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The Correct Pour-Over Coffee Brewing Method! What Is the Core Concept of the Three-Stage Approach? How to Brew Coffee with Coffee Grounds? Is There Skill to Making Coffee?

Published: 2026-01-27 Author: FrontStreet Coffee

Last Updated: 2026/01/27, To replicate the delicious coffee enjoyed in coffee shops at home, some friends not only purchase the same coffee beans but also adopt identical parameters and methods for brewing. Unexpectedly, the brewed coffee often falls short of expectations, always missing that final touch of excellence. Why?明明都是同样的豆子，同样的比例

To replicate delicious coffee at home that tastes like what you'd get in a coffee shop, besides buying the same coffee beans, some friends also use the same parameters and methods for brewing. Unexpectedly, the brewed coffee always falls short of expectations, consistently missing that mark of being truly delicious. Why is that? Despite using the exact same beans, same ratio, same grind, same water temperature, you still can't achieve that ideal flavor!

The reason isn't difficult to understand. FrontStreet Coffee often compares coffee bean roasting and brewing to the cooking process, and in fact, it's exactly the same. We can imagine it this way: when we want to replicate a signature dish from a master chef, simply relying on the detailed data recorded in the recipe is far from enough! Because the recipe only tells you how this dish performs under normal circumstances, while in actual cooking, many unexpected events always occur, such as insufficient heat, inadequate marination, and so on. The same principle applies to brewing! Even if your parameters and materials are completely consistent with those of the coffee shop, if your understanding of brewing isn't thorough enough, making a good cup of coffee will still be a matter of probability.

Therefore, besides brewing parameters, our understanding of the brewing process is equally important. And understanding isn't difficult—it just requires breaking down this process! At this point, some friends might ask: How exactly do we break it down?

It's quite simple: break it down based on the purpose of water-coffee contact! Currently, most pour-over brewing mainly consists of three stages: blooming, main extraction, and adjustment. So now, let FrontStreet Coffee share what these stages represent!

Stage One: Blooming

Just in the past couple of days, FrontStreet Coffee mentioned the importance of the blooming step in pour-over extraction. Coffee beans accumulate a large amount of gas due to roasting, and the presence of this gas (carbon dioxide) hinders hot water from extracting flavor compounds. Therefore, we need to use a small amount of hot water to "guide" these gases out, reducing the impact of carbon dioxide on subsequent extraction. This process is called—blooming.

Generally, the blooming stage uses twice the amount of water as coffee grounds, then waits for 30 seconds to allow the coffee grounds to degas. Because twice the amount of hot water is approximately what dry coffee grounds can absorb, and waiting 30 seconds provides ample time for the coffee grounds to degas. For beginners or friends who don't understand the principle, this formula is very reliable. However, if we want to understand blooming more deeply and ensure its effectiveness, we need to judge the blooming time based on the water storage capacity of the coffee bed after wetting, to achieve "perfect blooming." For details, you can refer to this article "How to Achieve Perfect Blooming"~

Stage Two: Main Extraction

After blooming, we enter the main extraction stage of coffee. Typically, 90% of the substances in a cup of coffee are released during this stage. Therefore, we need to use a relatively large amount of water to perform the extraction. Generally, we use about 60% of the total water volume in this stage. This makes it the most difficult stage to control.

Because the amount of water injected is relatively large, to ensure hot water can play its maximum role, FrontStreet Coffee recommends choosing a segmented approach based on your proficiency with water control! Typically, we would pour this portion of hot water all at once, but if you're a newcomer to pour-over, it's best to divide this stage's water volume into two segments, like the four-six brewing method~ (Gateway: "Four-Six Brewing"). By reducing the amount of water poured in each segment, you ensure hot water can fully contact the coffee grounds, avoiding excessive bypass water that would affect the coffee's flavor and concentration.

Stage Three: Adjustment

Since we've already extracted about 90% of coffee substances in the second stage, the final extraction segment is for adjustment! What are we adjusting? The coffee's concentration and flavor!

Although most substances have been extracted in the second stage, the concentration is too high for direct consumption. Therefore, we need to dilute the concentration through the third extraction segment to make the coffee more suitable for drinking. However, the third stage of extraction most easily brings out bitter and undesirable substances from coffee, because sweet and sour substances have already been mostly released in the second stage, leaving only small amounts of sweet and sour substances in the coffee grounds, with everything else being bitter and undesirable compounds. Bitter substances are necessary for a cup of coffee because they can reduce the impact of sour substances and enhance the coffee's body. However, moderation is key! Bitter substances should exist without being prominent—that's the direction we need to control. Therefore, during the extraction process, we need to constantly observe the state in the filter cup to be ready to make adjustments at any time, preventing excessive release of bitter substances that would affect the entire cup's flavor. Specific observation targets can be time or flow rate.

For example, when the second stage takes too much time or the flow rate is too slow, it means continuing with the original pouring method will likely risk over-extraction! We should increase the water flow or reduce the penetrating force of the water flow and stirring amplitude to decrease extraction efficiency and avoid over-extraction; whereas if the second stage takes too little time or the flow rate is too fast, we need to increase extraction by extending the extraction time (reducing water flow) or strengthening stirring intensity to avoid under-extraction.