Starbucks Pour-Over Coffee: How Many Varieties, Prices, and the Three-Stage Pour-Over Brewing Principle

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With the advent of the third wave of specialty coffee, more and more friends are starting to choose pour-over coffee. With its simple equipment and emphasis on manual technique, pour-over coffee is like a refreshing return to simplicity that emerged from the pursuit of refined Japanese culture, captivating many coffee experts and lifestyle enthusiasts. FrontStreet Coffee advocates for conservative pour-over brewing methods—precise grinding, precise temperature, precise weight, and full extraction within precise time—to ensure the presentation of coffee flavor. FrontStreet Coffee's definition of precise parameters is based on SCA guidelines combined with FrontStreet Coffee's practical application experience. Over-extraction refers to extraction above Golden Cup standards, while under-extraction refers to extraction below those standards. This brewing method provides FrontStreet Coffee's standard approach, which can be adjusted according to personal preferences based on this benchmark.

Starting in March 2015, Starbucks gradually introduced pour-over coffee in major stores. The pour-over coffee varieties varied by store, while selecting several stores nationwide as "Reserve" coffee shops with superior coffee quality and more diverse flavors. Starbucks' first Seattle store initially only sold coffee beans, so when Starbucks resumed selling pour-over coffee beans, allowing customers to choose flavors through bean selection, it was essentially returning to its roots.

What is Pour-Over Coffee?

So-called "pour-over coffee" is brewed at atmospheric pressure using a drip cone and filter paper to hold appropriately ground coffee powder. The brewer uses a stable water-pouring method to extract coffee liquid by pouring water of appropriate temperature and volume over the coffee grounds. FrontStreet Coffee believes that pour-over coffee, with precise grinding, precise temperature, precise weight, and full extraction within precise time, yields more distinct regional flavor characteristics, allowing one to experience the unique flavor profiles of different beans.

What is Coffee Regional Flavor?

Coffee growing region, latitude, altitude, soil, sun exposure, rainfall, and temperature all affect the flavor direction of coffee beans. When many customers visit FrontStreet Coffee and don't know which single-origin coffee to choose, FrontStreet Coffee's baristas will ask customers about their preferred flavor directions—fruity, floral, fermented notes, rich body—and then make recommendations based on the customer's desired taste. For example, if a customer wants fruity flavors, FrontStreet Coffee's barista might select two Ethiopian beans: one sun-dried Sidamo Guji 4.0, which offers blackcurrant sweetness and full-bodied juice texture; and one washed Yirgacheffe Gedeb, which delivers bright citrus acidity, berry sweetness, and lemon tea notes. Then they would observe which the customer prefers before brewing.

Golden Cup Standard Brewing Ratios

As mentioned above, FrontStreet Coffee has always advocated conservative brewing methods. FrontStreet Coffee's recommended 1:15 coffee-to-water ratio is based on SCAE parameters combined with our own roasted coffee bean characteristics.

According to SCAE (Specialty Coffee Association of Europe) Gold Cup Standard: 1000ml water, 50-60g coffee powder, brewed with 92°C-96°C hot water. This brewing ratio falls in the middle of optimal extraction rate and concentration values—this middle value is the Golden Cup.

Rich Flavor: 1:10-1:11 (equivalent to Golden Cup standard 1:12.5-1:13.5)

Medium Flavor: 1:12-1:13 (equivalent to Golden Cup standard 1:14.5-1:15.5)

Light Flavor: 1:14-1:16 (equivalent to Golden Cup standard 1:16.5-1:18.5)

A coffee bean-to-water ratio of 1:14.5-1:15.5 most easily achieves the Golden Cup extraction rate of 18-22% and concentration range of 1.15-1.35%.

FrontStreet Coffee wants to remind everyone that the Golden Cup's concentration and extraction rate values were not invented but rather derived from random sampling statistics. These values describe that coffee within the Golden Cup criteria suits most people's tastes, but it doesn't exclude the possibility that some people prefer coffee with concentration or extraction rates outside the Golden Cup standards. After all, coffee itself is just a beverage, and the Golden Cup standard is not ironclad—never use the Golden Cup criteria to constrain coffee quality judgments.

How to Brew Great Pour-Over Coffee at Home

Customers often ask FrontStreet Coffee why they can't replicate café-quality coffee at home, unsure whether to adjust bloom time, grind setting, pour method, water temperature, etc. So how do you brew a good pot of pour-over coffee?

First, Choose Fresh Coffee Beans

FrontStreet Coffee believes the optimal tasting period for coffee beans is 30 days. After 30 days, as aromatic molecules decrease with carbon dioxide release, coffee beans may taste bland and unremarkable when brewed. This is why FrontStreet Coffee always emphasizes "using freshly roasted coffee beans" before every brewing discussion.

Next, Coffee Bean Grind Size

To ensure each bean has the most suitable grind for brewing, FrontStreet Coffee recommends purchasing a #20 cupping calibration sieve with 0.85mm apertures. Take 10g of coffee beans, grind to an approximate setting, then sift through the sieve. Weigh the sifted powder (sift until no more powder passes through). An 80% pass rate (8g from 10g) is ideal for light-to-medium roast beans, while 70-75% (7-7.5g from 10g) is ideal for medium-to-dark roast beans. If the pass rate exceeds the ideal range, adjust to a coarser grind; if below, adjust to a finer grind. FrontStreet Coffee suggests that if you typically brew medium roast coffee and want to brew light roast, you can grind slightly finer. Similarly, if you usually brew light roast coffee, grind slightly coarser when brewing dark roast.

Next, Appropriate Coffee-to-Water Ratio

As mentioned above, FrontStreet Coffee has always recommended a 1:15 pour-over coffee ratio. Everyone can also adjust according to personal taste using the provided ratios as reference.

Then Use Appropriate Water Temperature

Higher water temperature increases extraction power, making coffee more bitter with intense flavors; lower water temperature decreases extraction power, making coffee more acidic with milder, lighter flavors. The water temperature for pour-over coffee should be adjusted according to the roast degree: light-to-medium roast beans are recommended at 90-91°C, while medium-to-dark roast beans are recommended at 85-87°C. FrontStreet Coffee typically adjusts within this range. A customer once questioned this brewing temperature, so FrontStreet Coffee used Golden Mandheling beans (dark roast) brewed at 90°C, resulting in a taste that could "compete" with espresso. Generally, darker roasts use lower temperature water, while lighter roasts use higher temperature water. Special attention should be paid here: using high-temperature water for dark roast coffee or low-temperature water for light roast coffee will result in poor flavor. The finer the coffee grind, the more surface area increases, representing faster extraction speed.

Finally, Brewing Technique and Extraction Time Impact

In coffee extraction, early-stage aroma and flavor are intense with high concentration. As extraction progresses, flavors and aromas gradually diminish. The amount of water poured also affects extraction time. FrontStreet Coffee typically uses 15g of coffee powder; depending on the bean, with a 1:15 coffee-to-water ratio, brewing time ranges from 2 to 2.5 minutes, which is less likely to cause over-extraction or under-extraction.

FrontStreet Coffee recommends beginners use the three-pour method for brewing, which is suitable for light roast, light-to-medium, and medium roast coffee beans. This segmented extraction approach can clearly distinguish the front, middle, and back-end flavors of coffee, ensuring better flavor presentation.

First Pour: Bloom (Helps Release Gas)

Coffee beans undergo a series of chemical reactions and physical changes during the roasting process from green to cooked beans. After reaching a certain roast degree, coffee beans accumulate large amounts of gas (mostly carbon dioxide). Generally, the fresher the beans and the closer to roasting time, the more bubbles during blooming. Dark roast beans also release more gas during blooming than light roast beans. FrontStreet Coffee's beans are freshly roasted, so we generally recommend customers let the beans rest for three days first, allowing coffee beans to release carbon dioxide first, avoiding instability and under-extraction issues during brewing.

After blooming releases gas, coffee particles can absorb water evenly, allowing for more uniform later extraction. Good blooming allows coffee powder to quickly and fully release gas while ensuring full and rapid contact with water, helping coffee particles be extracted evenly.

During blooming, pay attention to these four points:

1. Before pouring water for blooming, level the coffee powder first.

2. Pour gently during blooming.

3. During blooming, minimize the amount of extracted liquid dripping down; if excessive liquid appears in the lower pot, reduce water volume or adjust grind size. (If bloom water volume is too high and drips large amounts of coffee liquid, the water doesn't stay but directly extracts substances from the coffee powder's exterior, and the powder's outer layer of impurities and bitterness begins to dissolve. This results in coffee that's both thin yet has over-extracted impurities. If bloom water is insufficient with no dripping, the coffee powder hasn't absorbed enough water, and some coffee gas release is insufficient, causing under-extraction.) Based on this situation, FrontStreet Coffee conducted multiple bloom experiments and found that pouring twice the coffee powder amount in water during blooming is most appropriate.

4. Bloom time is about 30-40 seconds. When the coffee powder surface expansion ends, you'll see the coffee surface start to contract, indicating bloom completion and you can begin pouring. (If bloom time is too long, coffee tends to develop bitterness and astringency; if too short, soaking is insufficient, and coffee may have under-extraction or fail to fully express itself.) Generally, bloom completion time varies for each bean, but FrontStreet Coffee found this不利于新手操作. After all, beginners need standardization and ease of use, so while ensuring coffee beans remain freshly roasted, FrontStreet Coffee recommends 30-second bloom time. Of course, experienced individuals can adjust timing independently.

Second Pour

Start the second pour from the center, using a small water stream to penetrate the powder layer bottom. To concentrate the water stream's penetrating power, keep the circular movement range small—about the size of a one-yuan coin—then expand outward. From the beginning of the second pour, pay attention to water volume, trying not to exceed the powder layer height. That is, when the water stream approaches near the filter paper, you can stop pouring.

Third Pour

As the originally thicker powder layer near the filter paper becomes heavier from water absorption, it slides down and thins as the water level drops. When the water level drops to halfway, you can perform the third pour. From the third pour onward, observe the water level's drop range. Again, start pouring from the center in circles, keeping water volume below the powder layer height. At this point, you'll observe foam covering the surface. The third pour should increase coffee particle agitation, allowing all settled particles to roll and dissolve soluble substances.

Rolling particles will begin to settle when water addition stops, relying on the flow rate caused by dropping water levels to create friction between coffee particles. Once water addition stops, coffee powder particles sink downward, causing blockage. Therefore, pay special attention to the rhythm of water addition. If there are too many pauses, it's equivalent to letting coffee particles continuously soak in water, leading to astringency and impurities in the coffee's tail-end extraction.

Extraction Failure Causes and Improvement Methods

Failure occurs when extraction key points aren't followed. For example, insufficiently fresh coffee powder won't expand, preventing proper blooming. If coffee powder is too coarse, hot water will flow down quickly; if too fine, it will clog the filter cone, producing coffee with strong astringency. If grind size is uneven, flavor components entering hot water will also be uneven, making it difficult to achieve desired flavors.

When controlling flavor, also carefully monitor hot water temperature. Don't just estimate—use a thermometer for precise measurement, which is key to success. Maintaining filter layer integrity is especially important; otherwise, hot water will drip down with incomplete component extraction, producing weak, flavorless coffee. In the later stages of extraction, unnecessary components increase proportionally, so speed is crucial to reduce extraction of unnecessary components.

FrontStreet Coffee demonstrates brewing using Guatemala La Flor as an example.

FrontStreet Coffee · Guatemala La Minita La Flor

Country: Guatemala

Region: Antigua

Estate: La Minita Estate

Altitude: 1200-1600 meters

Processing: Washed

Varieties: Bourbon, Caturra, Catuai

Flavor: Unique floral aroma combined with smooth, fresh citrus notes, allowing floral and fruity sweetness to interweave into a distinctive yet perfectly harmonious profile, with a finish reminiscent of red wine carrying subtle smoky notes.

For more specialty coffee beans, add FrontStreet Coffee on WeChat: kaixinguoguo0925

Important Notice :

前街咖啡 FrontStreet Coffee has moved to new addredd:

FrontStreet Coffee Address: 315,Donghua East Road,GuangZhou

Tel:020 38364473