Updated on Nov. 19, 2024
Once you learn how to make pour-over coffee, you may never go back to drip. Our barista breaks it down in simple terms so you can always enjoy the perfect cup.
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If you stop at your local coffee shop for a daily pick-me-up, you’re easily spending $3 a day. That’s $90 a month and $1,080 a year. Whoa! And that doesn’t even include the cost of those irresistible pastry offerings like biscotti, bagels and slices of quiche—not to mention how much to tip. However, if you learn how to make pour-over coffee at home, it’ll taste just as delicious as coffee shop coffee. Plus, you’ll save time and money.
With more than four years of barista experience under my belt, I cannot recommend this coffee-making method enough. I’ve designed this recipe to be as delicious and beginner-friendly as possible so you can make craft coffee at home. (Take your coffee obsession one step further with our recommended coffee bar accessories for home baristas.)
Pour-over coffee is a method of brewing coffee that requires pouring hot water over coffee grounds in a filter; it’s also referred to as hand-brewed coffee. In a traditional drip coffee maker, water pours in a steady stream over the coffee grounds, and you have no control over how the coffee is extracted. The pour-over method puts you squarely in charge. No fancy equipment required! You just need a simple pour-over dripper, like these pour-over coffee makers tested by our Test Kitchen.
Since pour-over coffee is made by hand as opposed to an automatic coffee maker, the flavors and oils from the coffee grounds are extracted with precision, bringing out the optimal taste. Trust us, it’s one of the yummiest types of coffee. Plus, it’s an ideal method for brewing coffee for one, as you won’t end up wasting a whole pot. And without a doubt, a pour-over is an upgrade compared to a single-serve coffee maker.
If you’re wondering how much caffeine is in coffee, a pour-over has more than a drip coffee or cold brew. With a coarser grind and extra-hot water needed to brew, this higher-extraction method results in more caffeine per cup.
Much like the coffee from the best coffee shop in your state, pour-over coffee is artisanal coffee at its finest. It’s the epitome of fresh, homemade coffee. In the same way that there is simply no comparison between homemade baked goods and store-bought baked goods, there really is no comparison between a pour-over and instant coffee. The quality and freshness come through in every sip.
After a little bit of prep work, you’ll do four timed and weighed pours. Each of these pours will extract the fullest flavor possible from your coffee grounds. This recipe is designed for one serving in a standard coffee mug. (If you want to make more than one cup at a time, try using a French press to make your morning brew.)
Don’t worry if you don’t get it exactly right the first time. It takes practice! Your pour-over coffee will taste great, even if your weights are a bit off. Just do your best today and try again tomorrow.
We recommend using a coffee-to-water ratio of 1:15, meaning you’ll need 15 grams of water for every 1 gram of coffee. For one cup of coffee, we use:
Begin by heating your kettle of filtered water to a gentle boil. While the water is heating, use your scale to weigh out 25 grams of coffee beans. (Consider our Test Kitchen-Preferred coffee brands.)
Using a good burr coffee grinder or this affordable Hamilton Beach coffee grinder, grind the beans to a medium-coarse consistency, similar to the texture of rough sand.
Editor’s Tip: If you want to use pre-ground coffee beans, read the tips below.
Place a filter in your pour-over dripper. Then, while holding your dripper above a sink, gently trickle water from your kettle over the filter in a circular motion until the entire filter is wet. Let all excess water drain through.
Editor’s Tip: Pre-wetting the filter like this ensures that it will stay in place during your four pours and that your coffee will not have a papery taste.
Place the dripper on your mug of choice (cute coffee mug optional!), and set it on your scale. Add the coffee grounds to the filter, just like you would when making a whole pot of coffee. Set your scale to measure grams and tare the scale so that, with all of your equipment on top, it reads 0 grams.
Start your timer. With your kettle in hand, begin pouring water at the center of your coffee grounds in a circular motion, slowly working your way out to the rim of the coffee grounds without quite touching the rim. Allow the coffee to drip down. During this first pour, the coffee grounds will rise up a bit—this is called the bloom. The fresher the coffee is, the more of a bloom you will see.
When your timer reaches around 30 seconds, begin your second pour. Starting with the center of the coffee grounds once again, pour in a spiral motion slowly working outward and gradually working your way back toward the center. Allow this to draw down for about 30 seconds.
Around the 60-second mark, slowly pour more water, moving outward from the center and then back in, until the timer reaches about 1 minute and 30 seconds. Let the water draw down. As you finish pouring the rest of the water in a circular motion, try to capture any remaining coffee grounds. The scale should read about 375 grams when you’re finished. It may take a moment for the coffee to draw down completely.
Once complete, gently remove the dripper and toss the filter into the compost. Carefully remove your mug from the scale. And that’s it: You have just made yourself a perfect cup of joe. Cheers!
The best ratio for pour-over coffee is 1:15, so you’ll need 1 gram of coffee for every 15 grams of water. For this recipe, which makes a generous cup of joe, use 25 grams of coffee grounds and 375 grams of filtered water.
You certainly can make pour-over coffee with pre-ground coffee, but the more recently ground your coffee is, the fresher your pour-over will taste. So, we highly suggest investing in a manual coffee grinder and grinding coffee beans at home.
Your best bet is to support your local coffee shop and buy their freshly roasted coffee beans. If you want to grab something at the store, consider these sustainable coffee brands. Opting for coffee subscription boxes is another way to support independent coffee artisans.
I always use a scale for precision, but you can certainly make pour-over coffee without one. The measured amount of coffee to water is about 4 tablespoons of medium-ground coffee to about 1-1/2 cups of water. But feel free to experiment with a ratio that works for you. While the ratio is important, timing is everything when it comes to making a perfect pour-over.
The quality of the water affects the taste of your coffee, so we suggest using filtered water. However, if you don’t have access to it, it is completely fine to use tap water.
If your coffee tastes weak, try using a finer grind. It’s also possible that the coffee was brewed too quickly, which means there wasn’t enough time to fully extract the coffee grounds. Aim for that 2-minute and 30-second mark from the first pour to the final cup.
If your coffee tastes too bitter, you might need a slightly coarser grind. Also, if you brew too slowly, you can end up with over-extracted coffee. Again, timing is everything. Experiment to find your perfect pour-over recipe.
Yes! You may use this recipe to make coffee in a Chemex. However, many Chemex pour-over makers are designed to make three cups of coffee or more. In this case, multiply our recipe by the number of cups in your Chemex.
