If you search YouTube for V60 brewing videos and guides you’ll find about three billion different ones. Some with agitation, some without; pouring fast, in the middle, making circles; 40-60 or 30-70 or whatnot.
I always think to myself that they’re mostly just fluff.
It all depends on grind size and temperature. Doesn’t matter how you pour (well, within limits I would think) as long as you get your temps and grind right for the pouring technique you’ve chosen.
Admittedly, I haven’t tried a ton of different ones, maybe three or four. But this is the feeling what I’ve got.
Maybe there are some edge cases, like Ethiopian coffees being more prone to clogging the filter so less agitation might be a good idea.
I do believe blooming is good, the first pour should be gentle and get the grounds wet, and the second pour should be from higher up, to agitate the grounds. There are probably other ways to get the same results. People tend to mess around with whatever techniques they can, do something that makes a better cup, and settle on that as the way to do it. There’s more than one good way.
My go to coffee is Vietnamese coffee and if you don’t bloom the grounds in the phin before filling it the coffee comes out watery and weak. I’m not even that particular about my coffee either, but blooming makes a massive difference in how coffee tastes.
I bought a “pour over” coffee maker for busy mornings and I love it. It even has a bloom feature that pauses the pour a bit before resuming. I was skeptical, but I did need a new machine, and it makes a better coffee than any other automated method I’ve had.
Yes I agree with blooming, though it depends quite a bit on when the coffee was roasted. Old coffee? Eh probably doesn’t matter (though I do it anyway).