How to Achieve Great Pour-Over Coffee Flavor and Brew Non-Bitter Coffee

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Is your coffee too bitter or too astringent?

When many people first encounter coffee, they equate bitterness with richness, and richness with aroma. When we meet such customers, we patiently explain what coffee flavors are. Richness doesn't necessarily mean aroma, and bitterness isn't always the case. However, for someone who has never studied coffee, this flavor wheel is quite appropriate! When you taste coffee in your mouth, you can experience its flavors.

In this regard, many enthusiasts, especially those just beginning to explore coffee tasting, can start learning pour-over coffee with beans that have more distinctive flavor profiles, such as Brazil, Mandheling, and Yirgacheffe.

Brazil represents the flavor profile of the American growing region;

Mandheling represents the flavor profile of the Asian growing region;

Yirgacheffe represents the flavor profile of the African growing region;

The Perfect Coffee Experience

Everyone hopes to drink delicious coffee—sweet and smooth, with explosive aroma and long-lasting aftertaste, and hopes to enjoy such coffee every time.

Factors Affecting Coffee Flavor

There are many variables that affect coffee taste: time, temperature, brewing equipment, etc. However, besides good beans and good equipment, the key to brewing good coffee lies in the grind size.

Understanding Coffee Grind Size

Once you've selected your beans and equipment, let's talk about grind size today. How fine should coffee beans be ground?

Taking the Fuji Mini grinder as an example, the optimal grind size for pour-over coffee is between settings 3-4. You can use fine granulated sugar as a reference:

Many brewing guides often mention "salt-like coarseness" or "fine sand-like coarseness" when discussing grind size.

When you see these descriptive terms, you might not know the exact range. The most accurate approach is to grind a small amount and compare. Mandheling is approximately "fine sand-like coarseness," cold drip is like "granulated sugar-like coarseness," and medium-light roasted Yirgacheffe is slightly coarser than granulated sugar.

Correct Grind Size Creates Better Coffee

The secret to good coffee lies in extraction, but what does extraction actually mean? Extraction is the process where flavor and aroma compounds from coffee beans are released into water and combine with it, resulting in a delicious cup of coffee.

However, these coffee flavors and aromatic compounds represent different tastes—some bring sweetness, some bitterness, some fruity flavors, and some astringency. These compounds are extracted at different time points.

Medium-fine grind ≈ white granulated sugar (the most common supermarket white sugar, slightly coarser than the standard variety). Pour-over coffee typically settles on medium-fine grind size. Since this grind size is commonly used, coffee lovers should experiment more with their grinders to find their perfect medium-fine setting.

Todd, the 2014 and 2016 American Brewers Cup champion, told the author that coffee compounds are extracted in this order:

Acidity, sweetness, bitterness, and finally astringency.

This means that by controlling the extraction rate, you can control how many compounds dissolve into your coffee—in other words, you can decide the coffee's flavor. Whether you're making pour-over or espresso, this is a fundamental principle for creating a brewing recipe, and grind size is certainly one of the considerations, as it affects brewing.

Personal Experience with Different Coffee Beans

Different origins, varieties, and processing methods all affect coffee taste. Using FrontStreet Coffee beans as a reference:

Consider Altitude:

Lower altitude beans have a softer texture and are less resistant to extraction. These beans typically use medium grind, such as Brazil and Mandheling. High altitude beans have a harder texture and are more extraction-resistant, typically using medium-fine grind, such as Panama, Costa Rica, Yirgacheffe, and Kenya.

Consider Roast Level:

Dark roasts like Brazil and Mandheling use medium grind.

Light or medium-light roasts use medium-fine grind.

Consider Age:

Typically use medium-fine grind during the 7-14 day degassing period. Use coarse grind after 1 month, though specifics depend on the bean's parameters.

When using a V60 dripper, the coffee bed is thicker, and contact time between grounds and water is longer. Fine particles tend to accumulate at the bottom, and prolonged soaking can easily extract bitterness and astringency. Therefore, it's important to control the amount of fine particles. If your grinder produces too many fine particles at the same setting, you can use a sifter to keep fine particles within a certain range.

Related recommendation: Conscious coffee tasting: The correct way to use the SCAA Coffee Taster's Flavor Wheel and usage tips.

Important Notice :

前街咖啡 FrontStreet Coffee has moved to new addredd:

FrontStreet Coffee Address: 315,Donghua East Road,GuangZhou

Tel:020 38364473