Pour-Over Coffee Tutorial: How Circular Pouring Size in Three-Stage Brewing Affects Coffee Flavor

Whether a pour-over coffee tastes good depends not only on the beans themselves and brewing/grinding parameters, but also greatly on the mood/emotions during brewing. While emotions cannot directly change the coffee's flavor, they can affect the control of water flow and the speed of circular pouring. When feeling impatient or restless, one tends to rush through the brewing, accelerating the water flow and circular motion. When in a good mood, one naturally slows down the water flow and pours slowly in circles, enjoying the therapeutic process of brewing.

How does water flow rate change coffee flavor?

When brewing with the same parameters, changing the water flow rate affects the thickness of the coffee bed distributed around the filter cup.

Using a small water flow for pouring slows down the pouring speed, so the overall liquid level won't rise too much, and the coffee bed on the cup walls will appear thicker. The overall extraction time of the coffee will be extended, the coffee concentration will become higher, and the taste will feel more full-bodied.

When using a large water flow for pouring, the pouring speed increases, causing the overall liquid level to rise significantly, and the coffee bed on the cup walls will be thinner. When the coffee bed is thin, the overall extraction time will be shorter, the coffee concentration will decrease, and the taste will appear clean and simple.

How does circular pouring speed change coffee flavor?

When brewing with the same parameters and water flow, changing the circular pouring speed affects the degree of agitation of the coffee bed. When the circular pouring speed is fast, the water's scouring force is strong, the coffee bed's agitation is high, thereby increasing the extraction rate. When the circular pouring speed is slow, the water's scouring force is weak, the coffee bed's agitation is low, and the extraction rate will be relatively lower.

At this point, everyone might notice that a small water flow with fast circular pouring can maximize extraction efficiency, while a large water flow with slow circular pouring can minimize extraction efficiency. So what would be the performance of small water flow with slow circular pouring versus large water flow with fast circular pouring? FrontStreet Coffee will conduct a small extraction experiment next.

Brewing Experiment

FrontStreet Coffee used Panama Geisha coffee beans for this brewing experiment, with medium-fine grinding (78% pass-through rate on a #20 standard sieve), coffee-to-water ratio of 1:15, 15g of coffee grounds, and brewing water temperature of 90°C.

Small water flow with slow circular pouring

First, bloom with 30g of water for 30 seconds, then pour to 125g using a water flow rate of 4g per second and 4 seconds per circle, moving from the center outward and returning to the center. Pause and wait for the coffee bed to drop to half its height, then continue pouring to 225g in the same manner. After all the coffee liquid has flowed into the lower pot, remove the filter cup to end extraction. Total brewing time: 2 minutes 2 seconds.

Coffee flavor profile: Clean and clear floral notes, citrus-like acidity, honey-like sweetness, and distinct oolong tea sensation.

Large water flow with fast circular pouring

First, bloom with 30g of water for 30 seconds, then pour to 125g using a water flow rate of 6g per second and 1 second per circle, moving from the center outward and returning to the center. Pause and wait for the coffee bed to drop to 1/2 its height, then continue pouring to 225g in the same manner. After all the coffee liquid has flowed into the lower pot, remove the filter cup to end extraction. Total brewing time: 1 minute 38 seconds.

Coffee flavor profile: Subtle floral notes, lemonade-like acidity, green tea-like sensation with a slight tea aftertaste.

Summary

The pouring method of small water flow with slow circular pouring is generally a uniform immersion extraction process, thus resulting in a more mellow mouthfeel and rich flavor. Although the large water flow with fast circular pouring method presents strong and vigorous agitation of the coffee bed, the medium-fine grind is not suitable for this method because the drainage speed is very fast, reducing the extraction rate.

Important Notice :

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