What is the Proper Pour-Over Coffee to Water Ratio? An Introduction to Brewing Ratios

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FrontStreet Coffee Pour-Over Coffee Ratio Parameter Introduction

Practical Parameters for Pour-Over Coffee Water-to-Coffee Ratio

【Rich Flavor】 1:10～1:11 (coffee bean grams to black coffee milliliters), equivalent to the Golden Cup Standard's 1:12.5～1:13.5 (bean weight to raw water milliliters)

【Medium Flavor】 1:12～1:13 (equivalent to Golden Cup Standard's 1:14.5～1:15.5)

【Light and Fresh】 1:14～1:16 (equivalent to Golden Cup Standard's 1:16.5～1:18.5)

Even with correct measurement, improper brewing ratios make it difficult to produce delicious coffee. During the learning process, repeated tasting and concentration testing are needed to discover the optimal pour-over brewing ratio, where the coffee bean amount to black coffee milliliters falls between 1:12～1:13. This corresponds to 1:14.5～1:15.5 of coffee bean grams to raw water milliliters in the four major Western Golden Cup systems, making it easiest to hit the "Golden Cup Range" with extraction rate of 18%～22% and concentration of 1.15%～1.35%, without producing overly concentrated coffee with tangled flavor profiles or watery, thin coffee.

Most pour-over coffee enthusiasts' brewing ratios should fall within this range. Our most commonly used pour-over brewing ratio is 1:15～1:16, equivalent to the Golden Cup Standard's 1:16.5～1:18.5.

Of course, some pour-over coffee enthusiasts adopt more extreme brewing ratios. For example, those who prefer rich flavors often use 1:10 for pour-over brewing (equivalent to 1:12.5 in Golden Cup ratio), using higher concentration to compensate for insufficient extraction - seeking only to extract low and medium molecular weight sweet and sour flavor compounds while avoiding high molecular weight bitter compounds. Although this can produce mellow and delicious coffee, the concentration is too high for most people to accept, and it wastes too much coffee powder, which is not worth encouraging. In fact, using a more normal 1:12 (equivalent to 1:14.5 in Golden Cup ratio) can also produce very mellow, good coffee.

Interestingly, some light-flavor coffee enthusiasts prefer to use more diluted ratios below 1:14 for pour-over brewing. But don't underestimate these coffee enthusiasts - their taste buds may be more sensitive, able to appreciate the layers of thousands of aromas and flavors from thinner coffee. If you must use 1:10 to brew coffee to feel it's flavorful enough, it might be that your sense of taste is too dull and needs to rely on high concentration to stimulate it.

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