The Pour-Over
Clarity in a cup. The brew that made us fall in love with slow.
Same drink, three depths. Switch anytime — beginner steps assume no scale, barista steps assume no fear.
A pour-over is the most honest way to taste a coffee. No pressure, no milk to hide behind — just hot water moving through ground coffee at the pace you set. It rewards attention more than equipment, which is exactly why we teach it first.
The method · Beginner
Boil your water
Bring a full kettle to a boil, then take it off the heat and let it sit while you set up. Water that has rested for a minute is kinder to coffee than water at a rolling boil.
Rinse the filter
Set the paper filter in the dripper over your mug and pour hot water through it. This washes away any papery taste and warms everything up. Tip the rinse water out.
Add the coffee
Add 2 heaped tablespoons of medium-ground coffee per cup. Give the dripper a gentle shake so the bed sits flat.
Wet the grounds and wait
Pour just enough water to soak all the coffee — it will bubble and swell. That is the bloom: the coffee releasing gas. Let it settle.
⏱ 0:45 timer in guided modePour slowly, in circles
Pour the rest of the water in slow spirals, from the centre outwards, keeping the water level steady. Pause whenever it gets close to the rim.
⏱ 1:30 timer in guided modeLet it draw down
When you have poured all the water, wait for it to drain through. The bed should look flat when it is done.
⏱ 1:00 timer in guided modeTaste it properly
Remove the dripper, swirl the mug, and take your first sip only after 30 seconds — flavours open up as it cools slightly. Notice one thing: is it bright? Nutty? Sweet? That noticing is the whole craft.
The method · Enthusiast
Weigh your dose
15 g coffee to 250 g water per cup — a 1:16.6 ratio. Grind medium, like coarse sand. Consistency starts at the scale, not the kettle.
Heat water to 94 °C
Just off the boil. If you have no thermometer: boil, then wait 45–60 seconds with the lid open.
Rinse and tare
Rinse the filter thoroughly, discard the water, add your coffee, and tare the scale to zero with the mug and dripper on it.
Bloom: 2× coffee weight
Pour 30 g of water (twice the coffee weight), making sure every ground is wet. Swirl the dripper gently once.
⏱ 0:45 timer in guided modeFirst pour to 150 g
Pour in steady spirals up to 150 g total on the scale. Keep the flow gentle — you are washing the coffee, not drowning it.
⏱ 0:30 timer in guided modeSecond pour to 250 g
Top up to 250 g. Aim the stream at the darker spots. One gentle swirl at the end flattens the bed.
⏱ 0:30 timer in guided modeDrawdown
Total brew time should land between 2:30 and 3:30. Faster and sour? Grind finer. Slower and bitter? Grind coarser.
⏱ 1:15 timer in guided modeLog it
Note the dose, grind setting, and time. Change one variable per brew — that is how you dial in a coffee instead of guessing at it.
The method · Barista
Dial the grind by drawdown
Target 15 g in / 250 g out at 94 °C with total contact time of 2:45–3:15 for a washed coffee; drop to 91–92 °C for darker roasts or naturals.
Distribute before you pour
Tap the dripper level and create a small divot in the centre — it helps the bloom water reach the bottom of the bed evenly.
Bloom 30–45 g, 45 s
2–3× dose. Watch for even degassing; channelling at the bloom stage follows you through the whole brew.
⏱ 0:45 timer in guided modePulse or continuous — pick one
Continuous pour to 250 g raises body; two pulses (150 g, then 250 g) raise clarity. Match agitation to the roast: gentle for light and dense beans, more aggressive for developed roasts.
⏱ 1:00 timer in guided modeManage the finish
A final swirl (the "Rao spin") drops high-and-dry grounds back into the slurry and flattens the bed for an even final extraction.
⏱ 1:00 timer in guided modeRead the bed
Flat bed, minimal high-side grounds: even extraction. Craters or steep walls: revisit your pour height and spiral speed.
Taste against target
Aim for 18–22 % extraction by taste: sweetness at the centre, acidity in focus, bitterness only as structure. Adjust one variable — grind, temperature, or agitation — per iteration.
↑ Level it up
With a scale and thermometer this becomes a 15 g : 250 g brew at 94 °C in about 3 minutes. Baristas: pulse pours for clarity, continuous for body, and let the drawdown time tell you when to move the grinder.
Questions we always get
My pour-over tastes sour. What went wrong?
Under-extraction — the water passed through too fast. Grind a little finer, pour slower, or check your water was hot enough (just off the boil).
Can I make a pour-over without a gooseneck kettle?
Yes. Pour from an ordinary kettle down a spoon handle held over the coffee, or use a small jug. Gooseneck kettles buy control, not permission.
What grind should I ask for at the store?
"Medium, for pour-over" — like coarse sand. If it is a choice between filter and espresso grind, always pick filter.
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