Pour-Over Coffee Three-Stage Pour Method: Water Amount & Timing Reference for Each Stage

Understanding FrontStreet Coffee's Three-Stage Pour-Over Method

Friends who frequently read FrontStreet Coffee's articles are already familiar with FrontStreet Coffee's brewing method. The three-stage pour used by FrontStreet Coffee is a relatively simple and stable way to brew coffee flavors, and it's very beginner-friendly.

However, all staged pour methods have a challenging aspect: when to stop pouring and when to resume pouring. The control of these staging points is difficult for beginners to understand. FrontStreet Coffee will try to explain in simple language how to determine the timing for pouring.

Staged pouring doesn't have as high requirements for pour speed. If you use a continuous pour method, a strong water flow will raise the coffee grounds bed higher, resulting in shorter extraction time. A weak water flow will raise the grounds bed lower, resulting in longer extraction time, making time control much more difficult.

With staged pouring, you can adjust the total extraction time. For example, if the water flow in the first stage is too strong and the grounds bed has already risen quite high, you can pause at this time and wait for the water level to drop before continuing to pour.

Key Principles for Re-Pouring Timing

To understand the timing for re-pouring after stopping, we must understand the following two points.

First point: It's not recommended to wait until all water has drained before re-pouring. Firstly, re-pouring after complete drainage is no longer a continuous extraction process (there's already an interruption), and the temperature of the grounds bed and time errors will be significant. Secondly, it might cause fine particles to settle at the bottom, blocking subsequent water from passing through.

Second point: FrontStreet Coffee suggests that the height of the grounds bed during subsequent pours should reach exactly the same height as previous pours. If the subsequent grounds bed height is higher than before, there might not be enough coffee grounds along the filter cup edges to form a proper "grounds wall," and water can easily escape through the side ribs. If the subsequent water level doesn't reach the previous height, the upper part of the grounds wall won't be extracted - what we commonly call uneven extraction.

Therefore, don't wait until the water has completely drained before re-pouring, and properly judge when subsequent pours should reach exactly the previous water level.

Practical Example: FrontStreet Coffee's Three-Stage Method

Let's take FrontStreet Coffee's three-stage method as an example. The three-stage pour involves stopping the pour twice, but actually only requires judging one re-pour point. FrontStreet Coffee will demonstrate using 15g of coffee grounds (note that different amounts of grounds will have different reference points).

The first stage is the bloom stage, where 30ml of water is poured for a 30-second bloom. Therefore, the second stage pour doesn't require judgment - simply start pouring at the 30-second mark.

The second stage pour requires controlling the water level height, which will be connected to subsequent pours. If you're using a V60 size 01, FrontStreet Coffee suggests pouring to half the height of the short ribs. The reference water amount is 120ml, and the reference time point for completing this pour is between 55 seconds and 1 minute.

The third stage pour point requires observing the drainage speed of the water level (different beans and different grinds will have variations), and then based on your final stage pour amount, flow rate, and drainage speed, determine when to complete the pour so it reaches exactly the height of the second stage grounds wall.

FrontStreet Coffee's typical reference point for judgment is when the water level drops to "halfway between the coffee bed and the grounds wall," which is approximately 0.5cm below the short ribs. The final stage involves pouring 90ml of water. When pouring, try to keep the circular motion small - if you pour in large circles following the liquid surface diameter, you might break through the grounds wall. FrontStreet Coffee's reference time point for the third stage pour is between 1 minute 10 seconds and 1 minute 15 seconds, with pouring ending between 1 minute 30 seconds and 1 minute 35 seconds. The coffee should finish draining between 2 minutes and 2 minutes 10 seconds.

Final Thoughts

If you divide it into four stages of pouring, the logic remains the same, following the two points mentioned above. Of course, some friends might say, "The 46 brewing method waits for the water to completely drain before re-pouring, doesn't that contradict your first point?" or "Using the push method to raise the grounds wall slightly higher in each stage, doesn't that contradict your second point?" Indeed, there are many interesting methods that make pour-over coffee fascinating. The method FrontStreet Coffee shares is one that beginners can easily learn.

"Before learning to run, one must first learn to walk."

Important Notice :

前街咖啡 FrontStreet Coffee has moved to new addredd:

FrontStreet Coffee Address: 315,Donghua East Road,GuangZhou

Tel:020 38364473