Choose your beans, the best coffee for pour over
Step 1: Choose the right coffee
Great pour over starts with the right beans, not the gear.
- Look for freshly roasted, whole bean coffee for pour over. Grind right before brewing to lock in aroma and sweetness.
- Specialty coffee for pour over and small batch roasted coffee for pour over will give you cleaner, more complex flavor than bulk grocery coffee.
- Use single origin coffee for pour over when you want to taste a specific origin clearly.
- Ethiopian coffee for pour over often gives a bright, fruit forward coffee for pour over experience.
- Colombia coffee for pour over is usually more chocolatey coffee forpour over, smooth and comforting.
- If values matter to you, choose organic coffee for pour over or fair trade coffee for pour over from Harlo Coffee Roasters.
All of these fall into what people call third wave pour over coffee, where quality, traceability, and flavor are the focus.
Measure your coffee and water, simple pour over coffee ratio
Step 2: Dial in your coffee to water ratio
A good recipe makes your life easier, especially if you are new and want the best pour over coffee for beginners.
- Start with a 1 to 16 ratio:
20 grams of coffee
320 grams of water - This works for most premium pour over coffee beans and keeps the cup balanced, not too strong or too weak.
If the coffee tastes thin, use a little more coffee. If it tastes heavy or harsh, use a bit less. This is how you move from a basic pour over coffee recipe into something tuned to your own taste.
Set your grind size for balanced pour over coffee
Step 3: Grind size and why it matters
Grind size is one of the most important parts of a pour over coffee guide.
- Aim for a medium grind, similar to coarse sand or kosher salt. This is usually the best grind size for pour over.
- Too fine: the water takes too long to pass through, the coffee tastes bitter and harsh.
- Too coarse: the water flies through, the coffee tastes sour or watery.
When you use artisan coffee beans for pour over, grinding well is how you unlock what the roaster worked so hard to create.
Heat your water to the right temperature for pour over
Step 4: Heat your water correctly
Water temperature affects how flavor is pulled out of your pour over coffee beans.
- Target about 200°F or 93°C.
- If you do not have a thermometer, boil the water and let it sit for around 30 seconds.
Cooler water under-extracts, giving a flat, sour cup. Hotter water can over-extract, giving bitter notes, even with the best beans for pour over.
Prep your filter and brewer for clean pour over flavor
Step 5: Prepare your filter and brewer
- This is a small step, but it improves taste.
- Place your brewer on your mug or carafe.
- Put the paper filter in the brewer.
- Rinse the filter with hot water to remove paper taste and preheat the vessel.
- Dump out the rinse water.
- Add your ground coffee, level it with a gentle shake.
- Now your gear is ready to show off your gourmet pour over coffee from Harlo Coffee Roasters.
Bloom the coffee for better pour over extraction
Step 6: Bloom the coffee
Blooming is where a lot of home brewers miss out, especially if they are just starting with the best pour over coffee for beginners.
- Start a timer.
- Pour about twice the weight of the coffee in water. For 20 grams of coffee, pour about 40 grams of water.
- Make sure all the grounds are evenly wet.
- Let it sit for 30 to 45 seconds.
Fresh freshly roasted coffee for pour over will puff up and release gas. This step helps your later pours flow evenly and improves sweetness and clarity in the cup.
Pour in slow circles for even pour over brewing
Step 7: Pour in slow, steady phases
Now you build the actual brew.
- After the bloom, pour in slow circles over the coffee bed, avoiding the filter walls.
- Add water in two or three stages until you reach your total water amount, for example 320 grams.
- Keep the water level steady so the bed stays flat and does not collapse.
You are aiming for a total brew time of about 2 and a half to 3 and a half minutes. That sweet spot usually gives rich flavor without bitterness, especially with specialty coffee for pour over.
If it runs much faster, your grind is likely too coarse. If it drips for much longer, the grind is probably too fine.
Taste, adjust, and dial in your pour over recipe
Step 8: Taste and adjust
This is where you grow from following pour over coffee instructions to brewing like a barista.
- If the coffee is sharp or sour, try a slightly finer grind next time or a bit more coffee.
- If it tastes bitter or heavy, try a slightly coarser grind or a little less coffee.
- Notice how Ethiopian coffee for pour over highlights bright, fruity notes and how Colombia coffee for pour over leans into smooth, chocolatey coffee for pour over flavors.
Over time, this is how you turn Harlo’s whole bean coffee for pour over into your own version of cafe style pour over coffee at home.
Taste, adjust, and dial in your pour over recipe
Step 9: Make it your ritual
Pour over is not just a method. It is a small daily ritual.
When you slow down with Harlo Coffee Roasters and use premium pour over coffee beans, specialty coffee for pour over, and small batch roasted coffee for pour over, you get a cup that feels like a treat, not just caffeine.
It also makes one of the best pour over coffee for gifts. A bag of Harlo’s gourmet pour over coffee plus a simple brewer lets your customers or friends recreate this experience at home.
