Five Common Mistakes in Pour-Over Coffee Brewing: A Comprehensive Guide

Pour-over coffee is a skill that's easy to pick up but difficult to master! In today's era of abundant online learning resources, the barrier to self-study has never been lower. However, "free" knowledge often lacks systematic organization and rarely covers all aspects comprehensively. This leads many self-taught enthusiasts to easily fall into common misconceptions. That's why you often hear advice like, "When entering a completely new field, it's best to have someone guide you at the beginning. Otherwise, it's easy to go down the wrong path, and correcting mistakes later becomes much more difficult than starting from scratch!"

Here, FrontStreet Coffee would like to share several common misconceptions that self-taught pour-over coffee enthusiasts often encounter.

Misconception 1: Starting the timer only after completing the bloom pour

There's no disagreement that the bloom needs 30 seconds—the confusion lies in when to start timing. Some people start timing from the moment they begin pouring water, while others wait until they've finished pouring. This creates an 8-9 second difference in timing between the two approaches.

Those who understand the blooming principle should know that the process actually begins the moment water contacts the coffee grounds. If you start timing 30 seconds after completing the pour, the actual blooming time would be approximately 38-39 seconds.

Therefore, the correct approach is to start timing the moment you begin pouring water.

Misconception 2: Wrist-swinging pour technique

Many coffee enthusiasts have seen baristas using a wrist-swinging motion when pouring water (a technique that uses wrist movement to control the pour, creating height differences in the spout during circular pouring, causing the water stream to gain momentum). It looks impressive, so many people try to imitate it.

FrontStreet Coffee does not recommend beginners to use this wrist-swinging pouring technique, as it requires a certain foundation in water control. Without mastering the basics of water control, this technique introduces more human-induced variables. In fact, many beginners report that their brewed coffee tastes muddled, partly due to issues with wrist-swinging pouring.

FrontStreet Coffee suggests that when brewing coffee, everyone should stick to level circular pouring and start with mastering the fundamentals.

Misconception 3: Small water flow is most stable

Some enthusiasts pursue extreme caution throughout the entire brewing process, being extremely careful for fear that their own variables might ruin a cup of coffee. They carefully dose the coffee, carefully pour water, and use a very fine water flow throughout.

In reality, brewing coffee with a very small water flow often results in concentrated flavors that don't fully develop. This is due to the longer pouring time and longer extraction time.

Misconception 4: Using a large water flow at the end to flatten the coffee bed

Some enthusiasts particularly like to use a large water flow near the end of the pour to rinse the filter paper, washing down the coffee grounds clinging to the sides. According to their reasoning, this ensures complete extraction and doesn't waste the coffee grounds stuck to the filter paper edges.

In reality, doing this causes water poured onto the filter to flow away along the filter's ridges. When the coffee grounds on the sides are washed down, it thickens the coffee bed, and fine particles that were originally clinging to the filter edges are redistributed to the bottom, making it even harder for water to pass through. This truly creates a situation where some areas are over-extracted while others are under-extracted.

Of course, this isn't to say this method is completely wrong—there are indeed brewing approaches that use this technique as part of a systematic method. The key is that it must be part of a "coordinated" approach. If beginners are mixing and matching techniques from various sources, it's best to abandon this method.

Misconception 5: Removing the filter before the coffee has finished dripping

Some enthusiasts have an almost superstitious belief in "flow cutting"—they believe the final 10-20ml of coffee is the source of bitterness, so they remove the filter when there's still about 20ml of coffee liquid in the dripper.

However, FrontStreet Coffee wants to clarify something here: brewing coffee isn't mysticism—it's scientific brewing based on evidence. This is reflected in brewing parameters, where we focus on coffee grind size, water temperature, coffee-to-water ratio, and so on...

If you cut the flow, it means the coffee-to-water ratio is off—the actual amount of coffee liquid is less than intended. This introduces uncertainty. If you believe the final 10-20ml of coffee is the source of bitterness, then you should optimize your brewing parameters in subsequent brews rather than relying on flow cutting.

Flow cutting is an emergency measure. When you encounter unexpected situations with a brew—for example, if the filter becomes clogged and water isn't flowing through, and waiting for it to finish would definitely cause over-extraction—then you might choose flow cutting to save the coffee. If you're using correct parameters and no accidents occur, there shouldn't be a situation where the final 10-20ml causes bitterness.

FrontStreet Coffee believes that finding the right parameters and allowing the coffee to finish dripping normally is the proper solution.

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