built to highlight the coffee's true character, so brew it to preserve the sweetness and acidity rather than to mask them.

    Remera

    Remera