How to Brew Pour-Over Coffee at Home — A World Championship Semi-Finalist's Guide
How to Brew Pour-Over Coffee at Home — A World Championship Semi-Finalist's Guide
I've been making coffee professionally for over 12 years. I competed at the World Barista Championship and placed in the top 10. I've opened coffee shops, trained baristas, and tasted thousands of cups.
But my favorite cup? The one I make at home, in my kitchen in Amsterdam, with a simple pour-over.
Here's exactly how I do it.
What You'll Need
• Fresh specialty coffee beans
• A pour-over dripper (V60, Origami, Kalita — any works)
• Paper filter
• Burr grinder (hand grinder is fine)
• Scale with timer
• Kettle (gooseneck preferred)
• Filtered water
Step 1: Start With the Right Beans
Your coffee can only be as good as the beans you start with.
Look for single-origin specialty coffee with a roast date on the bag. If there's no date — that's a red flag.
Here's what most people don't realize: coffee doesn't go stale as fast as you think. Freshly roasted beans actually need a few days to rest and degas. The flavor peak is around weeks 2–4, and coffee stays delicious through weeks 5–6. Even up to 8 weeks it's absolutely fine — just adjust your brewing slightly (more on that below).
At ATRI Coffee, every bean is personally selected by me for its flavor profile. If you want an easy starting point, our Ethiopia Bombe has notes of strawberry jam and dark chocolate — it's incredibly forgiving for home brewing.
Step 2: Grind Fresh, Grind Right
Grind your coffee right before brewing. Pre-ground coffee loses aroma within minutes.
For pour-over, aim for a medium-fine grind — the texture of sea salt. Too fine and your coffee will taste bitter. Too coarse and it'll be sour and watery.
A burr grinder gives you consistency. Even a €30 hand grinder will dramatically improve your cup compared to pre-ground.
Step 3: Water Makes or Breaks It
Coffee is 98% water. If your tap water doesn't taste good on its own, it won't taste good in coffee.
Use filtered or spring water. Avoid distilled — it lacks the minerals that help extract flavor.
Temperature is where freshness comes into play:
• Weeks 2–4 (peak freshness): 92–94°C — the beans are at their most expressive, so a gentler temperature lets the delicate flavors shine
• Weeks 5–6: 94–95°C — a touch more heat brings out the sweetness and clarity
• Weeks 6–8: 95–96°C — slightly higher temperature helps extract more from the beans, and the cup is still great
This is why there's no single "correct" temperature. It depends on your beans. The beauty of coffee aging is that it changes — not dies. You just adjust and enjoy a different side of the same coffee.
Step 4: The Recipe
This is my everyday recipe. Simple, reliable, works every time.
• Coffee: 17g
• Water: 250g
• Ratio: 1:16.7
• Target brew time: 2:30–3:00
Adjust to taste: want it stronger? Use 16g. Lighter? Try 14g. The ratio is a starting point, not a rule.
Step 5: Brew
Rinse the filter
Place the paper filter in your dripper and pour hot water through it. This removes the papery taste and preheats everything. Don't skip this — it makes a real difference.
(A small tip: filters affect your coffee more than you'd expect. I use Hario and Kinto — they're consistent and don't restrict flow. If your coffee drains too slowly, try a different filter brand before changing your grind.)
Bloom (0:00–0:45)
Add 17 g of ground coffee. Level the bed with a gentle shake.
Start your timer. Pour 30–40g of water in a slow spiral, saturating all the grounds evenly. You'll see the coffee expand and bubble — that's CO2 escaping. Let it bloom for 30–45 seconds.
Main pour (0:45–1:45)
Pour the remaining water in slow, controlled circles. Stay in the center, moving outward gently — avoid pouring directly on the filter walls.
Keep the water level consistent. Don't flood the dripper, don't let it drain completely between pours. Steady and even.
Finish pouring by 1:10–1:25. Let the water drain fully. Your total brew time should be around 2:30–3:00.
Step 6: Taste and Adjust
This is where it gets fun.
• Bitter or harsh? → Grind coarser or lower the temperature
• Sour or thin? → Grind finer or raise the temperature
• Weak? → Use more coffee or pour slower
• Too strong? → Use less coffee or pour faster
Small changes make a big difference. Change one variable at a time and taste the result. After a few cups, you'll start dialing it in instinctively.
Why This Matters
Brewing coffee at home isn't about saving money at the café. It's a ritual. Five minutes of focus, no screens, just you and the process. And at the end — a cup that you made exactly the way you like it.
That's what specialty coffee is about. Not snobbishness. Not expensive equipment. Just paying attention to something simple and making it great.
If you want to start with beans that are selected by someone who's tasted coffee at the world championship level — have a look at our collection. We ship same-day across the Netherlands, free from €40.
Happy brewing ☕
Liliya Gadelshina
World Barista Championship semi-finalist (top 10)
Co-founder, ATRI Coffee