Brewing May 10, 2026 6 min read
Five tips for a better pour over
Simple techniques to bring out clarity and flavour in every cup, using the kit you already own.
Written by Mara Lind
Most people who tell us their home coffee is disappointing are doing one of five things, and none of them require buying anything. Here is the short version of the conversation we have across the counter most mornings.
1. Weigh the coffee
Not a scoop, not a heaped spoon — a scale. Sixty grams of coffee per litre of water is the ratio we use on the bar, which works out to about 18g for a large mug. A scoop can be out by a third either way, and a third is the difference between sweet and sour.
2. Let the kettle sit
Water straight off a rolling boil scalds the grounds and pulls bitterness. Take the kettle off, count to thirty, then pour. You are aiming for around 94°C and that half-minute gets you there without a thermometer.
3. Bloom, and mean it
Pour just enough water to wet the bed — roughly twice the weight of the coffee — and wait forty seconds. You will see it swell and hiss as it releases carbon dioxide. Skipping this is the single most common mistake, and it makes everything after it uneven.
4. Pour in circles, slowly
Keep the water moving in a steady spiral from the centre outwards, and never pour down the sides of the filter. The whole brew should take three to four minutes. If it is running through in ninety seconds your grind is too coarse; if it stalls past five, too fine.
5. Taste it before you change anything
Sour and thin means under-extracted: grind finer. Bitter and drying means over-extracted: grind coarser. Change one variable at a time and write it down. Three mornings of that and you will have dialled in your grinder for good.
