Pour-Over Coffee Basics: Grind Size/Water Temperature/Technique/Ratio—Which Parameter Matters Most?

Many coffee enthusiasts visit FrontStreet Coffee after reading our articles, often taking the opportunity to discuss various coffee brewing challenges they encounter, especially regarding pour-over parameters. Once, a friend asked FrontStreet Coffee a thought-provoking question: With so many parameters affecting pour-over coffee, which one is truly the most important?

This friend asked this question because despite carefully following tutorials and striving to brew a perfect cup of coffee each time, the resulting flavors seemed to vary with every attempt. Whether the coffee tasted good or not felt entirely dependent on luck, leading them to wonder if something crucial was going wrong in their process. Taking this opportunity, FrontStreet Coffee would like to explore with everyone today which parameters determine coffee's flavor and which play the most critical role in extraction~

The Charm of Pour-Over Coffee: Change

Many of you have likely heard the saying, "Coffee is a mysterious art." For instance, you must cut off the tail end when brewing to prevent bitterness; you need to wet the filter paper before adding coffee grounds; the bloom should form a dome; coffee tastes better when you switch cups... When we don't understand the principles behind these operations, each one seems like "mysterious art." However, once we explore the logic behind them from a scientific perspective and thoroughly understand extraction and flavor, these questions naturally cease to be mysterious.

The same logic applies to parameters. Many details affect pour-over coffee. Every new bag of beans, every new filter cone, and every adjusted variable can create a completely new brewing experience. Based on experience, brewing a delicious cup of coffee离不开 six essential elements: water temperature, coffee-to-water ratio, grind size, pouring technique, time, and water quality. Among these, the first four receive the most attention. Time is influenced by the first three factors, and for water quality, you can refer to FrontStreet Coffee's previous articles. Now, let's break down each of these elements with FrontStreet Coffee.

Water Temperature

If you ask whether water temperature is important for extraction, FrontStreet Coffee believes it's important but not that critical. As a tool for adjusting extraction speed, higher temperatures more easily extract soluble substances. However, because excessively high water temperatures can cause coffee to release bitter flavors, it's best to choose a conservative range. Generally, most coffee beans on the market are suitable for brewing with water between 86-93°C.

Based on FrontStreet Coffee's experience, medium-light roast coffee beans that can withstand extraction can use 91-93°C, while dark roast beans that are less extraction-resistant are recommended to use 86-89°C. Coffee with both acidity and bitterness can be brewed directly at 90°C.

However, because water temperature is a parameter that's easy to control and its impact on flavor is relatively easy to understand, many enthusiasts fall into a misconception: that a 1°C difference is significant. For example, a customer purchased a bag of Sidra coffee beans and brewed them at home following FrontStreet Coffee's recommendation (91°C), finding the aroma weak and bitterness prominent. They instinctively thought the water temperature was too high. However, after reducing it by 1°C and then 2°C, they found the taste remained the same. After some discussion, we discovered the real culprit was grinding too fine.

FrontStreet Coffee has conducted experiments showing that coffee brewed at 91°C and 93°C have very similar flavors. Although there are subtle differences in taste, without direct comparison, it's difficult to notice significant variations. Therefore, as long as you don't use temperatures far from FrontStreet Coffee's recommendations above, when coffee shows noticeable abnormalities, we can confirm it's not the water temperature's fault - the problem might lie with other parameters.

Coffee-to-Water Ratio

The coffee-to-water ratio refers to how much coffee grounds you use and then inject the corresponding amount of hot water according to a fixed ratio. As the amount of water increases, more substances are extracted, increasing the extraction rate but lowering the coffee concentration. Therefore, choosing a ratio is essentially about controlling both extraction rate and concentration within a range that's pleasant to drink.

For example, FrontStreet Coffee's most commonly used ratio is 1:15, where 15 grams of coffee grounds correspond to 250 grams of water. Some enthusiasts find that coffee brewed with this ratio has too concentrated flavors and high intensity. In this case, they can increase the water proportion to 1:16 or 1:17, balancing the taste by increasing water volume while highlighting the coffee's aftertaste.

However, if the coffee concentration is moderate with no unpleasant mouthfeel, and the shortcomings are mainly reflected in insufficient aroma richness, FrontStreet Coffee doesn't recommend adjusting by changing the coffee-to-water ratio. Because once you deviate from the appropriate concentration, too much or too little water can easily lead to under-extraction or over-extraction.

Grind Size

Grind size is not only the number one challenge many beginners encounter but also a significant aspect of extraction. In fact, regardless of the coffee brewing method, grind size is of utmost importance. To achieve the right coffee flavor, we must ensure both appropriate grind coarseness and relatively uniform particle size, allowing coffee to release substances evenly when impacted by hot water. Operationally, the former requires finding the right grind setting, while the latter demands a grinder with good grinding quality.

For example, some beginners use analogy to determine coarseness, adjusting their grinder settings according to FrontStreet Coffee's "fine sugar" reference. However, they discover severe blockage when brewing coffee, thinking they haven't found the right grind setting, when in fact it's due to poor grinding quality. Because the final coffee bed looks like mud as shown in the picture below, and the brewing time often exceeds 2.5 minutes. There are two main solutions: either buy a tool to sieve out some extremely fine particles or directly switch to a grinder with better grinding quality.

Another issue that everyone pays more attention to is particle size. Simply put, the finer the grind, the more easily particles accumulate on the filter paper, creating greater resistance to water flow. Therefore, the drainage speed is slower, extraction time becomes longer, and the resulting coffee flavor will be more intense.

Because this parameter affects total time changes, baristas typically determine whether the grind setting is correct by combining extraction time and coffee flavor. It's simple: if the time is less than 1 minute 40 seconds with sharp acidity and thin taste, the particles are too coarse; if the time exceeds 2 minutes 20 seconds with bitterness and astringency, heavy and low notes, it might be ground too fine.

Pouring Technique

Pouring technique is a combination of details such as water distribution, flow rate, and pouring path. When the previous parameters are already set within reasonable ranges, pouring technique can be seen as a means to maintain the dynamic balance point of coffee.

Whether you use single-pour, three-stage, four-six method, or more elaborate tornado brewing, even extraction is our primary goal - that is, achieving even water distribution. The simplest way to judge is by observing the coffee bed after brewing. For specific situations, you can find answers in FrontStreet Coffee's article published last week, "Complete Guide to Pour-Over Coffee Beds!"

Compared to the previous visualizable parameters, pouring technique is more subject to human control, making it the biggest uncertainty factor. Therefore, if you're in the early stages of exploration and learning, FrontStreet Coffee recommends using more stable brewing methods, such as the three-stage approach. After all, this method allows you to brew any coffee bean as long as you master the water flow rate and circular motion, making it the "universal solution of pour-over coffee."

Of course, pouring technique can also be a flexible parameter that helps us achieve more complete extraction.

For example, FrontStreet Coffee planned to brew Colombia's Large Navel using regular parameters (15g coffee grounds, 1:15 ratio, 91°C, 80% sieve rate) with a three-stage method (30ml, 95ml, 100ml).

However, after pouring the second stage of water, all the coffee liquid flowed into the lower pot in less than 1 minute. To avoid insufficient extraction due to too short contact time between coffee and water, FrontStreet Coffee temporarily changed the pouring plan, splitting the remaining 100ml of hot water into two parts - 50ml + 50ml - poured slowly in small circular motions. This brought the total time to 1 minute 55 seconds, and the coffee presented a full, juicy sensation.

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FrontStreet Coffee

No. 10, Baoqian Front Street, Yandun Road, Dongshankou, Yuexiu District, Guangzhou, Guangdong Province

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