Ready to dive into the world of pour over coffee? With the tips and tricks in this post, you'll learn how to calculate the perfect ratio, getting the right water temperature and grind size, and how to pulse pour for the best extraction.
Boost your barista skills by learning how to make French press java or by crafting your own amazing flat white at home.
Ingredients
To make pour over, you'll need two basic ingredients and some important equipment.
- Coffee: Use organic, single-origin whole beans that have been roasted within the last 3 weeks. Purchase beans from a reputable local roastery if possible.
- Water: Use filtered water, as it has the right amount of minerals for a good flavor.
- Pour Over Brewer: Use either a Chemex-style brewer or a V60 set over a pitcher or mug. Use unbleached filters if possible.
- Scale: You won't be able to measure accurately without a quality digital kitchen scale (affiliate). This is a crucial tool, as the recipe is calculated on a weight-based ratio.
See recipe card for full information on ingredients and quantities.
Ratios
Want to know the best ratio? The ratio can (and should) change based on the beans and your tastes. There's no one consensus on the best ratio! I like the 1:14 ratio (1g coffee to 14g water), but many baristas like a 1:16 or 1:17 ratio as well. You'll need to experiment with the origin and roast of the beans to see what you like the best.
Make your own ratio chart by taking the desired yield (in milliliters) and dividing it by the ratio percentage (16 if you're doing 1:16). This will tell you how much coffee you need by weight. For example, if you divide 472ml by 16, you'll get 30g.
How to Make Pour Over Coffee
- Choose the yield (how much you want to make) and the ratio you'd like to use, then measure the ingredients accordingly with a kitchen scale. (image 1)
- Pour the beans into a conical burr grinder. (image 2)
- Grind the beans on a medium setting so it has a similar texture to coarse sand, brown sugar, or sea salt. (image 3)
- Place a #4 cone filter in the Chemex-style brewer and pour a little boiling water through it. This removes the papery taste from the filter and preheats the glass. (image 4)
- Blooming: Dump the grounds into the filter, making sure they're level. Saturate the ground with a little of the hot water, then wait about 30 seconds. (image 5)
- Pouring: Add the remaining water in a quarter-sized circle in the center of the grounds. Keep a fast flow of water going, and pause if the water level gets close to the top of the filter. (image 6)
- Finishing: Allow the brew to finish dripping through, then discard the ground. The grounds should be cling to the filter in a cone shape. (image 7)
- Serving: Pour the coffee into glasses or mugs. Mix in milk, cream, or sugar as desired and enjoy immediately! (image 8)
Recipe FAQs
Pour over is similar to standard drip coffee, but is called u0022manual dripu0022 because the water is poured by hand. This method yields a brew similar to that from a drip machine, but is has a much better flavor. Many baristas use this brewing method to highlight the nuances of single-origin beans.
Start by heating the water to 200-205°F and grinding the beans to the size of coarse sand or brown sugar. Dump the grounds into a cone filter and place it in a Chemex-style brewer. Moisten the grounds and let them bloom for 30 seconds, then pour the remaining water in a quarter-sized circle in the center of the grounds. The brew will drop through the filter into the lower chamber.
This brewing method yields a better brew because it's typically made with better quality beans that have been freshly ground. Also, the many nuances of this brewing method gives the barista more control over the process and helps bring out the subtleties of the flavors.
Yes, you can make it without a gooseneck kettle, but just make sure to do it slowly and carefully. Most kettles have a fast stream, so you'll have to carefully control the flow.
Serve
If you're looking for other coffee drinks, you'll definitely want to check out our tutorial for using different brewing techniques! Learn how to make non-alcoholic Irish coffee, Cuban coffee, Greek coffee, moka pot coffee, and French press coffee.
If you're looking for other other hot drinks to enjoy, try our recipes for hot chocolate mix and French hot chocolate.
Expert Tips
- Harsh or bitter brew? That means it's overextracted. Next time, use cooler water or a coarser grind to slow down the extraction.
- Sour, weak, or saline brew? That means it's underextracted. Next time, use hotter water or a finer grind to speed up the extraction.
- Ratios: If you don't like the taste of one ratio, adjust the grind size before changing ratios.
- Experimenting with techniques? Only change one variable at a time, or you won't know what caused the change in flavor. Make notes of what worked and what didn't.
- Enjoy the process! This is one of the most tricky brewing methods, and it takes a lot of experience and experimentation to perfect it.
Other Coffee Recipes You'll Enjoy
Recipe
How to Make Pour Over Coffee
Ingredients
- 2.4 oz single-origin coffee beans, recently roasted
- 4 cups cold filtered water
- Coffee filter
Instructions
Prep
- Decide how much coffee you want to make. Since I'm usually making enough for 4 people, I typically brew 4 cups (944 ml) at once.
- In this recipe, I use a 1:14 ratio (1 gram of coffee per 14 grams of water), but feel free to adjust that up even more to 1:12 or lower it to 1:16 or 1:17 depending upon your tastes and the type/roast of beans. (See the ratio chart in the post for a handy reference.)
- Warm up the brewer and rinse the filter by pouring boiling water through it. Be sure to discard the liquid from the carafe before brewing.
Brewing
- Use a digital scale to measure the correct amount of water into a gooseneck kettle, then measure the amount of coffee beans needed. For a 944ml yield at 1:14, I used 67g beans.
- The exact temperature can be tweaked depending upon the roast of coffee you're using, but I usually do 205°F. Hotter (200-205°F) is better for lighter/medium roast, while cooler (200°F) is better for dark roast.
- Discard the preheating water from the carafe and dump the ground coffee into the filter. Make sure there are no lumps and that the grounds are level in the cone.
- Once the water has heated to the right temperature, saturate the grounds with a little water. The coffee should bubble and puff up as it releases carbon dioxide; wait 30 seconds.
- Pour the remaining water in the center of the grounds, pouring in a small circle about the size of a quarter. Agitating the grounds with this pouring technique forces them to cling to the filter, creating a more even extraction.
- Let the brew finish dripping into the lower chamber, then discard the filter and grounds.
- Immediately serve the coffee and mix in sugar, milk, or cream as desired. Enjoy right away for the best flavor.
Video
Notes
- Harsh or bitter coffee? That means it's overextracted. Next time, use cooler water or a coarser grind to slow down the extraction.
- Sour, weak, or saline coffee? That means it's underextracted. Next time, use hotter water or a finer grind to speed up the extraction.
- Ratios: If you don't like the taste of one ratio, adjust the grind size before changing ratios.
- Experimenting with techniques? Only change one variable at a time, or you won't know what caused the change in flavor. Make notes of what worked and what didn't.
- Enjoy the process! Pour over is one of the most tricky brewing methods, and it takes a lot of experience and experimentation to perfect it.
Nutrition
Serving sizes and nutritional information are only an estimate and may vary from your results.
Alex
Pour over coffee is indescribably good! It had a smooth taste and some tropical flavor notes with the Columbian beans I tried. It makes an amazing brew!
Emma
That's wonderful to hear, Alex! I'm so glad that you found this coffee to be so good!
Beth
This coffee is delicious! It is certainly very customizable. I love the smoothness and strong flavor. It's fun to make, too!
Emma
I'm glad that you enjoy making pour over, Beth! Thanks for your kind comment!