How to make pour-over coffee

Pour-over means pouring hot water over ground coffee in a filter by hand, in stages, so you control the rate and where the water lands. It is the method most UK specialty roasters have in mind when they publish a brew recipe.

Paper filters trap oils and fines, so the cup is clean and highlights acidity and aroma — which is exactly what light-roasted specialty coffee is roasted for.

A person pouring water from a gooseneck kettle over a cone dripper in a café
A gooseneck kettle gives control over pour rate and placement. Photograph in the public domain (CC0) — image credits.
Ratio
60 g per litre
Grind
Medium-fine
Total time
2:30–3:30

Step by step

  1. 1

    Rinse the paper and warm the kit

    Put the paper in the dripper and pour hot water through it into the vessel below. Discard that water. This rinses out paper taste and warms the dripper and jug.

  2. 2

    Weigh in the coffee

    As a starting point use 60 g of coffee per litre of water (about 15 g of coffee to 250 ml) — the ratio range published by the Specialty Coffee Association for filter coffee — then adjust to taste. A standard single brew is 15 g of coffee to 250 g of water. Level the bed and make a small dip in the centre.

  3. 3

    Bloom with twice the coffee weight

    Start the timer and pour about twice the coffee weight in water (30 g for a 15 g dose). Wet all the grounds, give a gentle swirl, and wait 30–45 seconds while the coffee degasses.

    Hot water being poured onto a bed of ground coffee in a filter
    The bloom: wet all the grounds and let the coffee degas.
  4. 4

    Pour in slow spirals

    Pour in two or three even stages, spiralling from the centre outwards and stopping short of the paper. Keep the water level roughly halfway up the cone rather than letting it flood.

  5. 5

    Finish the pours by about two minutes

    All the water should be in by around 2:00 for a single cup. Give the dripper a small swirl at the end to settle the bed flat.

  6. 6

    Let it draw down and serve

    The last of the water should drain by 2:30–3:30. Remove the dripper, swirl the jug and pour. Taste it while it cools — flavours open up as the temperature drops.

  7. 7

    Adjust the next brew

    Draining too fast and tasting sour or thin? Grind finer. Very slow and tasting bitter or drying? Grind coarser. Change one thing at a time.

Tips

  • Water matters: in hard-water areas use filtered water, or the brew tastes flat and the kettle scales.
  • Brew water should be 92–96C — off the boil for about 30 seconds if your kettle has no temperature control.
  • Roasters usually publish a recipe for their own coffees. Start with theirs before changing anything.

What you need

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Hario V60 Dripper

The classic cone-shaped pour-over dripper from Japan, in ceramic or plastic.

The standard pour-over brewer in specialty coffee; cheap, and most roasters publish V60 recipes.

Fellow Stagg EKG

Electric gooseneck kettle with variable temperature control.

Precise temperature control and a counterbalanced handle; a favourite among specialty brewers.

Coffee Scale with Timer

Digital scale with 0.1 g precision and an integrated brew timer.

Lets you follow roaster recipes exactly and repeat a great cup.

Hario V60 Filter Papers

Bleached (white) paper filters sized for V60 drippers.

The correct papers for the V60; white papers carry less paper taste than brown.

See the full list on our coffee gear page, and buy beans direct from UK specialty roasters.

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