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Pour-Over Coffee Steps: V60 Dripper Pour-Over Coffee Method & Tips

Published: 2026-01-27 Author: FrontStreet Coffee

Last Updated: 2026/01/27, Many beginners who visit FrontStreet Coffee sit at the bar counter and complain about how difficult pour-over coffee is, why their brewing turns out poorly, and why their acidic coffee ends up tasting bitter. In reality, pour-over coffee isn't difficult at all! This time, FrontStreet Coffee will share with everyone the steps and essential elements of pour-over coffee. Save this guide or jot it down in your notebook~ First, we need to prepare fresh coffee

Hand-Pour Coffee: Mastering the Art of Brewing

Many newcomers to FrontStreet Coffee sit at the bar counter, lamenting, "Why is hand-pour coffee so difficult?" "Why can't I brew it well?" "Why does the coffee that should be acidic turn out bitter when I brew it?" Actually, hand-pour coffee isn't difficult at all! This time, FrontStreet Coffee will share the steps and elements of hand-pour coffee with everyone. Be sure to save this or jot it down in your notebook!

First, we need to prepare fresh coffee beans, a V60 dripper, coffee server, filter paper, electronic scale, timer (no need for a separate timer if your scale has one), pour-over kettle, and thermometer.

1. Prepare Fresh Coffee Beans

First, choose products from professional coffee roasters that clearly display the roasting date (not expiration date or best-by date), have brand credibility, and emphasize fresh roasting. Additionally, excellent coffee packaging bags usually feature a "one-way degassing valve" (the small button-like hole on the coffee bag) design, allowing coffee beans to release naturally produced carbon dioxide. Point the one-way degassing valve toward your nose, gently squeeze the coffee bean bag, and smell the gas that comes out. If it's a charming, rich coffee aroma, the freshness is fine. Conversely, if it doesn't smell rich enough, or even has a rancid oil smell, it indicates that this bag of coffee has long spoiled and lost its flavor, so you should avoid purchasing it. Every bag of coffee beans sold by FrontStreet Coffee uses packaging with one-way degassing valves, ensuring that every bag of coffee beans reaches enthusiasts in the freshest state possible. The reason FrontStreet Coffee emphasizes fresh roasting so much is because over time, once coffee is roasted for more than 50 days, it basically loses most of its aroma. Some might ask, is the fresher the coffee, the better? Not necessarily - in the first two days after roasting, its aroma isn't very stable yet.

2. Prepare Dripper and Filter Paper

Another structural feature of the V60 dripper is the ribs on the inside of its body. The spiral shape extends from the bottom to the top, serving to guide water flow, creating enough space between the filter paper and dripper, allowing for good water flow and relatively fast speed. It's also one of the drippers with faster water flow among many drippers. Additionally, the ribs of the V60 dripper turn clockwise. When pouring water clockwise, it flows more smoothly along the texture. If pouring water counterclockwise, it will slow down the water flow speed. The large hole at the bottom of the V60 dripper is also designed to promote water flow speed. V60 drippers commonly come in 01 and 02 sizes. The 01 dripper brews 1-2 servings, while the 02 dripper brews 3-4 servings of coffee grounds. So when purchasing and using filter paper, pay attention to the model!

3. Wet Filter Paper & Warm Server

Fold the filter paper along the textured edges and place it in the dripper, then place the dripper on the coffee server. Pour hot water over the filter paper in the dripper. The first purpose of this step is to wet the filter paper to remove the paper taste while making the paper adhere to the dripper. The second purpose is to preheat the dripper and coffee server so that the coffee brewing process won't cool down quickly, affecting the coffee's flavor.

4. Weigh Coffee Beans

FrontStreet Coffee recommends using 15 grams of coffee beans for each brew, using a 1:15 ratio. This is based on the SCA Golden Cup extraction theory's hand-pour coffee water-to-coffee ratio extraction parameters for taste differences:

[Bold Flavor] 1:10-1:11 (equivalent to 1:12.5-1:13.5 of Golden Cup Standard)

[Medium Flavor] 1:12-1:13 (equivalent to 1:14.5-1:15.5 of Golden Cup Standard)

[Light Flavor] 1:14-1:16 (equivalent to 1:16.5-1:18.5 of Golden Cup Standard)

A coffee bean amount that is 1:14.5-1:15.5 of the brewing water amount most easily achieves the golden range of 18%-22% extraction rate and 1.15%-1.35% concentration. This is also why FrontStreet Coffee always recommends everyone use the 1:15 ratio for brewing.

5. Grind Size

The finer the coffee beans are ground, the more easily the coffee powder accumulates at the bottom of the filter paper, creating greater extraction resistance, resulting in slower flow speed and longer extraction time. The extraction rate of substances contained in coffee is higher, and the brewed coffee will be stronger or have miscellaneous flavors such as woody taste;

The coarser the coffee beans are ground, the larger the gaps in the powder layer, with less coffee powder in contact with hot water, weaker extraction resistance, faster coffee dripping speed, lower extraction rate, so the coffee flavor will be lighter.

FrontStreet Coffee recommends using a grind size similar to fine sugar for light-to-medium roast coffee beans (Fuji Royal 3.5) and a grind size similar to coarse sugar for medium-dark roast coffee beans (Fuji Royal 4).

6. Brewing Water Temperature

Pour the ground coffee powder into the dripper and gently level it (don't tap the dripper during this step, as tapping will reduce the channeling effect of the coffee powder layer and affect extraction), then zero the electronic scale.

FrontStreet Coffee recommends using water temperature of 90-91°C for brewing light-to-medium roast coffee beans, and 88-89°C for medium-dark roast coffee beans. At the same grind size, if the brewed coffee tastes bitter, burnt, or astringent, you can lower the extraction water temperature for adjustment; conversely, if it tastes bland, it means there are still many flavors remaining in the coffee grounds, so you can consider increasing the temperature.

Appropriate water temperature and good extraction will present positive and comfortable aromas and flavors. For example, the acidity will be rich, like the sweet and sour sensation of plums or stone fruits. The overall cleanliness, clarity, and transparency will allow you to clearly taste what flavors are present. The delicate, rich, and bright acidity might even remind you of certain fruits or even wine, with a lingering aftertaste in your mouth that makes you savor it.

7. Three-Stage Brewing Method

When FrontStreet Coffee uses the V60 dripper for brewing, we generally use the three-stage brewing method.

The first stage, blooming, uses twice the amount of water as the coffee grounds, i.e., 30g of water for 30 seconds. Blooming refers to the process when coffee grounds encounter water and get wet - this is when coffee cells begin to release molecules. After wetting the coffee grounds, we stop pouring water and wait for the carbon dioxide to completely release and the coffee grounds to stop expanding before continuing to add hot water, which can achieve better extraction results.

The second and third stages of extraction refer to the process of soluble molecules in coffee cells dissolving in hot water. A coffee bean is composed of 70% insoluble cellulose, while the remaining 30% consists of some soluble aromatic molecules, which are sequentially dissolved according to molecular size when they encounter water. The first small molecules to be dissolved include acidity and aroma, such as floral notes and citrus acidity; then medium molecules of sweetness like fruit juice sweetness, honey, and brown sugar sweetness; finally, large molecules of burnt bitterness - this is how the different layers of coffee flavor come about.

8. Pouring Water Flow

The size of the water flow has slightly less impact on the concentration of coffee liquid. During the brewing process, brewing with a small water flow takes longer than with a large water flow. Because of the long and short rib characteristics of the V60 dripper, when the pouring water flow is large, it will cause the liquid level to rise, reaching the short ribs, and more water will flow down through the ribs at the edge, reducing contact time with the coffee grounds; whereas with a small water flow, the liquid level won't rise too high, the coffee powder layer will be thicker, and the contact time between water and coffee grounds will be slightly longer.

Therefore, when using the technique of large water flow for quick brewing, the brewing time is shorter, the aroma is more prominent, but the flavor will tend toward being single and clean. Using a small water flow for slow brewing to extend extraction time can fully extract the coffee's flavor, thus slightly excelling in richness and layering, but there's a risk of over-extraction.

9. Extraction Time

After zeroing the scale, press the timer to start. After the first 30-second bloom ends, begin the second water pour. It's recommended to stop the second pour at 125g (around 0'55"-1'00"). When the water level drops to 2/3 of the coffee bed, proceed with the third pour. Stop the third pour at 225g (around 1'45"-1'50"). The total extraction time should be between 2'00"-2'10".

10. Remove Dripper and Swirl Coffee in Server

As FrontStreet Coffee mentioned above, the extraction of a cup of coffee first extracts acidity, then sweetness, and finally bitterness. Therefore, after a cup of coffee is extracted, you must swirl it a few times to ensure the coffee liquid is evenly mixed, so you can taste the most complete coffee flavor.