POUR OVER AT HOME
Pour over coffee is one of those things that looks intimidating until the moment you try it. Then you realise it's just hot water, good coffee, and a little patience.
The reward is a cup that's cleaner, brighter and more expressive than almost any other brewing method. Every note in the coffee — the fruit, the florals, the sweetness — comes through with extraordinary clarity. It's the method we use to taste every new coffee we roast at Auro. And once you try it at home, it's very hard to go back.
Here's everything you need to know.
WHAT YOU NEED
You don't need much. The basics:
A pour over dripper — Hario V60, Origami, Kalita Wave or even a simple cone dripper all work beautifully
Filter papers to match your dripper
A gooseneck kettle — the narrow spout gives you control over your pour. An electric gooseneck with temperature control is ideal but not essential
A kitchen scale — accuracy matters more than most people expect
A timer — your phone works perfectly
Freshly roasted coffee — whole bean, ground just before brewing
A burr grinder — blade grinders chop unevenly and hurt your extraction. A hand grinder is an affordable entry point and makes a real difference
THE RECIPE
This is our starting point for most filter coffees at Auro. Once you're comfortable with it, adjust to taste.
Coffee: 15g
Water: 250g at 93–96°C
Ratio: 1:16.5 (coffee to water)
Grind size: Medium-fine — like coarse sea salt
Total brew time: 2:30 to 3:30 minutes
STEP BY STEP
Step 1 — Boil your water Heat water to 93–96°C. If you don't have a temperature-controlled kettle, boil and let it sit for 30–45 seconds. For lighter roasts go closer to 96°C. For darker roasts 90–92°C works well.
Step 2 — Rinse your filter Place the filter paper in your dripper and pour hot water through it to rinse away any papery taste. Let it drain completely then discard the rinse water. This also pre-heats your cup or server underneath.
Step 3 — Add your coffee Weigh out 15g of freshly ground coffee and add it to the filter. Give the dripper a gentle shake to level the grounds.
Step 4 — The bloom (0:00 – 0:30) Start your timer. Pour 30–45g of water — just enough to saturate all the grounds. You'll see the coffee swell and bubble — this is CO₂ releasing from freshly roasted beans. This is called the bloom and it's a sign your coffee is fresh. Wait 30–45 seconds. If there's very little bubbling your coffee may be too old — this is why freshness matters.
Step 5 — First pour (0:30 – 1:00) Pour slowly in a steady spiral from the centre outward, bringing the water up to about 150g total. Keep the pour gentle and controlled — a gooseneck kettle makes this much easier. Pour over the grounds not the filter paper walls.
Step 6 — Second pour (1:00 – 1:45) Once the water has dropped to just above the grounds, pour again in slow spirals bringing the total water up to 250g. Keep your flow steady and even.
Step 7 — Let it drain (1:45 – 3:30) Stop pouring and let the coffee drain completely through the filter. The total brew time from first pour to last drip should be between 2:30 and 3:30 minutes.
Step 8 — Taste and adjust Give it a moment to cool slightly then taste it. Use these as your guide:
Sour or weak — grind finer or increase coffee dose
Bitter or harsh — grind coarser or reduce temperature slightly
Flat or dull — check your water (see our water guide) or use fresher coffee
Too strong — reduce coffee dose or increase water
GRIND SIZE IS EVERYTHING
If there's one variable that makes the biggest difference it's grind size. Too coarse and the water rushes through without extracting enough — you get a pale, sour, watery cup. Too fine and the water struggles to pass through — you get a dark, bitter, over-extracted cup.
The sweet spot for pour over is medium-fine — somewhere between table salt and coarse sea salt. Every grinder is different so start in the middle and adjust based on your brew time and taste.
Always grind fresh. Coffee starts losing its character within minutes of grinding. Whole beans stay fresh for weeks — ground coffee for hours.
WHICH AURO COFFEES WORK BEST FOR POUR OVER
Pour over is a clarity-first brewing method — it rewards coffees with complex, layered flavour profiles. These are our picks:
Yellow Gesha — Lavender florals, strawberry and tropical fruit juice shine through with extraordinary clarity. One of the best pour over experiences you'll find anywhere.
Orange Wush Wush — Guava, pomelo and strawberry with a sweetness that lingers. Used by a competition champion — now in your kitchen.
Ombligon Floral Symphony — Cherry liqueur, pomegranate and dark chocolate. Pour over reveals the full complexity of Nestor Lasso's legendary processing.
Guji Boku — Jasmine tea, fresh blueberry and vibrant citrus. Ethiopian heirloom at its finest.
Strawberry Sundae — Our Golden Bean award winner brews a naturally sweet, fruit-forward cup that surprises everyone who tries it.
ONE LAST THING
The best pour over you'll ever make is the one you make for someone else. There's something about slowing down, being present, and pouring with intention that makes the coffee taste better — and the moment mean more.
That's what pour over is really about.
Coffee is joy, mindful and a love language.
— Krish & Prathima, Auro Speciality Coffee
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Want the next blog post? We still have these to do — What are Flavour Bombs, The Auro Story, How We Roast to Order, Our Royal Adelaide Show Win, and How to Store Your Coffee.