What Is Pour Over Coffee? Method & Easy Recipe

You pour water by hand through a cone or flat-bed dripper (V60, Chemex, Kalita Wave). Control is the difference: you set pour speed, water placement and brew time, and can adjust mid-brew.

For a size-specific recipe with every pour worked out, use the V60 ratio calculator or the Chemex ratio calculator.

Five levers shape the cup: grind size, water temperature, pour rate, brew ratio and bloom. The paper filter removes most oils, giving a clean, bright cup that shows off single-origin character. The water temperature calculator adjusts the range for roast and altitude.

What you need:

• A dripper (V60, Kalita Wave or Chemex) and matching paper filter
• Freshly roasted coffee and a burr grinder
• A kettle, ideally gooseneck, and a digital scale with a timer
• A mug or carafe to brew into

Starting recipe: 20 g coffee to 320 g water (1:16), water at 92–96°C (198–205°F), a medium grind, at the finer end for a V60 (see the grind size chart), and a total brew time of about 3:30–4:00 for this 20 g brew (3:00–3:30 for a single 15–16 g cup). For other sizes, the pour over ratio calculator scales the recipe, and the V60 ratio calculator works out each pour.

1. 1

   Rinse the filter and preheat. Place the filter in the dripper, wet it with hot water, then discard that water. This removes paper taste and warms the dripper and mug.

2. 2

   Add the coffee and level it. Add 20 g of medium-ground coffee, shake gently to flatten the bed, and zero the scale.

3. 3

   Bloom (0:00). Pour 40–60 g of water (2–3 times the coffee weight) to wet all the grounds, then wait 30–45 seconds. Why the bloom matters.30–45 seconds

4. 4

   Pour in stages. Pour in slow spirals from the centre outward, avoiding the paper walls: to about 150 g, pause, then to 320 g by around 2:00.

5. 5

   Let it draw down. Let the water drain through the bed; it should finish around 3:30–4:00 total.

6. 6

   Swirl and serve. Remove the dripper, swirl the brew to mix it and serve straight away.

Wondering how this compares with a machine? See drip vs pour over coffee.

Pour over relies on gravity. Hot water passes through a bed of grounds and a paper filter, which traps oils and fine particles. The result is a bright, clear cup with defined flavours.

Because water is poured by hand, you control flow rate, agitation and contact time. Slower, gentler pours usually raise extraction; faster or more agitated pours change how quickly the bed drains.

The brew bed shape matters. Flat-bottom drippers tend to give a more even extraction, while cone drippers drain faster and are more sensitive to grind and pour technique.

Roasting traps CO2 in the bean. Blooming with 2–3 times the coffee's weight in water lets the gas escape before the main pour, so water contacts the grounds evenly. Vigorous bubbling also signals fresh coffee.

More in coffee bloom explained.

Medium, like rough sand, at the finer end for a V60 and a touch coarser for a Kalita or Chemex. Use drain time as the check.

Aim for 88–96°C (190–205°F) depending on roast; straight-off-the-boil water over-extracts bitterness.

No thermometer? Boiling water rested for two minutes is roughly 92–93°C, a safe default.

Kalita Wave suits beginners, V60 rewards control, Chemex suits batches.

1. 1

   Burr grinder. A blade grinder gives powder and chunks that taste sour and bitter together. Try the hand-powered Comandante C40 or electric Fellow Ode Gen 2.

2. 2

   Gooseneck kettle. Its narrow spout controls pour rate.

3. 3

   Digital scale with timer. A basic 0.1 g scale is enough.

4. 4

   Dripper and matching paper filters.

A certified machine like the Technivorm Moccamaster can come close to pour over with no effort; see drip vs pour over. Espresso is a different drink: pressure extracts oils for body and crema.

• Grind with a burr grinder. Even particles drain evenly; see burr vs blade grinders.
• Check your water. Chlorine or very hard water dulls flavour; filtered water with moderate minerals works better.

A gooseneck kettle helps, though it is not required. Try the pour over ratio calculator for recipe scaling, and read what coffee bloom is for the first pour.

Change one thing at a time, starting with the grind. Weighing coffee and water and timing each brew makes it much easier to see what changed. Our what is coffee bloom guide covers the first, and often overlooked, step. The step-by-step brew timer tells you when to pour and how much.

Keep a simple log of dose, grind setting, water and total brew time for each coffee. After a few brews, you will see which changes improve the cup and can repeat them quickly with the next bag.