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# The pour-over method, step by step
- URL: https://syllabus.ghost-themes.apps.codememory.com/pour-over-method/
- Published: 2026-09-11T09:00:00.000Z
- Updated: 2026-09-11T09:00:00.000Z
- Description: A reliable 1:16 recipe, the bloom and how to adjust by taste and time.
- Author: Marco Bellini
- Tags: Coffee at Home, #chapter Brewing, #Import 2026-09-30 07:57

Pour-over is the simplest way to make clean, sweet, expressive coffee at home. You pour hot water over ground coffee in a filter and let gravity do the rest. It takes about four minutes and needs very little equipment. In this lesson you will learn a reliable recipe and the reasons behind each step.

![A kettle with a thin spout lets you pour slowly and exactly.](https://syllabus.ghost-themes.apps.codememory.com/content/images/2026/09/pour-kettle-1.jpg)

A kettle with a thin spout lets you pour slowly and exactly.

## What you need

- A pour-over dripper, with paper filters that fit it
- A burr grinder, or beans ground medium-fine
- A kettle, ideally with a thin "gooseneck" spout
- A digital scale that weighs in grams
- A timer (your phone is fine)
- A mug or a small jug

The scale matters more than people expect. Coffee is a recipe, and a recipe needs measurements. Scoops and "about a mug" give different results every day.

## The recipe

Our starting ratio is **1:16**: one gram of coffee to sixteen grams of water. For one large mug:

| Ingredient | Amount                                   |
| ---------- | ---------------------------------------- |
| Coffee     | 15 g, ground medium-fine                 |
| Water      | 250 g, just off the boil (about 93–96°C) |
| Total time | 3 to 3½ minutes                          |

Water that has boiled and rested for 30 seconds is close enough to the right temperature.

## Step by step

1. **Rinse the filter.** Put the paper filter in the dripper and pour hot water through it. This removes the papery taste and warms the dripper. Throw this water away.
2. **Add the coffee.** Put the ground coffee in the filter, shake it flat and put everything on the scale. Set the scale to zero.
3. **Bloom.** Start the timer and pour about 40 g of water, just enough to wet all the coffee. Wait 30–45 seconds. The coffee bubbles and rises as carbon dioxide escapes.
4. **Main pour.** Pour slowly in small circles, from the centre outwards and back, avoiding the paper. Reach 150 g by about 1:15.
5. **Final pour.** Pour to 250 g by about 1:45.
6. **Drain.** Give the dripper a gentle swirl to flatten the bed of coffee. Let it drain. It should finish between 3:00 and 3:30.

![The bloom: fresh coffee rises and bubbles as gas escapes.](https://syllabus.ghost-themes.apps.codememory.com/content/images/2026/09/pour-bloom-1.jpg)

The bloom: fresh coffee rises and bubbles as gas escapes.

💡

A flat bed of coffee at the end means the water flowed evenly. A deep crater or coffee stuck high on the paper means some of it was under-extracted.

## Why the bloom matters

Fresh coffee contains carbon dioxide. If you pour all the water at once, the gas pushes water away from parts of the coffee, and they under-extract. The bloom lets the gas escape first, so the rest of the water can reach every particle evenly.

## Adjusting the recipe

Use taste and time together:

- **Sour and fast** (under 2:45): grind finer.
- **Bitter and slow** (over 4:00): grind coarser.
- **Tastes right but weak:** use a stronger ratio, such as 1:15.
- **Tastes right but too strong:** use a weaker ratio, such as 1:17.

![Let the cup cool a little: sweetness and fruit show up as it does.](https://syllabus.ghost-themes.apps.codememory.com/content/images/2026/09/pour-cup-1.jpg)

Let the cup cool a little: sweetness and fruit show up as it does.

#### Do I need a gooseneck kettle?

No, but it helps. With a normal kettle, pour slowly and in several smaller pours. The aim is a gentle, steady flow.

#### What about tap water?

If your tap water tastes good, it will make good coffee. Very hard water makes coffee flat and chalky; a simple jug filter helps.

## Brewing for more people

To brew for two or three people, keep the ratio and scale everything up. For 500 g of water, use about 31 g of coffee. Grind a little coarser, as the deeper bed slows the flow, and split the main pour into three or four smaller pours. Expect a total time of about four minutes.

If your dripper is small, it may not hold enough coffee for more than two cups. In that case, brew twice or use a larger dripper. Overfilling makes the coffee extract unevenly.

## When the drain is too slow

A slow drain usually means the grind is too fine, but there are other causes:

- **Too many fines.** Some grinders make a lot of dust. The dust clogs the paper. A better grinder, or a coarser setting, helps.
- **Pouring too hard.** A strong, fast pour digs into the coffee and pushes fines into the filter. Pour gently.
- **Old beans.** Very old coffee often drains faster and tastes flat. Very fresh coffee may drain slowly because of gas.

## Making it a ritual

Many people love pour-over not only for the taste but for the few calm minutes it takes. Heat the water, weigh the beans, grind, bloom and pour. It is a small ritual that starts the day slowly, and it is one of the few kitchen tasks that rewards you for paying attention.

![](https://syllabus.ghost-themes.apps.codememory.com/content/images/2026/09/pour-g1-1.jpg)

![](https://syllabus.ghost-themes.apps.codememory.com/content/images/2026/09/pour-g2-1.jpg)

![](https://syllabus.ghost-themes.apps.codememory.com/content/images/2026/09/pour-g3-1.jpg)

Rinse, bloom and pour: the three moments that matter.

📌

Key takeaways: weigh everything, bloom for 30–45 seconds, pour slowly and adjust the grind by taste and time.

## Quick check

What is our starting ratio?

- 1:10
- **1:16**
- 1:25

Why do you rinse the paper filter?

- To make the coffee stronger
- **To remove the paper taste and warm the dripper**
- To cool the water down

The brew finished in 2:20 and tastes sour. What next?

- **Grind finer**
- Grind coarser
- Use more water