What Does "High, Fine, Fast, and Large" Mean in Coffee Brewing? How to Brew Sweet-Tasting Pour-Over Coffee?

Human joys and sorrows may not be universally shared, but our preferences for flavors tend to be remarkably similar. Most people, for instance, prefer sweetness over sourness or bitterness. That is why so many pour-over methods have been developed specifically to enhance the sweetness in coffee. Today FrontStreet Coffee will share the "High, Fast, Fine, Large" approach - one such method designed to create a sweet cup of coffee.

Like many enthusiasts, when FrontStreet Coffee first came across this peculiar name, we were quite puzzled. It seems disjointed and doesn't immediately reveal its brewing philosophy. On closer inspection, though, the distinctive name turns out to be quite direct. Each character in "High, Fast, Fine, Large" represents an extreme brewing parameter: extremely high water temperature, extremely fine grinding, extremely fast brewing (a shorter extraction time), and extremely large water flow. By combining these four extremes, we can quickly produce a cup of coffee with prominent sweetness. At this point you might ask: how exactly do these four parameters create sweetness?

The Science Behind Coffee Sweetness

First, we need to understand that the sweetness in coffee doesn't refer to a pure sweet taste, since coffee contains very few sugar compounds that would register as sweet on the palate. Instead, the sweetness we perceive comes mainly from sweet aromatics, as well as the sweet sensation that emerges through the balance of acidity and bitterness. (For a detailed explanation, see FrontStreet Coffee's article "Why Coffee Tastes Sweet Without Added Sugar.") If we want to highlight sweetness, then besides choosing beans with less bitterness and acidity and more abundant sweet aromatics - such as medium to light-medium roasts - we can also adjust brewing parameters to increase the proportion of sweetness in the cup and keep acidity and bitterness from overwhelming it.

How the "High, Fast, Fine, Large" Method Works

The approach lets coffee extract quickly while reducing the presence of bitter compounds. This is because the acidic, sweet, and bitter compounds in coffee dissolve at different rates owing to their varying molecular sizes. Acids dissolve fastest, sweet compounds next, and bitter compounds slowest. By completing the extraction in a short time, we can avoid a heavy dissolution of bitter compounds. Meanwhile, the extreme water temperature and grind ensure sufficient extraction within that short window, preventing under-extraction.

Important Considerations

It's important to note that, because the parameters are so extreme, this method is not suitable for dark roasted beans, which contain high levels of bitter compounds. Bitter compounds dissolve throughout the entire extraction, not only in the later stages, so brewing dark roast this way is very likely to over-extract. In other words, the method suits light-medium and light roasted beans. That said, let's get to the specifics. FrontStreet Coffee will now demonstrate how this works in practice.

Practical Brewing Demonstration

High, Fast, Fine, Large. Since this is a philosophy rather than a rigid recipe, we adjust the specific parameters to the beans we're using. That isn't hard - we simply make small adjustments to our usual routine. For this demonstration, FrontStreet Coffee is using the Sidamo Arlo from our bean selection. This light-medium roast offers a higher margin for error and suits the extreme approach well. It also has a remarkably high tropical-fruit sweetness, which has helped it stand out among Ethiopian beans in recent years.

Parameters are as follows:

Water temperature: 94°C (compared with 92°C for regular brewing)
Grind size: 9 on the EK43 (compared with 10 for regular brewing)
Coffee-to-water ratio: 1:16
Brewing method: single-pour technique
Dripper used: V60

Because roughly 85% of the water goes in during the second stage, we can use a small spoon or stirrer to make a small depression in the center of the coffee bed before the bloom. This helps the grounds wet and degas more evenly and thoroughly during the bloom.

For the brewing process, we begin by wetting the grounds with twice their amount of water, followed by a 30-second bloom.

After the bloom, we pour all the remaining target water in a large flow with circular movements. The pattern is flexible - large circles, small circles, or even back-and-forth spiral patterns like a mosquito coil all work.

Next, we simply wait for all the coffee liquid to drip into the server below, then remove the dripper to finish the extraction.

Total brewing time was 1 minute and 25 seconds, similar to the single-pour method but with more complete extraction. Using a refractometer, FrontStreet Coffee calculated that this Arlo coffee reached an extraction rate of 19.35% with a concentration of 1.31%.

Tasting Notes and Conclusion

Mango, pineapple, and citrus were the prominent notes FrontStreet Coffee identified when tasting this Arlo coffee. As the description promised, the sweetness was indeed pronounced. The mouthfeel was light, with an oolong-tea-like finish.

Interestingly, if we reverse the approach, we arrive at a completely different brewing philosophy: low water temperature, slow brewing, coarse grinding, and small water flow. That, too, can produce a sweet coffee, with the added benefit of a fuller mouthfeel. It also has greater "forgiveness" and works with dark roasted beans as well. FrontStreet Coffee won't go into detail on the reverse method here - you can explore it from the explanations above.

FrontStreet Coffee Recommendation

Because this method rewards beans that are naturally sweet and low in bitterness, FrontStreet Coffee's Ethiopia Huakui is a strong match. Its tropical-fruit aroma is striking, with strawberry, passionfruit, jackfruit, and even lychee showing up. Sweetness is obvious and bitterness is minimal, so the mouthfeel is smooth and full of juice - many drinkers call it "the coffee that tastes least like coffee," and it is exactly the kind of bean that shines under a fast, high-temperature pour.

If you'd rather start from the floral end of the spectrum, choose FrontStreet Coffee's Ethiopia Yirgacheffe Gudingding. This washed Yirgacheffe brings citrus, berries, and florals with a soft, bright acidity and a green-tea finish, and it is gentle enough to be an easy first specialty coffee while still rewarding the sweetness-first parameters above.