How Does Roast Level Change Your Pour-Over Coffee-to-Water Ratio?

A pour-over coffee-to-water ratio of 1:15 is a reasonable starting point for most beans, and the roast level tells you which way to move from there. Light roasts generally work better with a longer ratio such as 1:16 or 1:17 because they need more water to draw out flavor, while dark roasts hold up better with a tighter ratio around 1:13 to 1:15.

The recommendation comes from brewing trials using 1:13, 1:15, and 1:17 on light, medium, and dark beans, with grind size and water temperature held constant. The ideal extraction yield sits between 18% and 22%, with concentration between 1.15% and 1.45%. Without a refractometer at home, taste is the practical guide: adjust the ratio before changing grind size.

When brewing pour-over coffee, you've adjusted the temperature and grind size, but the taste still isn't as expected? The problem likely lies in the coffee-to-water ratio. The amount of water directly affects the flavor expression and mouthfeel layers of the coffee: too little water makes it overly strong, with flavors crammed together and hard to distinguish; too much water makes it overly weak, even like a cup of water with a hint of coffee flavor. This article starts from the theoretical range of the Golden Cup extraction, combines actual brewing tests with light, medium, and dark roast levels, analyzes the performance differences of three coffee-to-water ratios—1:13, 1:15, and 1:17—on different beans, and explains why light roast beans are suited to a longer ratio while dark roast beans are better with a tighter ratio. Finally, it will explain how the coffee-to-water ratio adjusts with different brewing devices.

With the same temperature and grind size, do you still feel the brewed coffee isn't ideal? It might be related to the coffee-to-water ratio you choose!

| How important is the coffee-to-water ratio to a cup of coffee?

When making pour-over coffee, the amount of water has a significant impact on the coffee's flavor. Different coffee-to-water ratios affect the flavor, mouthfeel, and more that the coffee presents. With too little water, it's overly rich, with flavors clustered together and not clear enough; with too much water, it's overly light, even tasting like a cup of water with coffee flavor.

We all know that the ideal extraction yield range considered by the Golden Cup is within 18%—22% , and the concentration range is within 1.15%—1.45% . But we don't usually have those devices at home to test concentration, so how do we know what coffee-to-water ratio is suitable for a bean?

For the light, medium, and dark roast levels, the editor selected [Front Street Panama Butterfly], [Front Street Yemen Mocha], and [Front Street Jamaica Blue Mountain] for this experiment, and tried coffee-to-water ratios of 1:13, 1:15, and 1:17 respectively.

[Front Street Panama Butterfly]: BG grind size 5M (60% passing through China standard No. 20 sieve), water temperature 90℃, coffee-to-water ratios: 1:13, 1:15, 1:17, brewing time (timed from the start of blooming): 1'55", 2‘10”, 2‘27”.

[Front Street Yemen Mocha]: BG grind size 5R (56% passing through China standard No. 20 sieve), water temperature 89℃, coffee-to-water ratios: 1:13, 1:15, 1:17, brewing time (timed from the start of blooming): 1'50", 2‘05”, 2‘14”.

[Front Street Jamaica Blue Mountain]: BG grind size 6M (50% passing through China standard No. 20 sieve), water temperature 85℃, coffee-to-water ratios: 1:13, 1:15, 1:17, brewing time (timed from the start of blooming): 1'35", 1‘46”, 1‘57”.

The editor tried these three coffee-to-water ratios respectively, and personally feels that the coffee-to-water ratio for light roast beans can be appropriately extended, while medium and dark roast beans are more suited to a smaller coffee-to-water ratio.

After roasting, the structure of coffee beans becomes loose and brittle, and the flavor substances inside are more easily extracted, which is why undesirable flavors appear after extending the coffee-to-water ratio. Moreover, dark roast beans mostly emphasize black chocolate, caramel flavors, and a rich mouthfeel. If the coffee-to-water ratio is extended, the overall taste becomes lighter and loses the characteristics of dark roast beans.

For light roasting, since the roasting time is shorter than medium and dark roasts, the damage to the coffee bean's structure is not as severe as with medium and dark roast beans. The flavor molecules are locked in more tightly, especially for high-altitude beans with harder texture, which are more resistant to extraction. So even after extending the coffee-to-water ratio, undesirable flavors are less likely to appear.

However, the coffee-to-water ratio is not fixed; it changes according to the brewing device. For example, when making espresso, the ratio is mostly 1:1.5 or 1:2; for cold drip coffee, it's 1:10, and so on. To get a delicious cup of coffee, you should choose the parameters you want based on your understanding of the bean, and then extract a cup of coffee you're satisfied with~

The above content is compiled by CoffeeHunters, a coffee news website.