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What's the difference between pour-over coffee and espresso? Can espresso beans be used for pour-over?

Published: 2026-01-27 Author: FrontStreet Coffee

Last Updated: 2026/01/27, Coffee is becoming increasingly popular among Chinese consumers, even rivaling quick-service tea beverages like milk tea in some segments, though each has its own distinct consumer base. When discussing coffee, we must mention pour-over coffee and espresso. Pour-over coffee predominantly features single-origin beans, showcasing their unadorned, elegant beauty without harshness.

Coffee is becoming increasingly popular among Chinese people, even beginning to rival fast tea beverages like milk tea, though each has its own consumer base. When it comes to coffee, we must mention pour-over coffee and espresso coffee. Pour-over coffee most commonly uses single-origin coffee beans. The beauty of pour-over coffee is unadorned—not harsh, not disguised, not simple—it's another better interpretation of coffee. Overall, pour-over coffee is ultimately gentler. This is just in comparison to espresso coffee.

In a personal afternoon, coffee, books, and soft chairs form a simple combination that creates a simple happiness, just like the beauty of pour-over single-origin coffee. With pour-over, you can see the most authentic appearance of coffee dripping drop by drop during extraction. Compared to espresso, which extracts under 9 atmospheres of pressure, this is the second reason I call it gentle. It can be said that espresso also has such heart-fluttering qualities, but perhaps you've never experienced them—that might be the third reason single-origin coffee is good: it's easier for people who don't love coffee to fall in love with it and enjoy its original form. There's no denying that for pour-over coffee, espresso is more foolproof in its preparation and more easily accepted by people. But perhaps it's precisely the unique beauty of pour-over that attracts so many people.

Let's explore the differences between pour-over coffee and espresso coffee.

1. Different coffee beans

Pour-over coffee

Pour-over coffee typically uses single-origin coffee beans as the brewing ingredient, with light to medium roast beans being the most common, though some people also prefer dark roast coffee beans.

Espresso coffee

Espresso coffee usually uses blends of different single-origin coffee beans, also known as coffee blends, which are widely used to make espresso beverages such as cappuccino, Americano, and latte. Most espresso blends have a darker roast to pair with milk and hot water. Making this type of coffee requires professional espresso grinders, which is also the foundation and key to producing quality espresso.

2. Different preparation methods

Pour-over coffee

Pour-over coffee mostly uses filter cups, meaning extraction occurs under normal atmospheric pressure. If using tools like Moka pots or AeroPress, extraction pressure can reach 3 bar (three atmospheres).

Espresso coffee

Espresso is extracted using an espresso machine. The machine's pressure during extraction reaches 9 bar (nine atmospheres), with the coffee puck in the portafilter bearing 133 kilograms of pressure, causing it to release large amounts of coffee substances, including certain flavor compounds that are difficult to dissolve under normal pressure. Therefore, espresso has a thicker consistency, making it suitable for pairing with milk to make lattes or adding water to make Americanos.

3. Different caffeine content

With the same amount of coffee grounds and grind size, because caffeine is water-soluble, the longer the brewing time, the more caffeine is released. Pour-over coffee typically brews for 1-3 minutes, while espresso brews for just 20-30 seconds. Therefore, with the same amount of grounds and grind size, pour-over coffee has higher caffeine content. This explains why long-extraction coffees like cold drip and cold brew have much higher caffeine content than other coffees.

As you can see, there are significant differences in concentration between pour-over coffee and espresso-brewed coffee. When milk is added to single-origin coffee, it masks the coffee's original aroma and flavor, which is why coffee shops generally don't recommend adding milk to pour-over coffee.

How to make espresso

Many coffee enthusiasts have gradually equipped their homes with various coffee tools, with espresso lovers even stocking up on espresso machines, preparing to extract their own. FrontStreet Coffee uses their store's espresso production as reference to briefly explain how to make an Espresso.

The coffee machine at FrontStreet Coffee's store is a commercial single-group "Lelit Bianca," which can adjust extraction by changing pressure, with a maximum pressure of 11 bar. Home machines only need to reach 9 bar pressure to satisfy extraction and milk frothing functions, paired with an espresso grinder.

FrontStreet Coffee uses a double portafilter capacity, with about 18-20 grams of coffee grounds—FrontStreet Coffee uses 20 grams when serving. Usually, the ratio of coffee grounds to espresso liquid is between 1:1.5 and 1:2.5. FrontStreet Coffee's extraction ratio is 1:2, meaning 20 grams of coffee grounds extracts 40 grams of espresso liquid. Time is related to the flow rate of the coffee grounds, with single extraction typically controlled between 20-35 seconds, because coffee extracted within 20 seconds usually tastes thin, while extraction over 35 seconds tends to be over-extracted with burnt bitterness. Most of FrontStreet Coffee's espresso falls within the 28-30 second range.

FrontStreet Coffee first wipes the portafilter dry, turns on the grinder, grinds a double shot of coffee grounds, places it on an electronic scale to adjust to exactly 20 grams. Next, they use a tool to distribute the grounds evenly, compress the coffee puck firmly to ensure more stable extraction. Then they turn on the extraction switch to run water, wetting the brew head while washing away any residual coffee grounds, gently lock the portafilter into the brew head, and begin the extraction. When the electronic scale shows 40 grams of extracted coffee liquid at about 30 seconds, they can stop the extraction. The espresso is poured into an Espresso cup and ready to enjoy.

The taste and texture of Espresso are related to the coffee beans used. The espresso served at FrontStreet Coffee uses FrontStreet Coffee's Sunflower Warm Sunshine blend. It's a 7:3 blend of Honduras Sherry coffee and Ethiopia natural Red Cherry. Made into Espresso, it has rich crema with very noticeable whiskey aroma. The first sip reveals vanilla biscuit and berry acidity, with solid flavors. After drinking, the entire mouth is filled with various aromas.

Espresso can also be diluted with water—what's commonly seen on menus as Americano, with fresh aroma. Adding milk creates latte, presenting the sweet deliciousness of chocolate and cream.

How to make pour-over coffee

To make pour-over coffee at home, we need the following equipment: pour-over kettle, filter cup, server, grinder, filter paper, electronic scale, and thermometer. Here, Yirgacheffe is a high-altitude, light-medium roast coffee bean. FrontStreet Coffee hopes to extract more rich aromatic substances, so they choose a grind size corresponding to 80% pass-through on a #20 standard sieve, equivalent to a setting of 10 on the EK43s grinder used in their store. Additionally, light roast coffee requires higher water temperature to bring out aromas, so they use 91-93°C water and a V60 01 plastic filter cup for extraction.

On online media, we can see various pour-over pouring techniques, such as single-pour, three-stage method, and four-six method, etc. Different techniques can bring out different flavor expressions in the cup. Based on previous brewing experience, FrontStreet Coffee suggests beginners adopt the three-stage pouring method. Three-stage extraction helps fully dissolve flavor compounds during extraction, increases mouthfeel layers, while avoiding over-extraction from prolonged soaking.

For 15 grams of coffee grounds with a 1:15 coffee-to-water ratio (225ml total water), the three-stage water amounts are: 30ml, 95ml, 100ml, with the electronic scale showing: 30g, 125g, 225g.

Fold the filter paper to fit snugly with the filter cup, wet it with a small amount of water to make it adhere better, and pour out the water from the server. Then add the coffee grounds and tap gently to distribute them evenly. For the first stage, gently pour 30 grams of water for blooming, with a blooming time of 30 seconds. For the second stage, pour to about 125 grams of water, moving in steady, even outward circles. Then wait for the coffee liquid to drop, and when it reaches halfway, pour the final stage of water to reach 225 grams. Wait for all the coffee to finish dripping—total extraction time is typically around 2 minutes.

The reason everyone loves pour-over coffee so much is that when we actively explore the extraction flavor expressions of coffee, adjust brewing methods according to different coffee bean varieties and roast levels, carefully select brewing vessels to experience the different appearances that different extraction methods bring to coffee, and control factors like grind size, temperature, water flow rate, pouring technique, etc., to adjust coffee extraction. Each step can bring different taste and olfactory experiences—this is the charm of pour-over coffee.