You can brew a pour-over for the first time and have it taste fine. Brewing a pour-over consistently great takes one variable at a time. Spend one week per variable, in this order.
Week 1: nail the ratio
Coffee-to-water ratio is the single biggest lever. Start at 1:16 — that's 15g of coffee for 240g of water for a V60. If the cup tastes thin or sour, move to 1:15 next time. If it tastes muddy or bitter, move to 1:17.
Brew the same coffee, same grind, same time, same water temperature for 5 days. Only change the ratio. By day 5 you know your ratio.
Week 2: nail the grind
With your ratio locked, dial in grind. Start at "medium" on your grinder (Comandante click 22, Baratza Encore 20). If the brew finishes in under 2:30, grind finer. If it goes past 3:30, grind coarser. Target: 2:45-3:15 total brew time for a 15g V60.
Week 3: nail the temperature
Most kettles run at 95-100°C off boil. For light roasts (Ethiopia, Kenya), stay near 95°C. For darker roasts (our house blend), drop to 91-93°C — the higher temperature pulls too much bitterness out of dark roasts.
Week 4: stop fiddling
The mistake everyone makes in week 4 is changing all three variables every brew "to see what happens". Resist. Lock your baseline. Brew it for a full week without changes. This is the recipe. Adjust only when you change beans.
The reason most home pour-over tastes inconsistent isn't bad technique — it's never finishing the dial-in. Pick a baseline, stick with it for a week, then move.
What recipe do we use?
For the Yirgacheffe: 15g / 240g / 96°C / Comandante click 22 / three pours of 80g each, 20s apart. Total 2:55-3:05.
For the Cerrado: same except 1:15 ratio (16g / 240g) and 93°C.
Want help dialing in a specific lot? Reply to your shipping confirmation email and we'll write back with our notes for your beans.