What is the best coffee-to-water ratio for pour-over?

About 1:16 to 1:17 by weight — roughly 60 grams of coffee per liter of water, or about 1 gram of coffee for every 16–17 grams (ml) of water. A common single-cup starting point is 22 grams of coffee to 360 grams of water. Weigh both on a scale; small changes in the ratio are easy to taste in pour-over. If it's weak and sour, use a touch more coffee; if it's bitter, use a touch less. You can dial it in with our coffee-to-water ratio calculator.

How do you make pour-over coffee, step by step?

Rinse the paper filter with hot water and discard it (removes papery taste and pre-heats the dripper). Add your ground coffee and level it. Start a timer and pour just enough water — about twice the coffee's weight — to wet all the grounds; let this 'bloom' for 30–45 seconds. Then pour the rest in slow, steady spirals in two or three stages, keeping the water level up but not overflowing. Aim to finish pouring by about 2:30 and have the cup drawn down by 3:00–3:30. Give it a swirl and serve.

What grind size is best for pour-over?

A medium grind — around the texture of table salt or sand. Too fine and the water drains slowly, over-extracting into bitterness (and clogging the filter); too coarse and it runs through fast, under-extracting into a thin, sour cup. A burr grinder matters here because pour-over needs a uniform grind to extract evenly — see the coffee grind size guide.

What water temperature is best for pour-over?

195–205°F (90–96°C) — just off the boil. Hotter than that scorches and over-extracts; cooler than about 195°F under-extracts into a sour, weak cup. If you don't have a variable-temperature kettle, boil the water and let it rest for about 30–45 seconds before pouring. A gooseneck kettle also makes the slow, controlled pour far easier.

How long should a pour-over take?

For a single cup, about 2:30 to 3:30 from the first pour to the last drip. Much faster than that usually means the grind is too coarse (thin, sour result) — grind finer. Much slower, especially with a stalling, sludgy bed, usually means the grind is too fine (bitter) — grind coarser. Adjust the grind first; it's the biggest lever on brew time.

How to Make Pour-Over Coffee: The Ratio, Grind, and Method

What you need

A dripper — V60, Chemex, Kalita Wave, or similar — and its paper filters.
A burr grinder — pour-over depends on a uniform grind, which a blade grinder can’t give (why burr beats blade).
A gooseneck kettle — for a slow, controlled pour; ideally variable-temperature (the best pour-over kettles).
A kitchen scale — the single biggest upgrade to consistency.
Fresh coffee and good water.

The four numbers that decide the cup

Ratio — 1:16 to 1:17. About 60 g of coffee per liter of water; ~22 g to 360 g for one big cup. Calculate any amount here.
Grind — medium, like table salt. See the grind size guide.
Water temp — 195–205°F, just off the boil.
Time — about 2:30–3:30 total.

Change one at a time and you can always tell what did what.

The method, step by step

Rinse the filter. Put the paper filter in the dripper and pour hot water through it into your cup, then discard that water. This removes the papery taste and pre-heats everything.
Add and level the grounds. Tip in your weighed coffee and shake it flat.
Bloom. Start a timer and pour just enough water — about twice the coffee’s weight — to wet all the grounds. Fresh coffee will puff up and release CO2. Wait 30–45 seconds; this even, degassed bed is what lets the rest of the water extract evenly.
Pour in stages. Pour the remaining water in slow, steady spirals from the center outward, in two or three additions, keeping the water level up but never overflowing the bed. Aim to finish pouring around 2:30.
Draw down and serve. Let it finish dripping (total 3:00–3:30) — a very slow drawdown means the grind is too fine or clogged with fines — give the cup a gentle swirl, and drink.

Fixing a bad cup

Problem	Cause	Fix
Bitter, harsh; brew stalled/slow	Grind too fine (over-extracted)	Grind coarser
Sour, thin, watery; brew ran fast	Grind too coarse (under-extracted)	Grind finer
Flat and weak	Not enough coffee, or water too cool	Lower the ratio (more coffee); use 195–205°F
Uneven, patchy taste	Poured too fast / channeling	Pour slower, in even spirals; bloom fully

Adjust the grind first — it’s the biggest lever. Keep the ratio and water the same while you dial it in.

Why pour-over is worth the effort

Pour-over gives you control a drip machine doesn’t: the bloom, the pour rate, and the exact ratio and temperature. Done well it produces a cleaner, brighter, sweeter cup that shows off good beans. The trade-off is that it’s hands-on and one cup at a time — which is exactly why the four numbers above matter. For the gear, start with a good pour-over kettle and a burr grinder; for a bigger, hands-off batch instead, a drip coffee maker is the tool. And for the ratio at any size, use the calculator.