The Complete Guide

Brew better coffee, every time.

From grind size to water temperature, everything you need to understand coffee brewing — clearly and without the noise.

Section 01

Choosing your brewing method

The method you choose shapes everything — extraction time, body, clarity, and how much control you want over the result.

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Pour Over

Clean, bright, and nuanced. Water passes through grounds once, extracting delicate flavors. Best for light to medium roasts where clarity matters.

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French Press

Full immersion brewing produces a rich, heavy-bodied cup. Oils remain in the coffee, giving it depth. Ideal for medium to dark roasts.

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AeroPress

Versatile and forgiving. Pressure-assisted extraction in 1–2 minutes. Can brew espresso-style or diluted like filter — good for travel and experimentation.

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Espresso

High pressure forces hot water through finely ground coffee in 25–30 seconds. Concentrated, intense, with a layer of crema. The foundation of milk drinks.

Section 02

Grind size is everything

Grind size controls extraction rate. Too coarse and the coffee is weak and sour. Too fine and it's bitter and over-extracted. Match grind to method.

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Extra Fine

Turkish coffee. Powder-like consistency. Brewed without filtering — grounds settle to the bottom of the cup.

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Fine

Espresso. Tight resistance allows pressure to build and extract concentrated flavour in under 30 seconds.

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Medium

Pour over, drip machines, AeroPress. The sweet spot for most home brewers — consistent extraction without fuss.

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Coarse

French press, cold brew. Larger particles extract slowly — ideal for long steep times that would over-extract a finer grind.

Section 03

Technique — the pour over method, step by step

Pour over is the best method for developing intuition about brewing. Master this and every other method becomes easier to understand.

1

Boil and rest your water

Target 92–96°C (197–205°F). Boiling water is too aggressive — let it sit off the heat for 30–45 seconds after boiling.

2

Rinse the filter

Pour hot water through the filter before adding grounds. This removes paper taste and pre-heats the vessel — then discard the rinse water.

3

Bloom the grounds

Add twice the weight of water to grounds (e.g. 30g water for 15g coffee). Wait 30–45 seconds. This releases CO2 and primes the grounds for even extraction.

4

Pour in slow, steady circles

Work outward from center in concentric circles. Keep the water level consistent — don't let it drop too low before adding more. Total brew time: 3–4 minutes.

5

Taste and adjust

Sour or weak → grind finer or use hotter water. Bitter or harsh → grind coarser or reduce temperature. Small adjustments, one variable at a time.

Section 04

Coffee-to-water ratios

The standard starting point is 1:15 — 1 gram of coffee per 15 grams of water. Adjust to taste. Weigh your coffee and water; measuring by volume is imprecise.

Method Ratio (coffee : water) Example
Pour Over 1 : 15 – 1 : 17 20g coffee / 300g water
French Press 1 : 12 – 1 : 15 30g coffee / 400g water
AeroPress 1 : 10 – 1 : 15 18g coffee / 200g water
Espresso 1 : 2 – 1 : 2.5 18g coffee / 36–45g yield
Cold Brew 1 : 5 – 1 : 8 100g coffee / 700g water
FAQ

Common questions

Straight answers to the questions that come up most often.

Yes — significantly. Coffee is best between 4 and 21 days after roasting. Too fresh and CO2 off-gassing disrupts extraction (your bloom will be extremely active). Too old and the coffee tastes flat and cardboard-like. Buy beans with a printed roast date, not a "best by" date.
Only if you're buying in bulk and freezing in individual sealed portions you'll thaw once. For everyday beans, an airtight container at room temperature away from light and heat is best. The bigger risk is condensation from repeated freezing and thawing, which accelerates staling.
Bitterness is almost always over-extraction. The most common causes: grind too fine, water too hot, or brew time too long. Try one adjustment at a time — start by coarsening your grind. Dark roasts are also inherently more bitter than light or medium roasts regardless of technique.
Yes — it's the single most impactful upgrade you can make. Blade grinders produce an inconsistent mix of particle sizes, which means fine particles over-extract while coarse ones under-extract simultaneously, producing a muddy, uneven cup. A burr grinder produces uniform particles. Even an entry-level hand burr grinder (~$35) outperforms a blade grinder.
Filtered tap water is ideal for most people. Distilled water is too soft — it lacks the minerals that help extraction and carries flavor. Very hard tap water can produce a chalky, flat cup. The SCA target is water with 75–150 ppm total dissolved solids. If your tap water tastes fine on its own, it will produce good coffee.
The SCA recommends 92–96°C (197–205°F) for most brewing methods. Below 90°C and extraction becomes sluggish — you'll get a weak, sour, under-extracted cup. Above 96°C and you risk scorching delicate compounds, producing harsh bitterness. As a practical rule: boil your kettle, then wait 30–45 seconds before pouring. For espresso, most machines are calibrated at 93–94°C and you don't need to adjust unless you're dialing in light roasts, which often benefit from slightly higher temperatures.