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How to Brew Pour-Over Coffee for 4 People? How Many Grams of Coffee Grounds Do You Need?

Published: 2026-01-27 Author: FrontStreet Coffee

Last Updated: 2026/01/27, Is brewing pour-over coffee for 1-2 people the same as brewing for 3-4 people? Actually, if you try it once, you'll find that the brewing process is somewhat different, and the final flavor will have slight variations. So how can you stabilize the coffee's flavor through minor parameter adjustments? What are the differences between brewing with larger amounts of grounds versus regular brewing? An increase in the amount of grounds means the total water volume also increases, for example

Introduction

Is brewing coffee for 1-2 people the same as brewing for 3-4 people? In reality, if you try it once, you'll find that the brewing process is somewhat different, and the final flavor will have slight variations. So how can we stabilize the coffee's flavor through fine-tuning parameters?

How is brewing with large amounts of coffee grounds different from usual?

An increase in coffee grounds means the total water amount also increases accordingly. For example, with a typical 1:15 coffee-to-water ratio, 15 grams of grounds require 225 grams of water, while 30 grams of grounds need 450 grams of water. If you use the same water flow rate as brewing 15 grams of grounds, the pouring time will double. Additionally, the increased thickness of the coffee bed means the time for coffee liquid to flow into the lower pot will also correspondingly lengthen.

Therefore, if you use the parameters for brewing 15 grams of grounds to brew 30 grams, the risk of over-extraction will also increase.

So how should you adjust?

① Filter Cup Selection

Some well-known filter cup brands offer both small filter cups for 1-2 servings and large filter cups for 3-4 servings. Choosing the appropriate filter cup will make brewing easier. For example, the Hario V60 No. 02 filter cup is basically one size larger than the No. 01, and its drainage hole is also larger than the No. 01's, preventing blockage that could cause over-extraction. The rib length is the same as the No. 01, which also prevents excessive "bypassing" of water.

② Grind Size

Due to the thickness of the coffee bed, to improve drainage, the grind can be slightly coarser. For example, if FrontStreet Coffee uses a grind size with 80% pass-through rate on a 0.85mm screen for brewing 15 grams of coffee grounds, then for brewing 30 grams of coffee grounds, the grind size can be adjusted to a 75% pass-through rate to better achieve extraction through flushing.

③ Water Flow Rate

As mentioned earlier, if you use the same water flow rate as brewing 15 grams of grounds, the pouring time will double. Therefore, increasing the water flow rate is an inevitable choice. However, the premise for increasing water flow is still to ensure that the flow is vertical; otherwise, extraction will be uneven. Some pour-over kettles have smaller spout diameters, which are only suitable for small water flow rates, making brewing large amounts of coffee grounds very difficult. FrontStreet Coffee suggests maintaining a water flow rate of 7-8g/s.

④ Pouring Strategy

As for the pouring strategy, FrontStreet Coffee believes it's still fine to refer to the brewing approach for normal amounts of grounds. Still taking 30 grams of coffee grounds as an example: first bloom with 60 grams of water, after 30 seconds add 190 grams of water (reaching 250 grams total poured water), and finally add 200 grams of water to reach the total poured amount of 450 grams. As for time, it will definitely increase (if the time were the same, you should suspect under-extraction). Generally, brewing 30 grams takes about 2 minutes and 30 seconds.