Does the Water Level in Pour-Over Coffee Affect Flavor and Taste? What's the Ideal Height for Coffee Liquid Surface?

Recently, a friend who visited the store discussed pour-over details with FrontStreet Coffee. This friend followed FrontStreet Coffee's brewing method, but the result was different from what they drank in the store. So FrontStreet Coffee had him demonstrate his brewing process. It turned out the difference lay in the water level height.

How Does Water Level Affect Coffee?

In pour-over recipes, it's generally not specified exactly what height the water level should reach, nor is it refined to the start and end times of each water pour. Much of this depends on the brewer's habits and understanding.

Therefore, for beginners who are still exploring, there are many uncertain factors.

The filter cups we use for brewing coffee are shaped like an inverted cone. To avoid blockage, the inner walls of the filter cup are designed with some raised flow ribs or recessed flow channels. It is precisely because of this feature that when the water load at high levels is several times that of low levels, the drainage speed at high levels can still remain consistent with that at low levels, or even slightly faster. In this way, coffee liquid at high levels actually flows faster than coffee liquid at low levels. At the same time, the total extraction time for high-level brewing will be a few seconds faster than for low-level brewing.

In FrontStreet Coffee's multiple practical feedbacks, when brewing the same coffee beans, raising the water level to a higher position results in more vibrant acidity, clearer flavor layers, and a lighter mouthfeel.

When the water level is kept at a lower position, the overall coffee texture becomes richer and fuller, highlighting the sweetness.

How to Apply This in Practice?

When brewing coffee beans with floral and fruity acidity, FrontStreet Coffee suggests raising the water level after the bloom. The height of the water level should depend on the amount of coffee grounds and the freshness of the coffee. For example, when using a small filter cup with 15g of coffee grounds, raising the water level to 1/2 to 1/3 of the short ribs will result in clearer and brighter flavor expression rather than focusing on texture.

However, if you raise the water level even higher, it might cause the coffee to have a watery taste. This is because 15g of lightly roasted coffee grounds cannot form a coffee bed higher than 1/2 of the V60's short ribs. Without the barrier of the coffee bed, water will flow directly from the edges.

If you're using 20g of coffee grounds, the water level can rise to a height level with the small V60 filter cup. This is also why it's not recommended to use small filter cups to brew more than 20g of grounds.

Low water levels are suitable for anaerobic coffee beans that are easy to brew out coffee flavors, or for sun-dried/honey-processed coffee beans that need to highlight high sweetness. Still using 15g of coffee grounds in a small V60 as an example, the water level height should be approximately at the bottom of the short ribs.

Maintaining a lower water level allows hot water to more concentratedly extract the coffee. Coffee brewed this way will have relatively weaker acidity, subsequently highlighting the high sweetness of tropical fruits.

Important Notice :

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