Pour-Over Coffee Guide
Pour-over is a manual percolation method in which hot water is poured over ground coffee in a filter and passes through the bed by gravity. The brewer shape matters, but consistent technique and taste-based adjustment matter more than copying one rigid recipe.
A practical starting recipe
For many coffees, start around a 1:15 to 1:17 coffee-to-water ratio. A simple example is 20 g of coffee with 320 g of water. Use a medium grind as a starting point, then adjust based on flow and taste.
Core variables
| Variable | What it changes |
|---|---|
| Grind size | Flow resistance, surface area, extraction |
| Water temperature | Extraction rate and flavor balance |
| Ratio | Beverage strength and extraction opportunity |
| Pour pattern | Agitation, slurry level, fresh-water delivery |
| Filter/brewer | Flow, oils, fines, bed geometry |
Blooming
Wet the grounds with roughly two to three times the coffee dose in water and allow fresh coffee to release gas. The goal is even wetting, not simply waiting a fixed number of seconds. Older coffee may bloom very little.
Pouring
After the bloom, use either one continuous pour or several pulses. Keep the stream controlled and avoid repeatedly blasting the filter wall. More agitation is not automatically better: excessive swirling or aggressive pouring can move fines into restrictive areas and slow drawdown.
Reading taste and flow
If coffee tastes thin, sour, or underdeveloped in sweetness, try grinding finer, using hotter water, increasing useful agitation, or lengthening contact within reason. If it tastes harsh, dry, or muddled, consider a coarser grind or gentler technique. Do not diagnose only from total brew time; different brewers and coffees naturally drain at different rates.
Watch: Lance Hedrick’s Pour-Over Technique
Lance Hedrick’s pour-over guide is a useful visual companion for bloom, grind, pouring structure, agitation, and drawdown, and it demonstrates how to think about the variables instead of treating one recipe as universal.
Our published guide to immersion vs. percolation brewing explains the extraction distinction in more detail. Browse coffee brewing equipment or return to the coffee glossary.