What Are the Seven Elements of Pour-Over Coffee?

Pour-over coffee is the correct English term, not hand coffee. It means extracting coffee under one atmosphere of pressure with a dripper, filter paper, and a steady pour. Grind size, water temperature, pouring technique, and time all change the result, so the method rewards control and repeatable steps rather than guesswork.

Seven factors decide the final cup: fresh beans, correct coffee grinding, water quality, water temperature, the coffee-to-water ratio, pouring technique, and brewing time. The three-stage pour breaks the brew into a bloom and two main pours, which keeps extraction even for beginners still learning how to become a coffee expert at home.

The correct English term for pour-over coffee is "Pour over coffee," not the literal translation "Hand coffee." This brewing method, which extracts coffee liquid under one atmosphere of pressure using a dripper and filter paper with a steady pouring technique, has strict requirements for grind size, water temperature, pouring technique, and time, making it highly demanding of the brewer's skill and professional knowledge. This article will start from Front Street Coffee's practical experience, systematically outline the basic concepts of pour-over coffee, the seven key factors that determine flavor, and provide a detailed breakdown of the three-stage pouring process suitable for beginners, helping coffee enthusiasts brew a consistently aromatic and full-bodied cup of good coffee at home.

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How should pour-over coffee be expressed in English? Translating it literally as "Hand coffee" is clearly wrong, and terms like "Hand punch" are equally incorrect; the standard term should be "Pour over coffee." So what basic knowledge does pour-over coffee involve, and how can you make a delicious pour-over at home? Below, Front Street Coffee (FrontStreet Coffee) will explain each point for everyone.

What is pour-over coffee?

Pour-over coffee refers to the process of placing appropriately ground coffee powder into a dripper with filter paper under one atmosphere of pressure, and the brewer pouring hot water at the right temperature and volume over the coffee powder in a steady pouring rhythm to complete the extraction of coffee liquid. Since grind size, water temperature, pouring method, and brewing time all affect the flavor extraction results, this is a brewing method that places great emphasis on technique and professional coffee expertise.

Basic knowledge of pour-over coffee-----Seven elements of pour-over coffee

First, it's necessary to clarify what conditions are needed for pour-over coffee besides the equipment. Front Street Coffee (FrontStreet Coffee), based on past pour-over experience and basic knowledge, has summarized the following seven elements to help coffee enthusiasts understand pour-over coffee more intuitively.

1. Fresh coffee beans

Front Street Coffee (FrontStreet Coffee) believes that the optimal flavor period for coffee beans is 30 days. After 30 days, aroma molecules decrease with the release of carbon dioxide, so beans past their optimal flavor period often taste bland and flat when brewed. This is also why Front Street emphasizes "using freshly roasted coffee beans" every time before discussing brewing knowledge.

To brew delicious coffee, Front Street believes that choosing coffee beans that suit you is crucial. If you don't like coffee that's too bitter, it's recommended to choose light-roasted coffee beans with rich floral and fruity aromas, such as Front Street Little Tomato Coffee, Front Street Red Cherry Coffee, and Front Street Flower Chief Coffee; if you prefer a rich and full-bodied coffee, it's recommended to buy three dark-roasted beans: Front Street Golden Mandheling Coffee, Front Street Queen's Estate Coffee, and Front Street Huilan; in addition, Front Street Strawberry Candy Coffee, Front Street Higuero Coffee, and Front Street Mozart Coffee have attracted many enthusiasts due to their aromatic and sweet flavors. Front Street will use Strawberry Candy as today's main example.

2. Pour-over coffee grind size standard

At the same time, to ensure that each bean has the most suitable grind size for brewing, Front Street recommends buying a No. 20 cup test correction sieve with a mesh size of 0.85mm. We take 10g of coffee beans, adjust to an approximate grind size and grind into coffee powder, then pour it into the sieve for sifting, and weigh the sifted coffee powder (be sure to sift until no more coffee powder can pass through the sieve to complete the sifting). A passing rate of 80% (10g of powder can sift out 8g) is the most suitable grind size for medium-light roasted coffee beans, and a passing rate of 70%-75% (10g of powder sifts out 7-7.5g) is the most suitable grind size for medium-dark roasted coffee beans. If it exceeds the suitable sifting rate, adjust the grind size coarser; if it doesn't reach the suitable sifting rate, adjust the grind size finer.

3. Brewing water temperature

Front Street Coffee (FrontStreet Coffee) also chooses different water temperatures when doing pour-over for coffee beans of different roast levels. During roasting, the substances contained in coffee beans are lost as the roast level deepens, so dark-roasted coffee beans use lower temperatures to avoid extracting too many off-flavors. For medium-light roasted beans, Front Street Coffee (FrontStreet Coffee) recommends using a water temperature of 90-93°C, and for medium-dark roasted beans, a water temperature of 86-88°C is recommended.

4. Water quality

The mineral components in water, such as calcium, magnesium, sodium, and potassium mineral ions, affect the thermodynamic extraction ability of coffee, thereby changing the coffee's flavor. Front Street Coffee (FrontStreet Coffee) does not recommend using tap water directly heated for brewing, as tap water has many impurities, and the extracted coffee is prone to unpleasant experiences.

5. Brewing dripper selection

Front Street recommends that beginners choose the V60 01 dripper. The V60 conical dripper has a relatively large opening, and combined with its unique spiral curve ribs, air is more easily discharged, thereby improving extraction quality. The mouthfeel may not be full-bodied enough, but its high concentration bringing out acidity, sweetness, and distinct aroma is one of its major features.

6. Coffee-to-water ratio

This is the distinction in taste based on the pour-over coffee water-to-coffee ratio extraction parameters that Front Street Coffee (FrontStreet Coffee) derived from the SCA Golden Cup extraction theory:

【Bold taste】 1:10～1:11, i.e., 1:12.5～1:13.5 in the Golden Cup standard 【Moderate taste】 1:12～1:13 (i.e., 1:14.5～1:15.5 in the Golden Cup standard) 【Light and refreshing】 1:14～1:16 (i.e., 1:16.5～1:18.5 in the Golden Cup standard)

A coffee bean weight to brewing water ratio of 1:14.5～1:15.5 is most likely to achieve the golden range of 18%～22% extraction yield and 1.15%～1.35% concentration.

This is also why Front Street Coffee (FrontStreet Coffee) always recommends using a 1:15 ratio for brewing. Therefore, the information that Front Street Coffee (FrontStreet Coffee) summarizes from the above SCA extraction ratio parameters is:

(1) The larger the coffee-to-water ratio, the lighter the coffee taste; the smaller the coffee-to-water ratio, the stronger the coffee taste. (2) Increasing the water volume to raise the coffee-to-water ratio affects more flavor substances but results in a lighter taste; decreasing the water volume to lower the coffee-to-water ratio affects fewer flavor substances but results in a stronger taste. (3) Increasing the coffee dose to lower the coffee-to-water ratio reduces the extraction of large-molecule substances in the tail end of the coffee while making the taste stronger; decreasing the coffee dose to raise the coffee-to-water ratio, before reaching the extreme, extracts more complete flavor substances while reducing the intensity of the taste.

7. Brewing time

In coffee extraction, the aroma and flavor are strong and the concentration is high in the early stage. The further the extraction goes, the lighter the flavor and aroma become. At the same time, the amount of water poured also affects the coffee extraction time. Front Street Coffee (FrontStreet Coffee) generally uses 15g of powder; depending on the bean, with a 1:15 water-to-coffee ratio, the brewing time will be within 2 minutes to 2 minutes 30 seconds, which is unlikely to cause over-extraction or under-extraction.

Basic knowledge of pour-over coffee---- Pour-over coffee grind size standard

Secondly, the grind size of coffee beans for pour-over coffee also greatly affects the extraction of coffee beans. That is to say, even if the coffee-to-water ratio of pour-over coffee is well controlled, if the pour-over coffee grind is too coarse or too fine, it will affect the extraction of coffee flavor. For example, the finer the coffee bean powder is ground, the more easily it accumulates on the filter paper, the greater the extraction resistance, so the flow rate is slower and the extraction time is longer. The extraction yield of substances contained in the coffee is high, and the brewed coffee is also stronger;

Similarly, the coarser the grind, the larger the gaps in the coffee bed, the less coffee powder comes into contact with hot water, the weaker the extraction resistance, the faster the coffee drips, and the lower the extraction yield, so the coffee flavor is lighter. Therefore, merely changing the grind size can produce huge differences in coffee taste, which is why coffee grinding is so important.

Basic knowledge of pour-over coffee----Pour-over coffee brewing technique

Next is the last step of pour-over coffee, the pour-over coffee brewing technique! Currently, there are many different pour-over coffee brewing techniques seen in coffee shops, and commonly seen ones include the three-stage method, one-cut method, drip method, and so on. Here, Front Street Coffee (FrontStreet Coffee) recommends that beginners use the three-stage pouring method for brewing, because this technique is suitable for light-roasted, medium-light, and medium-roasted coffee beans. The segmented extraction method of three-stage pouring in pour-over coffee can clearly define the flavors of the coffee's front, middle, and back sections, and can relatively ensure the presentation of the coffee's flavor.

As Front Street Coffee (FrontStreet Coffee) mentioned above, the brewer should use a steady pouring method to pour water at the appropriate temperature and volume onto the coffee powder for coffee liquid extraction, in order to extract a delicious cup of coffee. After all, pour-over coffee can also be called an art. For example, cooking a dish requires not only fresh ingredients but also attention to heat control and the chef's skill. Pour-over coffee is naturally no exception. Next, Front Street Coffee (FrontStreetCoffee) will teach everyone how to do the three-stage pouring for pour-over coffee.

Pour-over coffee three-stage brewing technique:

First pour: Blooming (to help degassing)

Many coffee enthusiasts don't know the meaning of blooming in pour-over coffee. Actually, blooming is needed because coffee beans undergo a series of chemical reactions and physical changes during the roasting process from green beans to roasted beans. After reaching a certain degree of roasting, a large amount of gas (mostly carbon dioxide) accumulates inside the coffee beans.

Generally speaking, the fresher the beans and the closer to roasting, the more bubbles usually appear during blooming. Dark-roasted beans also release more gas during blooming than light-roasted beans. Front Street Coffee's (FrontStreet Coffee) coffee beans are all freshly roasted, so it is generally recommended that customers rest the beans for three days first, allowing the coffee beans to release carbon dioxide first, which can avoid instability and under-extraction problems during brewing.

After the gas is released during blooming, the coffee particles can absorb water evenly, allowing for even extraction later. A good bloom can allow the coffee powder to degas quickly and fully while also allowing the coffee powder to fully and quickly contact water, helping the coffee powder to be evenly extracted. These are precisely the purpose and significance of blooming in pour-over coffee.

During blooming in pour-over coffee, pay attention to the following four points:

1. Before pouring water for blooming, first level the coffee powder.

2. When pouring water during blooming, do it gently.

3. During blooming, the extracted liquid dripping down should be as little as possible; when too much extracted liquid appears in the server, reduce the amount of water poured, or pay attention to the grind size. (If too much water is used for blooming and a large amount of coffee liquid drips down, the fallen water does not stay but directly carries out substances from the outer layer of the coffee powder; the off-flavors and astringency of the coffee powder's outer layer also begin to dissolve out. The coffee brewed this way is both weak and has off-flavors from over-extraction. If the blooming water volume is insufficient and no water drips down at all, then the coffee powder has not absorbed enough water, and some coffee has insufficient degassing, causing under-extraction.) Based on this situation, Front Street Coffee (FrontStreet Coffee) through multiple blooming experiments found that pouring water equal to twice the coffee powder weight during blooming is relatively appropriate.

4. The blooming time is about 30 seconds. When the expansion of the coffee powder surface ends, you will see the coffee surface shrink, which means blooming is complete and you can begin pouring water. (In terms of time, if the blooming time is too long, the coffee is prone to bitterness and astringency; if the time is too short, the soaking is insufficient, and the coffee may have under-extraction or the coffee's flavor may not be fully presented.)

Generally speaking, the end time of blooming varies for each bean, but Front Street Coffee (FrontStreet Coffee) found that this is not conducive to beginners' operation. After all, what beginners value is standardization and ease of use. Therefore, under the condition that the coffee beans are still freshly roasted, Front Street Coffee (FrontStreet Coffee) recommends a blooming time of 30 seconds. Of course, experienced people can adjust the time themselves.

Second pour

The second pour starts from the center, with a small water stream injected into the bottom of the coffee bed. In order for the water stream's penetration force to be concentrated, the circular movement range should be small, about the size of a coin, and then spiral outward. From the start of the second pour, pay attention to the water volume; try not to exceed the height of the coffee bed, meaning that when the water stream circles close to the filter paper, you can stop pouring.

Third pour

As the originally thicker coffee bed near the filter paper edge becomes heavier from absorbing water, it slides down and thins as the water level drops. When the water level drops by half, you can proceed with the third pour.

From the start of the third pour, observe the extent of the water level drop. Similarly, start pouring from the center and circle outward, and do not let the water volume exceed the height of the coffee bed. At this time, you will also observe that the foam proportion has already covered the surface. The third pour should increase the tumbling of coffee particles, allowing all deposited particles to tumble and thereby dissolve soluble substances.

The rolling particles will begin to settle when water is stopped. At this point, it relies on the flow rate caused by the dropping water level to create friction among the coffee particles. So once water addition stops, the coffee powder particles sink downward, causing clogging, so pay special attention to the rhythm of water addition. If the water is stopped too many times, it is equivalent to letting the coffee powder particles soak in water all the time, which will cause the tail-end coffee extraction to produce astringency and off-flavors. If the water is stopped too many times, it is equivalent to letting the coffee powder particles soak in water all the time, which will cause the tail-end coffee extraction to produce astringency and off-flavors.

After completing the above steps last night, you can get a cup of aromatic pour-over coffee.

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