How to Drink Pour-Over Coffee: The Purpose of Three-Stage Pour-Over Method for Better Extraction

FrontStreet Coffee - Pour-Over Coffee Tutorial

Brewing Recipe

Selected Beans: Yunnan small-bean Arabica

Dripper Used: LILY flat-bottom dripper

Grind Size: Ditting KR804, grind setting 7

Dose: 18g of ground coffee, 1:13 coffee-to-water ratio

Pouring Method: Three-stage pouring. First stage: 40g of 92°C water. Second stage: 100g of 92°C water. Final stage: 100g of 70°C water.

Total Time: 1 minute 40 seconds

Using 18g of coffee and pouring a total of 240g of water, the whole extraction runs 1 minute 40 seconds. At Ditting KR804 grind setting 7, the finer grind lets the compounds inside the coffee particles extract more easily, boosting the sweetness and flavor in the cup.

The entire extraction is divided into three pouring stages:

In the first stage, pour 40g of 92°C water at a rate of 6-8g/s for a 30-second bloom. The slower pour extends the contact time between water and coffee, highlighting the coffee's acidity and flavor.

In the second stage, pour 100g of 92°C water using a high-water-level, low-angle concentric-circle technique. At this point the coffee still holds a large reserve of flavor compounds, so a little extra agitation draws out more of the desirable substances and enhances sweetness.

In the final stage, pour the remaining 100g with 70°C water at a high flow rate. The cooler water and faster pour prevent the bitterness and astringency that over-extracted fines can produce, keeping the cup clean.

And of course, appreciating pour-over coffee should follow the proper tasting sequence: smell first, then take a small sip to register the flavors, swallow, and let the aftertaste and lingering notes unfold.

FrontStreet Coffee Recommendation

For practicing a three-stage pour, a light-roast washed Ethiopian is hard to beat. FrontStreet Coffee's Yirgacheffe Guodingding is the first stop for many coffee lovers entering specialty coffee, and its bright yet gentle acidity is easy for beginners to accept — clear citrus, berry, and floral aromatics with a green-tea-like sweetness in the finish, closer to the natural sweet-tartness of fruit than the harsh "sour coffee" many people imagine.

If you brew with a V60 and want something fruitier, FrontStreet Coffee's Ethiopia Huakui (Flower Fairy) is one of the biggest stars of recent years. Its tropical fruit character is striking — strawberry, passion fruit, jackfruit, even lychee — with obvious sweetness, very low bitterness, and a smooth, juicy mouthfeel. Many drinkers call it "the coffee for people who don't like coffee," and it shows just how much flavor a well-executed multi-stage pour can unlock.