12 March 2026 · 5 min read
HOW TO BREW A BETTER POUR OVER
A simple guide to improving extraction, balance and consistency.
Pour over rewards attention more than equipment. Before changing your dripper or your kettle, fix the three variables that move the cup the most: dose, grind and time.
Start with a ratio of 1 g of coffee to 16 g of water. For a single cup, that is 20 g of coffee to 320 g of water at 94 °C. Weigh both. Guessing is the fastest way to an inconsistent brew.
Pour in stages. Wet the grounds with roughly twice their weight in water and wait thirty seconds, then add the rest in two even pours, keeping the bed level. A brew that finishes between two and a half and three minutes is usually well extracted.
If the cup tastes sharp or thin, grind finer. If it tastes hollow or drying, grind coarser. Change one variable at a time, and taste before adjusting again.
