How to Make a Perfect Pour Over Coffee

If you've ever been “pour-over-curious,” you’ve come to the right jargon-free place. Think of a pour over as a super-clean, flavor-forward brew where you manually pour hot water over coffee grounds held in a filter, where gravity then does the rest. It’s one of the most satisfying, hands-on ways to make coffee, and something you can often see our baristas doing at Stone Creek Cafes. 

We know you're serious about getting it right. That’s why we’ve got your back from start to finish (have you checked out our handy How to Make a Great Cup of Coffee and How to Make A Cappuccino guides?). Now let’s dive deep into the magic of pour over coffee ratio, how to make pour over coffee, and everything in between.

What Is Pour Over Coffee?

Simply put, pour over coffee is a gravity-powered extraction brewing method. You set ground coffee in a filter-lined dripper (think paper or metal), slowly pour hot water over the top, let it drip through, and voilà - delicious coffee. It gives you unmatched control over flavor, clarity, and brew strength.

Why the Pour Over Coffee Ratio Matters

The heart of a brew that sings is the pour over coffee ratio—the amount of coffee to water. Nailing this ratio ensures you're not under-extracted (that sad, sour taste) or over-extracted (bitter and burnt). The sweet spot? Stick around.

• For pour over, aim for a water-to-coffee ratio of 16:1 (that means 16 grams of water for every 1 gram of coffee). This gives a balanced, bright cup.

• Want to play with bolder or lighter brews? Tweak the ratio just a bit: 15:1 will be a bit more bold, and 17:1 will brighten things up a touch. 

• Some coffee nerds prefer a broader range from 1:14 to 1:20, adjusting based on how strong or gentle they want their sip. Experimenting is half the fun!

Step-by-Step: How to Make Pour Over Coffee (Stone Creek Style)

What You’ll Need:

• A gooseneck kettle (for that precise pour)

• Pour over dripper like the Hario V60

• Filter (paper is classic; metal or washable fabrics will add some body but cost you some clarity)

• Coffee scale (accuracy is everything)

• Freshly ground beans (medium grind, table-salt texture)

• Hot, filtered water (205°F / 96°C is ideal)

The Recipe:

Now for some math. Let’s say we want to brew 360 g of coffee (approx 12 oz). With a 16:1 ratio, you’ll need:

• 26 g of coffee

• 360 g of water

The Method: For this purpose, let’s assume we’re using the Hario V60. 

1. Rinse & Prep

Place the filter in your V60 and rinse thoroughly with hot water to remove paper taste and preheat your dripper. Discard the rinse water.

2. Add Coffee

Pour 26 g of freshly ground coffee into the filter, gently shaking to level the bed.

3. Bloom (0:00–0:30)

Start your timer and pour 50 g of hot water. Excavate and stir grounds for 30 seconds.

4. Pour (0:30–1:45 to 2:30)

Slowly pour water in small, steady circles, keeping the water level consistent. Avoid pouring directly on the filter walls. Pour until you reach your total water weight of 360 g. Gently swirl coffee as it drips down, ensuring a flat surface. Let the water drain completely and gently swirl the brew.

5. Serve & savor

 Breathe in that aroma and sip slowly!

Why You’re Going to Love Pour Over

• Total control: You choose how your water meets your grounds. That matters.

• Clean & nuanced: The filter keeps out oils and fines—leaves you with clarity and layered flavor.

• So Calming: The ritual is almost meditative—pour, bloom, pause, pour… perfect for slow-start mornings.

• Scalable & flexible: Brew one cup or three. Adjust grind, water temp, and ratio to taste every time.

You’re officially armed with everything you need for your best pour over ever. From understanding the nuances of the perfect pour over and dialing in the ratio, to mastering how to make pour over coffee like a seasoned pro—Stone Creek Coffee has got your back. If you want to dive even deeper, keep reading! Drew Pond, our Director of Development and Co-Owner, has a bunch more thoughts on pour-overs.
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If you're looking to get into the pour-over game, let me encourage you, this is a journey worth going on. Pour over is a ritual. It’s control. It’s the moment in your morning when you stop rushing and start paying attention. You grind the beans, heat the water, and let your hands do the rest. It’s equal parts poetry and science. Deliberate, tactile, and deeply personal. 

If you’re setting up your at-home coffee station, the question is: which pour over brewer actually earns its spot on your counter?

There are a dozen ways to overcomplicate this. You can chase high design or over-engineered tools. There are ceramic options, glass options, and steel options. There are options with large single holes, and others with many small holes. There are conical filtered brewers and flat-bottomed filtered brewers. Getting overwhelmed is easy. 

So, if I'm recommending a pour over, which I frequently do, I'm always going to point people first to the Hario V60. It’s cost-effective. It’s wildly user-friendly. And it delivers the kind of sweet, clean, and juicy cup that'll make you keep reaching for it. The V60 gives you control as well as visual feedback. It’s responsive without being fussy. It’s forgiving without being dull. Whether you’re brewing one cup or three, it’s got the range to meet your needs.

What makes it stand out is how well it fits into real life. It doesn’t demand perfection. It invites repetition. You brew, you adjust, you try again. Over time, your technique sharpens and your palate tunes in. That’s when the magic starts to show up in the cup.

In the long term, your pour-over journey will move past trends or aesthetics. It’s about finding a tool that deepens your relationship with coffee. The V60 does that. It keeps you grounded and gives you options. You can travel with it, tweak your recipe on a whim, or brew the same way every morning for a year straight.

So if you’re building out your brew bar or just looking for a better way to begin the day, then this is the place to start.

Below is a little Q&A I did for the Today Show that adds some further insight…

What material is best for brewing coffee?

Ceramic, glass, plastic, stainless steel? It really depends on what you’re after. Ceramic and glass are the classics. They hold heat well, which helps keep your brew temp consistent. They’re also chemically inert, which just means they don’t mess with flavor. Downside: they’re fragile. I can't tell you how many brewers I've broken over the years.

While it's definitely not my favorite option, plastic has its benefits. Cheap, durable, fast to heat up, and if it’s BPA-free, it’s not gonna hurt your coffee. Some of my favorite brewers, like the Hario V60 and the Kalita Wave, come in plastic.

Then there's stainless steel, which looks cool, is built like a tank, and is generally underrated in brewer construction. It conducts heat quickly, which can cool your brew slurry a touch. Some people also swear it adds a metallic taste, but I think that's mostly in their head. Many of us brew into stainless steel carafes and never talk about that imparting metallic taste. So, for someone like me, someone who wants things to look cool and to hold up to my lack of coordination, stainless is a great option if you can get it. Hario makes a steel version of the V60, and MiiR has come out with stainless brewers compatible with Chemex filters. 

Is there an optimal temperature water should be brewed at for pour over coffee?

Yes. Very hot. In all seriousness, you want your water as close to 205°F as you can get it. Depending on your altitude and the temperature at which water boils in your area, this can be challenging. Generally, if you take your water directly from boiling to brewing, you're going to be dialed. The water cools dramatically in the simple process of pouring it on the coffee grounds, so it's almost impossible to overheat your water prior to boiling.

Is there any "best" material for coffee filters?

Bleached or unbleached paper filters are what most pros use. Bleached filters (white ones) are cleaner-tasting, with no papery funk. Unbleached (brown) filters are fine too, just rinse them thoroughly before brewing.

Metal and cloth filters exist, but they’re more of a niche thing. They let more oils and fines through, which might give your cup a touch more body but less clarity. Also, those reusable filters are really tough to clean and almost always carry some residual flavor of brews gone by.

What's the best pour-over method? How long should you wait in between each water pour?

There's no squeaky-clean answer here. Each batch of coffee is unique. When you get a new bag of coffee, it might take you a couple of brew batches to "dial it in." That's the process of adjusting your grind size, coffee to water ratio, and pouring methodology in order to bring the most out of the coffee. 

Not only is the coffee unique, but each person brewing it also has different flavor preferences, making the dial-in process just that much more subjective. Going back to why I like the V60 so much, it's possible to use a very simple recipe and get a really nice brew almost every time. I like to point people to this video that we made showing the V60 recipe we use in our cafes. It's generally what I use at home too!

Why are pour-over coffee machines typically cone-shaped?

Is it due to the filtration process, or does it have anything to do with the taste and quality of the coffee? Gravity is doing the heavy lifting here. The cone shape funnels water straight down through a point, which keeps the flow consistent and helps extract more flavor as it moves through the coffee bed. Think of it like a controlled descent where water starts wide, then narrows in, grabbing solubles all the way down.
This shape also forces you to be intentional with your pour. The geometry matters. Too fast, and the water shoots right through the middle; too slow, and it chokes out. That’s why pour-over is half art, half science. Cone shapes aren’t just aesthetic; they’re engineered to give you more control over extraction. Better flow, deeper saturation, and a cleaner cup if you know what you’re doing.