What is the perfect pour over coffee ratio?

Using the correct amount of coffee grounds and water to brew your pour over coffee can be a tricky business. After all, you want the wonderful flavors of the coffee extracted without it being too strong or weak. The pour over coffee ratio of grounds to water – also known as the dose – really depends on how you like the strength of your coffee, so there isn’t a “perfect” ratio.

(Image from Toby’s Estate Coffee)

For most methods of pour over coffee, most brew guides by professional roasters and coffeehouses recommend a dose of 6-10 grams of coffee per 100 grams of water. Whether you’re using a Chemex, V60, Kalita Wave, Clever, or Bee House, this ratio should yield a cup with balanced flavor. If you use too little coffee, your resulting brew will taste weak and diluted; if you use too much, your brew will be overpowering and you won’t be able to taste the subtle flavors of the coffee that pour over methods bring out.

Heart Coffee uses 6.47g coffee / 100g water.

Intelligentsia Coffee recommends 6.25g  coffee / 100g water.

Prima Coffee recommends 6g coffee / 100g water.

Stumptown Coffee uses about 5.8g coffee / 100g water.

Toby’s Estate Coffee recommends 10g coffee / 100g water.

This is why a scale is essential when it comes to pour over coffee equipment – estimation is simply not good enough, especially when it comes to the actual pour over steps. You can measure the weight of coffee grounds separately, or place your entire brewing equipment on the scale so that you can measure the exact amount of water being poured through the grounds. This is especially useful when you’re letting the coffee bloom or trying a pulse brewing method for your pour over coffee.

What’s more important in getting a good cup of pour over coffee, however, is the grind size and how you actually control the flow of the water being poured through the grounds.