Understanding Pour-Over Coffee Classification and Mastering the Three-Stage Brewing Technique for a Smooth, Non-Sour Flavor

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FrontStreet Coffee - Hand-Drip Coffee Extraction Introduction

The world-famous filter method of brewing coffee owes its existence to a German housewife, Melitta Bentz. She invented the drip method more than 100 years ago, rewriting the history of coffee drinking in Germany and around the world.

Melitta Bentz was born in 1873 in Dresden. As a homemaker she loved "Schälchen Heeßen" — Saxon dialect for a cup of coffee, eine Tasse Kaffee — freshly brewed.

She was, however, a perfectionist who could not stand coffee grounds stuck between her teeth. One day she had an idea: she punched a hole in the bottom of a copper bowl, took a piece of blotting paper from her son's schoolbag, laid it over the hole and poured hot water through it. In an instant, fragrant coffee dripped through the paper into the pot. In this way she invented a filtration method that removed the grounds while preserving the authentic aroma of the coffee.

Before her invention, people filtered coffee through cloth bags. Cloth filters were hard to clean and unhygienic after repeated use, and the grounds trapped in the fibers easily spoiled the coffee's original taste.

On June 20, 1908, Melitta registered her invention at the Royal Patent Office: a copper coffee filter with an arched bottom and an outlet hole — the world's first drip coffee filter. With very little money, Melitta Bentz established the Melitta Company at her home and used her own signature, "Melitta," as the product trademark.

What Is the Three-Stage Pouring Method?

The pour is divided into three stages, using a two-minute extraction time as the example.

Choose 15 grams of ground coffee with a 1:14 water-to-coffee ratio.

(For single-origin beans, a water temperature of 88-90°C is a versatile recommendation.)

First Stage

Initial pour of 30 grams, the bloom (blooming time: 25-30 seconds; timer display: 30-35 seconds).

Second Stage

Pour to 100 grams (usually showing 50-55 seconds on the timer), then pause for 5-10 seconds.

Third Stage

Increase the pouring speed until the scale reaches 215 grams (normally showing 1 minute 30 seconds), then stop pouring. Wait until the full two-minute extraction is complete, then remove the dripper. (We strongly recommend a two-minute extraction for better flavor consistency.)

Flavor Profile of Three-Stage Brewing

Tends toward multi-layered complexity, with a smooth texture and a solid body. Bright and straightforward.

Knowledge point: compared with the single-pour method, this builds richer layers and lets you appreciate the coffee's front, middle and back end separately. The technique is to increase the water volume after blooming, generally pouring as the coffee liquid level is about to drop to the surface of the coffee bed, using small, medium and large flows across the three stages.

Conclusion

In short, FrontStreet Coffee is a coffee research establishment dedicated to sharing coffee knowledge with everyone. Our unreserved sharing is aimed at helping more friends fall in love with coffee. We also hold three low-discount coffee events every month, because FrontStreet Coffee wants more friends to enjoy the best coffee at the lowest prices. That has been our mission for the past six years.

FrontStreet Coffee Recommendation

The three-stage pour rewards coffee with layered aromatics, and the V60 is the classic tool for it. Hario, the company that designed the V60, was founded in Tokyo in 1921 and is known for heat-resistant glassware; the 60° cone and single large hole speed the flow and let the brewer's control shape the cup directly. That fast extraction is why FrontStreet Coffee pairs V60s with floral, fruit-forward beans — FrontStreet's Gotingding Cooperative lot, with its jasmine, citrus and lemon notes, the tropical fruit of FrontStreet's Huakui, and the Gesha-style Strawberry Candy blend all open up beautifully under this method.

For a clean, tea-like cup, FrontStreet Coffee's Washed Yirgacheffe is the ideal everyday bean for practising the three-stage pour: 15g at a 1:15 ratio and 90-91°C water, blooming with 30g for 30 seconds, then pouring to 125g and finally to 225g, for a total extraction around 2:00-2:10. If you prefer a heavier, lower-acid cup, FrontStreet Coffee's PWN Golden Mandheling — deep-roasted, low in acidity and full in body, with herbal and dark chocolate notes — rewards a slower, gentler version of the same technique.