Pour Over Coffee Guide: V60 and Chemex Recipes, Ratio and Bloom

Pour over coffee is filter coffee made by hand. You pour hot water over ground coffee in a paper filter and gravity pulls it through. You control every gram and every second, so it shows you exactly what a bean tastes like, from a fruity Ethiopian to a chocolatey Brazilian. The two brewers most people start with are the Hario V60 and the Chemex.

The reel above shows one of our students practising a Chemex pour in the lab. Below you'll find the ratio we teach, how the bloom works, full V60 and Chemex recipes with timings, and what to change when the cup isn't right.

What you need for pour over coffee

• A dripper: a Hario V60 (the 02 size suits one or two cups) or a Chemex (6-cup or larger for two people).
• The right paper filters: V60 cone filters or Chemex bonded filters. They are not interchangeable.
• A gooseneck kettle. The thin spout lets you pour slowly and precisely. A normal kettle makes even extraction much harder.
• A scale with a timer, accurate to 1 g.
• A burr grinder and fresh whole beans.
• Clean, filtered water. Filter coffee is mostly water, so the water you use matters; see our guide to the best water for coffee.

What is the best pour over ratio?

The best pour over ratio for most coffees is 1:15 to 1:17, or 1 g of coffee for every 15–17 g of water. A good starting point is 1:16 to 1:16.7, for example 15 g to 250 g for one cup or 30 g to 500 g for two.

The Specialty Coffee Association's long-standing brewing guidance of about 55 g of coffee per litre (roughly 1:18) sits at the lighter end of this range, and most specialty roasters and recipes from respected baristas brew a little stronger, around 60 g per litre. Weigh water in grams on the scale; 1 ml of water weighs about 1 g, so the numbers match.

What grind size and water temperature should you use?

Use a medium-fine grind for the V60, similar to table salt, and a medium to medium-coarse grind for the Chemex, closer to coarse sand. Water should be hot, around 92–100°C; many baristas simply use water just off the boil, especially for light roasts.

The Chemex filter is thicker and the brewer usually holds a bigger dose, so it needs a coarser grind or the water drains too slowly. Darker roasts extract easily and often taste better with water a few degrees cooler. Your city makes a small difference too: water boils at about 100°C at sea level in Karachi, but a few degrees lower in higher places like Quetta or Abbottabad. That's still fine for pour-over. For grind comparisons across methods, use our coffee grind size chart.

What is the bloom and why does it matter?

The bloom is the first small pour, about two to three times the coffee's weight in water, followed by a 30–45 second wait. It lets fresh coffee release trapped carbon dioxide so the rest of the water can extract the grounds evenly.

Freshly roasted coffee is full of CO₂ from roasting. When hot water hits it, the bed puffs up and bubbles. If you skip the bloom, that gas pushes water away from the grounds and you get uneven, often sour, extraction. A gentle swirl of the brewer during the bloom helps wet every particle. If your coffee does not bloom at all, it is probably stale.

V60 vs Chemex: which should you choose?

Choose a V60 if you want a lively, aromatic single cup and enjoy controlling the pour. Choose a Chemex if you brew for two or more and like a very clean, lighter-bodied cup that is a little more forgiving.

V60 recipe: step by step with timings

This one-cup V60 recipe follows the same structure as James Hoffmann's widely used method, published on Hario USA's recipe blog, halved for a single cup: 15 g coffee, 250 g water.

1. Prep (before 0:00). Boil water. Fold the filter along its seam, place it in the V60 and rinse it thoroughly with hot water to remove paper taste and preheat everything. Discard the rinse water.
2. Add coffee. Grind 15 g medium-fine, add it to the filter, shake level and make a small dip in the centre. Tare the scale.
3. Bloom at 0:00. Start the timer and pour 30–45 g of water, enough to wet all the grounds. Swirl the dripper gently.
4. Wait (0:00–0:45). Let the bed bubble and settle.
5. First main pour (0:45–1:15). Pour in slow circles, avoiding the paper walls, up to 150 g total.
6. Second main pour (1:15–1:45). Pour more gently up to 250 g total.
7. Swirl at about 1:45. Give the dripper a gentle swirl to flatten the coffee bed so it drains evenly.
8. Drawdown, done by about 2:30–3:30. Let the water drain through completely. A flat bed at the end is a sign of an even brew.

For two cups, double everything: 30 g coffee, a 60 g bloom, pour to 300 g by about 1:15 and to 500 g by about 1:45, aiming to finish around 3:30.

Chemex recipe: step by step with timings

This two-cup Chemex recipe uses 30 g of coffee and 500 g of water, based on a well-known recipe from James Hoffmann (summary here).

1. Prep. Open the filter into a cone and place it so the thick, three-layer side faces the spout. Rinse well with hot water, then pour the rinse water out through the spout, keeping the filter in place.
2. Add coffee. Grind 30 g medium to medium-coarse, add it, level the bed and tare the scale.
3. Bloom at 0:00. Pour 60–90 g of water in gentle circles within about 10 seconds, making sure all the grounds are wet.
4. Wait (0:00–0:45) for about 35–45 seconds.
5. First main pour (0:45–1:15). Pour in circles up to 300 g total.
6. Second main pour (1:15–1:45). Pour in circles up to 500 g total.
7. Stir and settle. Give one gentle stir clockwise and one anticlockwise, wait about 10 seconds, then gently shake the Chemex to level the bed.
8. Drawdown, done by about 4:00–4:30. Remove the filter, swirl the carafe to mix and serve.

If the Chemex stalls, check that the paper is not stuck flat against the spout. The thick side of the filter should keep an air channel open there.

Troubleshooting: why does my pour over taste sour or bitter?

Sour, thin pour over usually means under-extraction, so grind finer; bitter, drying pour over usually means over-extraction, so grind coarser. Total brew time is your best clue: if the drawdown is much faster than the target, grind finer, and if it is much slower, grind coarser.

• Sour and fast: grind finer, use hotter water and pour more slowly.
• Bitter and slow: grind coarser. Very fine dust from a cheap grinder can also clog the paper.
• Weak but not sour: use more coffee (towards 1:15).
• Strong and heavy: use less coffee (towards 1:17).
• Papery taste: rinse the filter more thoroughly with hot water.
• Uneven bed or dry grounds stuck high on the walls: pour in smaller circles, avoid pouring onto the paper and swirl at the end.

The same logic of sour versus bitter applies to espresso too; our guide on sour vs bitter espresso and how to dial in explains it in more depth.

Common pour over mistakes

Pouring too fast or from too high

A strong, high stream digs channels in the coffee bed and pushes water past the grounds without extracting them. Keep the spout low and the stream steady.

Pouring onto the paper

Water poured on the filter walls runs down the paper and skips the coffee. Pour into the centre and the middle of the bed, working outwards only a little.

Using the wrong filter

Generic flat-bottom or thin papers in a Chemex drain far too quickly. Use filters made for your brewer.

Changing several things at once

Adjust grind first, keep ratio and water the same, then taste again. Small, single changes teach you far more.

Pour over vs French press

Pour over coffee is cleaner and brighter because the paper traps oils and fine particles. A French press is fuller and heavier, and it's easier for beginners because there's no pouring technique to master. Many people keep both. For the immersion method, read our guide on how to make French press coffee, and for other simple options in a home kitchen, see how to make coffee at home.

Practise pour-over with a trainer

You learn pour-over with your hands and your tongue, and numbers only get you started. At Barista Studio in Bahria Town Phase 6, Islamabad, students practise V60, Chemex and French press alongside espresso and milk work on commercial machines. Our 15 Days Program, 30 Days Program and 3 Months Professional Program are all hands-on, with classes Monday to Saturday from 10 AM to 1 PM. Compare them on our courses page or see how we approach specialty coffee training in Pakistan.

We have one academy, in Islamabad. Students from other cities are welcome, and the morning classes leave your afternoons free; read about coffee training for students across Pakistan. If you're coming from Rawalpindi, our barista course in Rawalpindi page has directions. When you're ready, book your seat.

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