The Impact of Pour-over Coffee Flow Rate on Flavor: What's the Ideal Pouring Speed?

Frequently, friends visiting the shop discuss pour-over coffee techniques with FrontStreet Coffee. One of the most discussed topics is the rate of water flow. Whether to use a large water flow or a small one, when to use a large flow, and when to use a small flow...

Regarding this question, FrontStreet Coffee first wants to help everyone eliminate two common misconceptions. The first misconception is that a small water flow doesn't necessarily mean gentle pouring, and a large water flow doesn't necessarily mean vigorous pouring. Gentle pouring refers to minimal agitation of the coffee grounds, represented by slow horizontal circular pouring. In contrast, "flicking" water with wrist movements causes more agitation of the coffee grounds, appearing more vigorous. A small water flow can also be used for vigorous flicking, while a large water flow can also be gentle when circling.

The second misconception concerns the perception of water flow size. In reality, due to factors like kettle spout size and water control ability, the specific values of small and large water flows vary from person to person. With a wider spout, water flows are generally larger, while with a narrower spout, water flows are generally smaller. FrontStreet Coffee will teach everyone a simple method to measure your own water flow rate.

First, you need an electronic scale. Place a container on it and pour water using your usual pouring technique, timing for 10 seconds. Then divide the total amount of water poured in 10 seconds by 10 to know your average water flow rate. When FrontStreet Coffee uses a Hario copper kettle while maintaining a vertical water column, the minimum flow rate is 2.3ml/s and the maximum is 9ml/s. When using a Hario stainless steel kettle (with a slightly larger spout), the minimum flow rate is 4ml/s and the maximum is 12ml/s.

Of course, if you use the minimum or maximum water flow for pouring, the coffee will likely not taste good. Therefore, everyone can identify the actual rates of what they consider small and large water flows based on their brewing habits. This also makes it convenient to record your brewing data and communicate with others without barriers. For example, FrontStreet Coffee's small water flow during actual pour-over is 4ml/s, large water flow is 7ml/s, and average water flow is 5ml/s.

What Do Small and Large Water Flows Affect?

When the coffee-to-water ratio is fixed, small water flow pouring takes longer, while large water flow pouring takes shorter time.

Regarding liquid level height, when the amount of water poured exceeds the amount draining, the liquid level will rise. The greater the difference between the poured water amount and the draining amount, the shorter the time needed for the liquid level to rise.

In terms of flavor and mouthfeel, small water flow pouring results in a richer taste with more concentrated flavors. Large water flow pouring produces clearer flavors with noticeable acidity, lighter taste, and thinner mouthfeel.

Large Flow & Small Flow

Whether to use large or small water flow when pouring mainly depends on the changing state of the coffee grounds and your brewing habits. If you're accustomed to brewing coffee with small water flow, there are certain situations where you need to increase the water flow:

1. When you need to raise the coffee grounds bed. Sometimes, small water flow causes the liquid level to rise slowly, which can lead to coffee with concentrated and rich flavors, so you need to use a large water flow to raise the grounds bed.

2. When extraction time is too long. As mentioned earlier, small water flow pouring takes longer. If during the brewing process you estimate that the time might exceed your planned brewing time, you need to increase the water flow to shorten the extraction time.

3. When the coffee grounds bed shows signs of clogging. If you find that water isn't draining during the coffee brewing process, seemingly blocked by fine grounds, you need to use a large water flow to quickly stir and agitate the coffee grounds at the bottom to restore drainage speed.

If you're accustomed to using large water flow for pouring, there are situations where you need to switch to small water flow:

1. If you find during the brewing process that the grind might be too coarse, causing water to drain too quickly, you need to use small water flow to appropriately extend the extraction time.

2. If you find during the pouring process that the liquid level has been raised too high, you need to stop pouring first, wait for the liquid level to drop slightly, then use small water flow to add water.

3. If you want to slow down the extraction efficiency in the later stages, you can use small water flow for the final 20-30% of water volume.

Finally, throughout the entire pouring process, FrontStreet Coffee recommends that water flow variations should not be too extreme. When we mention increasing water flow, it's only relative to your current flow rate. For example, FrontStreet Coffee's main water flow rate during pouring is 5ml/s. If we need to increase the water flow, we only raise it to 6-7ml/s. Therefore, whether it's large flow or small flow, in essence, what you need to find is an appropriate water pouring rate.

Important Notice :

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FrontStreet Coffee Address: 315,Donghua East Road,GuangZhou

Tel:020 38364473