Learn — Brew Guides
How to Brew Pour Over Coffee
The method that shows you the most about what your coffee actually tastes like.
The Parameters
Pour over is a percolation brew method — water passes through the coffee bed once, extracting as it drains through a paper filter into a cup or server below. Unlike immersion methods such as French press or AeroPress, fresh water is always moving through the grounds rather than sitting in contact with them. The result is a clean, bright, transparent cup that shows origin character more clearly than any other method.
That transparency is the reason pour over is the method of choice for specialty coffee — and also the reason it requires more attention than pressing a button. Every variable — grind size, pour speed, water temperature, bloom timing — is directly visible in the final cup. There is nothing to hide behind.
Percolation
Fresh water contacts the grounds continuously as it drains. This produces a cleaner, more transparent cup than immersion methods — acidity and sweetness read more precisely.
Controlled Extraction
You control every pour. Speed, volume, and timing are all in your hands. This means the cup is reproducible — and when something is off, you can trace exactly why.
Paper Filtration
The paper filter removes oils and fine particles that enter the cup in French press. The result is a clear, light-bodied cup with distinct flavors rather than a heavier, fuller one.
The Brew Timeline
What Happens at Each Stage
A pour over happens in distinct phases. Understanding what each phase does explains why deviating from it — rushing the bloom, pouring too fast, cutting the draw-down short — changes the cup in specific and predictable ways.
The bloom is the most important 30 seconds of the brew. Freshly roasted coffee is full of trapped CO₂ from the roasting process. If that gas escapes during the main pour rather than before it, it disrupts water flow, creates uneven extraction, and flattens the final flavor. The bloom pre-saturates the grounds and allows CO₂ to escape cleanly — setting up an even extraction for everything that follows. Older coffee blooms less visibly, which is one of the most reliable visual indicators of freshness.
Step by Step
The Complete Method
Weigh and grind
Weigh 15–20g of whole bean coffee. For a standard 240ml cup, 15g at 1:16 is a good starting point. Grind to medium — roughly table salt texture, not fine powder and not coarse chunks. Grind immediately before brewing. Pre-ground coffee stales within hours; whole bean ground fresh makes a measurable difference.
Equipment: Scale + burr grinderRinse the filter
Place the paper filter in the dripper. Pour hot water through it — this removes the papery taste that an unrinsed filter leaves in the cup, and it warms the brewer so your water temperature does not drop on contact. Discard the rinse water before adding coffee.
Rinse water goes out, not into your cupAdd coffee and tare
Add your ground coffee to the rinsed filter. Gently shake or tap the dripper to level the coffee bed — an even, flat bed produces more even extraction than a lumpy one. Place the entire setup on your scale and tare to zero.
Bloom pour — 0:00 to 0:30
Start your timer. Pour water equal to twice the weight of your coffee — for 15g coffee, pour 30g water. Begin at the centre and spiral slowly outward to saturate every ground. The coffee will swell and bubble as CO₂ escapes — this is the bloom. Let it rest for 30 seconds without adding more water. Fresher coffee blooms more dramatically; a strong bloom is a good sign.
30 seconds · 2× coffee weight in waterFirst main pour — 0:30 to 1:30
At 30 seconds, begin pouring in a slow, steady spiral from the centre outward. Bring the total water weight to roughly 60% of your target — for 240g total, pour to about 145g. Keep the stream gentle. Avoid pouring directly onto the paper filter walls — you want the water moving through the coffee bed, not around it.
Second pour — 1:30 to 2:30
When the water level drops to just above the coffee bed — roughly 1:30 — add the remaining water in another slow spiral pour until you reach your full target weight. Some brewers prefer three smaller pours for more control; the principle is the same.
Draw-down — 2:30 to 3:30
Let the water drain through the coffee bed completely without adding more. The total time from your first bloom pour should land between 3:30 and 4:00. If the brew finishes faster than 3:30, grind finer next time. If it runs past 4:30, grind coarser. Total draw-down time is your clearest feedback on whether the grind is correct.
Target finish: 3:30–4:00 from first pourDialling In
What the Cup Tells You
Sour / Thin / Under-extracted
Grind too coarse, or brew too fast
If the brew finished in under 3 minutes, the water moved through too quickly and did not have enough contact time. Grind finer. Also check that you are using the full ratio — a short pour makes a weak, sour cup.
Bitter / Harsh / Over-extracted
Grind too fine, or brew too slow
If the brew ran past 4:30 and the cup tastes harsh or dry, the water moved too slowly and over-extracted. Grind coarser. If grind is correct but still bitter, check water temperature — above 95°C pulls bitterness from medium-dark roasts.
Flat / No Bloom / Muted Flavour
Coffee is old or stale
If the grounds do not bubble or dome during the bloom, most of the CO₂ has already escaped — the coffee is past its peak. Aim to use whole bean coffee within 4–6 weeks of roast date, ground fresh immediately before brewing.
Recommended for Pour Over
Two Simple Coffee Products Built for This Method
Pour over rewards coffees with natural sweetness, distinct fruit character, and clean origin notes. It is not the best method for dark roasts — the paper filter removes the oils that carry dark roast character, leaving a thinner cup than the coffee deserves. These two products were selected specifically for how they perform in a pour over.
Recommended — Simple Coffee
Everest
Single Origin · Nan Province, Thailand · 100% Arabica
Grown at high altitude in Nan Province. Rich, smooth, and complex — the natural sweetness of high-altitude Thai Arabica is what makes Everest work so well in pour over. The paper filter clarifies the body without sacrificing the sweetness that defines this coffee.
Pour Over Parameters for Everest
Ratio: 1:15 · Temp: 92°C · Time: 3.5–4 min · Grind: Medium
Recommended — Simple Coffee
Honey
Single Origin · Nan Province, Thailand · Arabica Catimor
Honey processed Arabica Catimor with bright citrus, grapefruit, and tart sweetness. The honey process adds a fruit sweetness that carries beautifully through a paper filter. A slightly finer grind and higher temperature than Everest to draw out the full citrus brightness.
Pour Over Parameters for Honey
Ratio: 1:16 · Temp: 94°C · Time: 3.5–4 min · Grind: Med-Fine
Pour over is worth learning. It takes an extra five minutes compared to pressing a button — and the cup repays every one of them. Once you know your grind and your ratio, it becomes as repeatable as any other method, with a clarity of flavor no automatic brewer can match.