Best Coffee to Water Ratio for Pour Over

By Coffee Ratio Calculator Guru · Updated January 2025 · 5 min read

The best coffee to water ratio for pour over is between 1:15 and 1:16 — one gram of coffee for every 15 to 16 grams of water. Use our coffee to water ratio calculator to find your exact dose for any pour over volume. This range produces a well-extracted, balanced cup that highlights clarity and aroma, which pour over is specifically designed to showcase.

Why 1:15 and 1:16 Dominate Specialty Pour Over

Pour over brewing is a percolation method — water flows continuously through the coffee bed rather than steeping in it. This extraction style is extremely sensitive to ratio because the water doesn't recirculate through the grounds. A slightly higher coffee dose at 1:15 compensates for any flow rate variation and produces a fuller body than the SCA's reference 1:18 for automatic drip. The 1:16 ratio is the middle ground that most specialty roasters print on their pour over brewing guides for a reason: it's forgiving across a wide range of grind sizes and works with light, medium, and dark roasts equally well.

How the Bloom Affects Your Effective Ratio

Every pour over should begin with a bloom pour — adding approximately twice the coffee weight in water (so 40ml for 20g of coffee), then waiting 30–45 seconds before continuing. During the bloom, CO₂ trapped in freshly roasted coffee rapidly off-gases, which would otherwise create uneven extraction if you poured all the water at once. The bloom water fully saturates the grounds and initiates extraction, so it counts toward your total water volume. Your ratio stays constant whether you bloom or not — it's calculated on the full water volume from the start.

Dialling In a New Pour Over Coffee

Start every new coffee at 1:16 and target a total brew time of 3:00–3:30 minutes including the bloom. If the shot finishes in under 2:30, grind finer. If it exceeds 4:00, grind coarser. Once your brew time is in range, taste the coffee: if it's thin and sour, shift to 1:15 or even 1:14. If it's harsh and drying, try 1:17. Keep grind size and brew time constant when you adjust ratio — changing two variables simultaneously makes it impossible to know which change produced the result you're tasting.

Pour Over Ratio Quick Reference