Pour-Over Coffee Ratio: Start at 1:16, Then Adjust by Taste

Weigh the dose and choose your ratio

1:16 means 1g of dry coffee to 16g of brewing water. These are the grams you pour onto the grounds, not a target weight for the finished drink. For 20g of coffee, the three starting options are:

• 1:15: 300g water. Try this when the flavour is pleasant but you want a stronger cup.
• 1:16: 320g water. Use this as the starting point here.
• 1:17: 340g water. Try this when the flavour is pleasant but too concentrated.

These are directions to explore, not promises of sweetness or floral notes. Ovalware's ratio guide supports this starting range.

For another dose, multiply coffee weight by the second number: 15g × 16 = 240g water. Weigh the grounds, then zero the scale with the mug, dripper, filter and coffee in place before pouring. Keep everything on the scale and do not zero it again between pours.

A coffee scale supports this measuring step; use your existing scale if it handles the setup and lets you follow the water weight. If choosing one is the sticking point, compare kitchen and coffee scale features.

Brew one repeatable 20g cup

This is an editorial starting recipe for a paper-filter V60, not a universal recipe for every dripper. Use medium-fine grounds and 93°C water, within Hario UK's guidance. Rinse the filter and discard that water before adding coffee.

• Set up. Add 20g of grounds, level them and zero the scale.
• Bloom. Start the timer with the first water. Pour 40g across all the grounds, then wait until the timer reaches 0:30.
• First main pour. Add 140g slowly in circles, bringing the scale to 180g.
• Final pour. Once the water level has fallen enough to leave room, add another 140g, stopping at 320g. Keep the stream on the grounds rather than the bare paper.
• Finish. Let the water drain, record the total time and stir the coffee before tasting.

The arithmetic is 40 + 140 + 140 = 320g. Bloom water is already included. The two main pours are this guide's simplified arrangement; the wetting step follows Hario's basic method. Bloom lets trapped roasting gas escape, as CHEMEX explains; it is not a stopwatch test of whether the coffee will taste good.

Read the drainage before changing the grind

Record time from the first bloom pour through drainage, not just the time spent pouring. Blue Bottle's 350g recipe typically takes 2:30–3:30, but that is a reference for its recipe, not a pass/fail window for yours.

If water backs up, pause rather than filling to the rim. Check the filter's placement before blaming the grinder. For CHEMEX specifically, the manufacturer identifies fine grounds and a blocked spout as causes of slow drainage; the three-layer side of the filter belongs over the spout. CHEMEX also starts with medium-coarse grounds, so do not transfer the V60 grind unchanged.

Compare times only alongside the dose, dripper, filter and pouring routine. A cup you enjoy does not need correcting just because it finished outside someone else's target.

Choose one change for the next cup

Taste first, then choose a single experiment:

• Pleasant but weak or too strong. Keep 20g of coffee and try 300g or 340g of water respectively. Keep the bloom at 40g and divide the remaining water into two pours: 130g each for 300g total, or 150g each for 340g.
• Unpleasantly sour, especially with fast drainage. Try a small step finer while keeping the 20g/320g recipe.
• Bitter or drying, especially with slow drainage. After checking the filter, try a small step coarser at the same ratio.
• Different results without an intentional change. Repeat the setup and pouring routine before adjusting anything else.

The grind directions follow Stumptown's pour-over advice. Treat them as trials, not diagnoses: Barista Hustle separates strength and extraction adjustments and notes that some unwanted flavours come from the coffee itself.

An adjustable burr grinder helps you make and repeat grind changes; Stumptown also notes its generally more even grind than a blade grinder. If your grinder cannot make a repeatable adjustment, read burr versus blade grinders. With pre-ground coffee, ask the shop for a different grind for your dripper on the next purchase.

Write down coffee and water weights, grinder setting, water temperature, pouring times, finish time and taste. Baratza's guidance supports keeping these notes rather than assuming every change in flavour needs a new grind setting. Repeat the version you like before changing another variable.