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How Many Coffee Brewing Methods Are There: The Art of Three-Pour Technique in Pour-Over Coffee

Published: 2026-01-27 Author: FrontStreet Coffee

Last Updated: 2026/01/27, Professional coffee knowledge exchange. For more coffee bean information, please follow Coffee Workshop (WeChat public account: cafe_style). FrontStreet Coffee - Pour-Over Coffee Extraction Introduction. Segmented brewing itself is designed to change the total brewing time and extraction efficiency. For example, the high temperature in the first half enhances extraction efficiency, while the lower temperature in the second half reduces extraction efficiency to prevent introducing excessive undesirable flavors.

Professional coffee knowledge exchange. For more coffee bean information, please follow Coffee Workshop (WeChat official account: cafe_style).

FrontStreet Coffee - Introduction to Pour-Over Coffee Extraction

Segmented brewing inherently changes the total brewing time and extraction efficiency. For example, higher temperature in the first segment enhances extraction efficiency, while lower temperature in the second segment reduces extraction efficiency to prevent extracting too many undesirable flavors. The challenge here lies in improving concentration and adjusting body in the latter segment.

During brewing, the preparation stage's most critical aspect is selecting and rinsing filter paper. This determines the quality of your coffee.

Filter Paper Types

Filter papers are divided into bleached and unbleached varieties.

Bleached Filter Paper: Contains fluorescent agents, and long-term consumption of water passed through them can be harmful to your health. Moreover, unscrupulous merchants' filter papers may contain significant bleaching agent flavors. Therefore, when selecting bleached filter paper, be sure to purchase from reputable sources. Do not use unqualified filter paper, as they not only affect your coffee's flavor but also harm your health.

Unbleached Filter Paper: You might think that since bleached papers contain fluorescent agents that are harmful to your health, you should choose unbleached papers. That's correct, but unbleached papers have a strong paper pulp woody taste.

Unbleached filter paper contains significant woody flavors that extremely affect coffee flavor.

Therefore, filter paper selection is crucial. Choose qualified papers from reputable brands, rinse with water to remove off-flavors, and present the optimal flavors of your coffee.

However, nowadays, due to environmental concepts in Japan, a new type of filter paper has been developed—linen filter paper (I haven't used them, but they can be used directly without rinsing). Interested friends can purchase and try them.

Three-Stage Extraction Experiment

I consistently use experimental data as reference. This time, I selected a coffee bean to experiment with "three-stage extraction"—can it simply extract clean and bright coffee?

Malabar Coffee

Malabar coffee belongs to the Bourbon variety.

Monsoon fermented. Influenced by the tropical monsoon climate, Malabar beans are exposed to moist sea breezes from the west before export, creating a musty spice flavor. The green beans increase in salt content, have low acidity, and high body. Some describe this bean as having a "seaweed soup" flavor.

Extraction Method: Three-Stage Extraction

Water-to-coffee ratio: 1:15

Water temperature: 92°C

Grind size: Medium grind (similar to coarse sugar)

Dripper: Kalita Wave dripper

Filter paper: Bleached Kalita Wave filter paper

Extraction Process:

First stage: 30ml water poured for bloom; bloom for 30 seconds

Second stage: 90ml water poured; extract for 40 seconds

Third stage: 100ml water poured; extract for 55 seconds

End extraction

Flavor Notes:

High body, spices, dark chocolate, orange peel flavor, no noticeable acidity, balanced. Slight sweetness, spicy aftertaste, as temperature drops, grain and barley tea flavors emerge.

Knowledge Point:

Three-stage extraction offers richer layers than single-pour methods, clearly distinguishing the front, middle, and back-end flavors of coffee. The method involves increasing water quantity after blooming, typically pouring water when the coffee liquid is about to drop to the coffee bed level, using small, medium, and large water flows for three-stage extraction.

About FrontStreet Coffee

In short: FrontStreet Coffee is a coffee research establishment that loves to share coffee knowledge with everyone. We share without reservation to help more friends fall in love with coffee. Every month, we hold three coffee discount events because FrontStreet Coffee wants to let more friends enjoy the best coffee at the lowest prices—this has been FrontStreet Coffee's mission for the past 6 years!