What's the Difference Between Single-Pour and Three-Stage Pouring? Which Pouring Technique is Best for Pour-Over Coffee? How to Perfect the Single-Pour Method?

Introduction to the One-Pour Method

Most coffee enthusiasts are likely familiar with the "one-pour method" (一刀流), as it's often one of the first brewing techniques beginners encounter when learning pour-over coffee. Additionally, because it's frequently compared with the three-stage method, there are numerous ways to learn about this approach.

The so-called one-pour method is a brewing technique that divides the target water volume into two portions for pouring. Its name originates from the "Ittō-ryū" school of Japanese swordsmanship, taking the meaning of "cutting with a single stroke." Due to its seemingly simple operation, many beginners are eager to try this method when first starting out.

The Challenge Behind Simplicity

Despite appearing to be such a simple brewing method, it's actually the most difficult to master among all brewing techniques! FrontStreet Coffee isn't exaggerating—those who have used the one-pour method know that issues like weak coffee flavor, sharp acidity, and single-dimensional taste are very common. The reason for this is that after blooming, the remaining water needs to be poured in one continuous stream.

FrontStreet Coffee recommends beginners to use the three-stage brewing method not because it produces better coffee than the one-pour method, but because compared to the one-pour method, the three-stage approach is much simpler for brewing a good cup of coffee. In the article "Why Should Pour-Over Coffee Be Brewed in Multiple Stages?", FrontStreet Coffee mentioned in detail that multi-stage brewing methods like the three-stage approach make it easier to brew good coffee because the target water volume is divided into multiple portions, giving us more opportunities to adjust coffee extraction (time, extraction rate) with a higher margin for error.

Technical Requirements of the One-Pour Method

With the one-pour method, nearly 90% of the water is poured in one continuous stream, leaving no room for correction—success or failure is determined in this single action. The size and height of the water flow directly affect the overall extraction of the coffee. Pouring too quickly or with too much water can lead to insufficient extraction time, potentially resulting in under-extracted coffee; while pouring too slowly or with too little water can cause excessive extraction time, increasing the likelihood of over-extraction. Therefore, if we want to brew a good cup of coffee using the one-pour method, controlling the water flow is an indispensable skill.

In addition to technique, a suitable set of extraction parameters is also necessary for brewing good coffee with the one-pour method. Most friends use the same parameters when comparing the one-pour method with the three-stage method. Unsurprisingly, the coffee brewed with the one-pour method typically falls short—for example, it might have a thinner body and some under-extraction.

This is because the water pouring in the one-pour method has lower extraction efficiency compared to the three-stage method. Under the same parameters, coffee brewed with the one-pour method will naturally have a slightly lower extraction rate than the three-stage method. When we use brewing parameters specifically designed for multi-stage methods for comparison, the one-pour method naturally cannot produce an equally delicious cup of coffee. Therefore, besides technical control, the one-pour method also requires parameters that provide higher efficiency. Conversely, the brewing parameters for the one-pour method are not necessarily suitable for multi-stage methods, because the efficiency provided by these parameters is too high, which can easily lead to over-extraction when paired with multi-stage brewing.

Understanding the Method's Nature

In summary, everyone can now understand why the one-pour method is both the easiest to learn and the most difficult to master. "Easy to learn but difficult to master" is a perfect idiom to describe the one-pour method. "Easy to learn" refers to its simple operation—understandable at first glance; "difficult to master" refers to its higher requirements for both parameters and technique, making it more challenging to brew a good cup of coffee compared to other methods.

How to Brew Good Coffee with the One-Pour Method

If we want to use the one-pour method to brew good coffee, we first need to understand the characteristics of what we're brewing (coffee beans), such as whether the roast is dark or light, whether the density is high or low, and other key information. Then, based on the characteristics of the coffee beans, we can develop a corresponding brewing plan (technique and parameter settings).

For example, light roast beans have the characteristics of high density and are difficult to extract (relative to dark roast beans), so brewing them requires higher water temperature and finer grinding. When using the one-pour method, besides the parameters, we also need to pay attention to using a small water flow during pouring to extend extraction time and increase extraction rate.

When brewing dark roast beans, the opposite is true. Because they are more brittle and easier to extract, we use coarser grinding and relatively lower water temperatures. At the same time, we can also use a larger water flow to build up a coffee powder wall, creating more layers (but the water temperature should be higher). If we're pursuing a rich body, we can use a small water flow for brewing.

Generally speaking, the parameters used for the one-pour method can be directly adjusted based on the three-stage method's parameters. Take water temperature as an example—the water temperature used for the one-pour method can be 1-2°C higher than that used for the three-stage method. If we use 92°C water when brewing light roast coffee with the three-stage method, then when using the one-pour method, the water temperature can be 93°C. The same applies to grinding—the one-pour method can use one setting finer than the three-stage method.

Practical Demonstration

Alright, now FrontStreet Coffee will demonstrate how to use the one-pour method to brew a good cup of coffee! The coffee beans used this time are light roast Panama · Butterfly, brewed with water temperature at 93°C, ground to Ek43 setting 9 (the three-stage method uses setting 10), with a coffee-to-water ratio of 1:15, paired with a V60 dripper.

Following convention, we first use twice the amount of coffee powder for a 30-second bloom. Since we're using 15g of coffee powder, we pour 30ml of water for blooming.

After the bloom ends, we use a small water flow to slowly pour in circles from inside to outside with all the remaining hot water (195ml). Because the water is poured in one continuous stream, the water level will continuously rise as the seepage speed is slower than the pouring speed. At this point, we can observe whether coffee powder is clinging to the walls of the dripper. If the coffee powder continuously floats up as the water level rises, then we can maintain the same rate for pouring.

If we see the water level rising but the coffee powder doesn't "follow," this means the coffee density is too high, and it cannot build up a powder wall as the water level rises. At this point, we need to appropriately reduce the water flow to prevent water from seeping through areas without coffee powder, forming bypass water that would affect the coffee's extraction and concentration. Since the Butterfly beans didn't exhibit the described situation, FrontStreet Coffee maintained the same rate for circular pouring. After completing the target water volume, the time reached 1 minute and 24 seconds. At 2 minutes, all the coffee liquid had permeated through, at which point we could remove the dripper and end the extraction.

Tasting Results

Through tasting, we can determine that this cup of Butterfly coffee was fully extracted. Not only is the sweetness prominent, but the flavors are also very distinct: white floral notes, citrus, honey, and green tea are the flavor characteristics displayed by this cup of Butterfly coffee.

However, this cup of Butterfly coffee brewed with the one-pour method still has some differences compared to the three-stage method, mainly in terms of mouthfeel. Because the one-pour method incorporates immersion extraction, besides drip extraction, the coffee is immersed for a period of time. Therefore, the extraction rate of this method won't be as high as the three-stage method, but because of this, the coffee will have a more balanced flavor profile due to the more uniform extraction of the coffee powder.

Important Notice :

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