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The day before yesterday, a friend reached out to FrontStreet Coffee, asking about some pour-over coffee questions. FrontStreet Coffee has already written many knowledge articles about how to brew coffee, so they selected a few articles covering pour-over parameters, brewing methods and steps, as well as solutions to common pitfalls and sent them to her.

A day later, she contacted FrontStreet Coffee again, saying that the coffee brewed following their methods didn't taste quite right. After some discussion, FrontStreet Coffee finally understood that this friend can't drink too much coffee in a day, so her standard single serving is 7 grams of coffee grounds, meaning she uses 7 grams as her brewing standard.

However, a bag of coffee beans can't always be consumed with perfect precision. In most cases, you'll be left with an amount insufficient for a full brew. It's a pity to waste it, but brewing it might not necessarily yield a delicious cup. So today, FrontStreet Coffee will explore how to brew coffee with smaller amounts of grounds.

What's the Difference Between Small and Normal Coffee Amounts?

What constitutes a "small amount" depends on the dripper we're using. For example, Hario's V60 dripper comes in two models: the 01 and 02. Their difference lies in size, with the 02 model being able to hold more coffee grounds.

FrontStreet Coffee typically uses 15 grams of coffee grounds. For a 01 dripper, this amount is just right - a normal amount. For the 02 dripper, it would be considered a small amount, making it more challenging to brew properly.

If using a 01 dripper, brewing with 15 grams, 13 grams, 18 grams, or even 20 grams of grounds shouldn't pose any problems, as these all fall within the reasonable capacity of the 01 dripper, and the changes in the coffee bed won't be too significant. However, when brewing with less than 13 grams or more than 20 grams, the brewing situation will be noticeably different from usual.

A smaller amount of grounds means less total water is needed, which demands greater control over water flow from the pourer. Secondly, fewer grounds result in a thinner coffee bed, allowing water to pass through more easily. Therefore, if you continue using parameters for normal amounts when brewing with too little coffee, you'll likely end up with thin coffee lacking in flavor.

How to Adjust Pour-Over Methods for Small Coffee Amounts?

Actually, there are only two core issues with small amounts. First, water passes through too quickly, ending the extraction before the coffee flavor has fully developed. Second, pouring becomes more difficult. With more grounds, the total water volume is greater, which distributes the risk more evenly. For example, if your pouring is unstable and you accidentally pour onto the filter paper, assuming this mistake happens once with both 10 grams and 20 grams of grounds, the negative flavor impact will be more pronounced in the 10-gram cup.

Moreover, due to the characteristics of conical drippers, with fewer grounds, the surface area of the coffee bed becomes smaller, making it easier to pour onto the filter paper edges.

Therefore, FrontStreet Coffee suggests two approaches. The first is for those confident in their water control. You only need to change one parameter: the grind size. FrontStreet Coffee tested using a V60 01 dripper and found that 7 grams is the "limit" for this dripper - any less would be very difficult to brew with the original flavor profile. So FrontStreet Coffee will demonstrate using 7 grams. The grind should be slightly finer than for the normal 15-gram amount. For example, if the normal 15-gram amount uses a grind setting of 10 on the EK-43s, the 7-gram amount should use a setting of 9.5, which converts to approximately 85% retention on a #20 sieve. Other parameters remain the same: water temperature at 91°C and a ratio of 1:15.

When pouring, still use the three-stage method. For the first stage, bloom with 15ml of water for 25 seconds, controlling the water flow to be fine. For the second stage, pour in a circular motion with 45ml, finishing at the 40-second mark. At 60 seconds, pour the remaining 45ml, finishing at 1 minute 15 seconds. The coffee should finish dripping into the lower pot at 1 minute 45 seconds.

If you're not confident in your water control skills, then adopt the second pouring approach, with parameters identical to the first method. When pouring, first bloom with 20ml of water for 30 seconds. Then use a larger water flow in a small circular pattern to pour 30ml, raising the water level to half the height of the entire dripper.

This pouring stage should finish around the 40-second mark. For the remaining water, observe the water level - whenever it drops slightly, pour water in the center to raise it back to its original height (the number of pours depends on the actual situation; FrontStreet Coffee typically adds 3-4 pours during brewing). The only requirement for center pouring is that the water flow is vertical. Continue until you've reached 105ml of total water. The final extraction time should be between 1 minute 30 seconds and 1 minute 50 seconds.

Important Notice :

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