Spoke · pour-over ratio
Pour-over coffee ratio
Most published pour-over recipes use 15 to 17 grams of water for every gram of coffee. The SCA’s Golden Cup reference is weaker, about 1:18, while recent World Brewers Cup champions brewed at about 1:14 to 1:16. This page puts those numbers side by side and turns any ratio into scale targets for the bloom and each pulse.
The short answer
| Ratio | 15 g coffee | 20 g | 30 g |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1:15 Kasuya’s 4:6; low end of the Hario UK range | 225 g | 300 g | 450 g |
| 1:16 middle of 1:15–1:17 | 240 g | 320 g | 480 g |
| ≈1:16.7 Hario UK staged V60; Hoffmann | 250 g | 333 g | 500 g |
| 1:17 top of the Hario UK range | 255 g | 340 g | 510 g |
| ≈1:18.2 SCA Golden Cup, 55 g/L | 273 g | 364 g | 545 g |
Weights are water poured, not coffee in the cup. Milliliters in recipes are read as grams (water is close to 1 g per ml; see how much coffee per cup). For cup counts, use the printable ratio chart.
Where the ranges come from
- SCA Golden Cup: 55 g of coffee per liter of water, ±10%, with water at 200 °F ± 5° (93.0 °C ± 3°) where it meets the coffee. By our arithmetic that is about 1:18.2, and the ±10% band runs from 49.5 to 60.5 g per liter, roughly 1:20.2 to 1:16.5.
- Wikipedia’s Coffee preparation article: preferred ratios “often fall into the range of 15–18:1 by mass”, and adds that Norwegian standards run to 63 g/L (≈1:15.9).
- Hario UK (September 2026): a target range of 1:15 to 1:17, with its 15 g : 250 g V60 recipe in the middle.
- Seattle Coffee Gear’s Kalita Wave guide: 1:15 to 1:17 by weight, lower for a stronger cup and higher for a lighter one.
The coffee-to-water ratio guide explains the brewing control chart behind the 55 g/L figure.
Pulse calculator
Enter a dose and a ratio, then choose how to split the water. The calculator gives the weight of each pour and what the scale should read after it. It leaves out times on purpose: each recipe below sets its own, and most say to wait until the bed has dropped or nearly drained.
Bloom and pulse weights
| # | Pour | Add | Scale reads |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | bloom | 60 g | 60 g |
| 2 | pulse 1 | 87 g | 147 g |
| 3 | pulse 2 | 86 g | 233 g |
| 4 | pulse 3 | 87 g | 320 g |
Water = 20 g × 16 = 320 g · bloom = 3 × 20 g = 60 g · each pulse = (320 − 60) ÷ 3 ≈ 86.7 g · cup ≈ 320 − 2 × 20 = 280 g
bloom (g) = bloom multiple × dose (published blooms: 2–3 × dose)
each pulse (g) = (water − bloom) ÷ number of pulses
4:6 method: first 40% of the water in two pours, last 60% in 1–3 equal pours
coffee in the cup (g) ≈ water − 2 × dose (≈2 ml held back per gram of coffee)
Targets are rounded to the nearest gram. The bloom range comes from the recipes below and Seattle Coffee Gear’s 2–3 times the coffee weight. The 4:6 rules follow Philocoffea; the “smaller first” option uses HARIO Europe’s 50 : 70 split. The first 40% balances sweetness against acidity; more pours in the last 60% make a stronger cup. The cup estimate uses Barista Hustle’s liquid retained ratio, “around 2ml per gram” for drip coffee, so 20 g brewed with 320 g of water gives roughly 280 g. Weigh that cup to check your extraction yield.
How published recipes split the water
| Recipe | Coffee : water | Bloom (× dose) | Pours after it | Water |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Hario UK, staged V60 | 15 g : 250 g (≈1:16.7) | 45 g, 30–45 s (3×) | 2: to 150 g, pause, to 250 g | 92–94 °C |
| Kasuya 4:6, HARIO Europe | 20 g : 300 ml (1:15) | first pour 50 ml (2.5×) | 4: 70, 60, 60, 60 ml | 92 °C |
| Kasuya 4:6, Philocoffea | 20 g : 300 g (1:15) | first pour 60 g (3×) | 4 × 60 g | ≈93 °C light, 88 °C medium, 83 °C dark roast |
| James Hoffmann (HARIO Europe) | 30 g : 500 ml (≈1:16.7) | 60 ml, up to 45 s (2×) | 2 phases: to 300 ml by 1:15, then to 500 ml about 30 s later | 97 °C |
| Scott Rao (Hario UK) | 20 g : 330 ml (1:16.5) | 60 ml, 40 s (3×) | 2: to 200 ml; at 70% drained, to 330 ml | 97 °C |
| Seattle Coffee Gear, Kalita Wave | 20 g : 300–340 ml (1:15–1:17) | 40–60 ml, 30–45 s (2–3×) | 3–4, every 20–30 s | about 200 °F (93 °C) |
Blooms run from two to three times the dose, then two to four pours. Full methods are in the V60 guide and the Kalita Wave guide; why the first pour bubbles is on the coffee bloom page.
World Brewers Cup champion ratios
The World Brewers Cup (WBrC) is an annual international brewing competition organized by World Coffee Events, which the SCA founded; the 2025 edition was held at World of Coffee in Jakarta. Recipes are from Wikipedia’s champions table; 2024 and 2025 pours from the write-ups named.
| Year | Champion | Brewer | Coffee : water | Pours, temperature, time |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2013 | James McCarthy, United States | Kalita Wave | 24 g : 380 ml (≈1:15.8) | high flow first half, restricted second; 3:30 |
| 2015 | Odd-Steinar Tøllefsen, Norway | V60 ceramic | 20 g : 300 ml (1:15) | 92 °C; 3:30 |
| 2016 | Tetsu Kasuya, Japan | V60 ceramic | 20 g : 300 ml (1:15) | 4:6 method; 92 °C; 3:00 |
| 2017 | Chad Wang, Taiwan | V60 ceramic | 15 g : 250 ml (≈1:16.7) | 92 °C; 2:00 |
| 2018 | Emi Fukahori, Switzerland | GINA (hybrid immersion and pour-over) | 17 g : 220 ml (≈1:12.9) | 80–95 °C; 2:55 |
| 2019 | Du Jianing, China | Origami | 16 g : 240 ml (1:15) | 94 °C; 1:40 |
| 2021 | Matt Winton, Switzerland | V60 metal | 20 g : 300 ml (1:15) | 5 pours; 93 °C and 88 °C; 2:40 |
| 2022 | Shih Yuan (Sherry) Hsu, Taiwan | Orea V3 + Kalita 185 | 14 g : 200 ml (≈1:14.3) | 4 × 50 g every 30 s; 70 °C first pour, 95 °C after |
| 2023 | Carlos Medina, Chile | Origami | 15.5 g : 250 g (≈1:16.1) | 5 × 50 g every 30 s; 91 °C |
| 2024 | Martin Wölfl, Austria | Orea v4, fast bottom | 17 g : 270 ml (≈1:15.9) | 60, 60, 50, 100 ml at 0:00, 0:40, 1:20, 2:00; 93 °C (European Coffee Trip) |
| 2025 | George Jinyang Peng, China | SOLO | 15 g : 210 ml (1:14) | 30, 90, 90 ml at 0:00, 0:30, 1:10; 96 °C, last pour 80 °C (Sprudge) |
Wikipedia’s table gives no recipe for 2011, 2012 or 2014. Competition cups are made for judges: in the open service a TDS reading is taken, with a maximum of 2%, according to the same article.
- SCA Golden Cup: 55 g/L (dot, ≈1:18.2), shaded band ±10% (≈1:16.5–1:20.2).
- Wikipedia, Coffee preparation: preferred 15–18:1 by mass.
- Hario UK and Seattle Coffee Gear: 1:15–1:17.
- Hario UK staged V60: 15 g : 250 g, ≈1:16.7.
- James Hoffmann: 30 g : 500 ml, ≈1:16.7.
- Scott Rao: 20 g : 330 ml, 1:16.5.
- Kasuya’s 4:6: 20 g : 300, 1:15.
- Ten champion pour-over recipes, 2013–2025, one dot each, stacked where they coincide: 1:14 (2025), ≈1:14.3 (2022), 1:15 (2015, 2016, 2019, 2021), ≈1:15.8 (2013), ≈1:15.9 (2024), ≈1:16.1 (2023), ≈1:16.7 (2017). The 2018 hybrid immersion recipe (≈1:12.9) is off the left edge and not plotted.
Where the sources disagree
- How strong. Only the strong end of the SCA’s ±10% band overlaps the usual 1:15–1:17.
- How to change strength. Seattle Coffee Gear changes the ratio. Hario UK keeps to 1:15–1:17 and fixes sour or bitter cups with grind, pour speed and temperature. Philocoffea keeps 1:15 and changes the number of pours in the last 60%.
- The 4:6 split itself. HARIO Europe’s version opens 50 then 70 ml with later pours at 2:10 and 2:40; Philocoffea’s opens 60 and 60 g at 2:15 and 2:45. Wikipedia lists Kasuya’s competition extraction as 3:00; both home versions end at 3:30.
- Wölfl’s grind. Wikipedia lists 630 microns; European Coffee Trip gives 490 microns. The dose, water and pour times agree.
- Bloom size. From 2× the dose (Hoffmann; Peng’s 30 ml for 15 g) to 3× (Hario UK, Rao), and about 3.5× in Wölfl’s 60 ml for 17 g.
Choosing a ratio, step by step
- Start inside 1:15–1:17. 1:16 is the middle; if you follow a named recipe, use its own ratio so its timings still fit.
- Set the dose by the drink. Hario UK times its 15 g : 250 g recipe as a single cup; for more, scale coffee and water together and keep the ratio.
- Bloom with 2–3× the dose and wait 30–45 seconds, the window Hario UK and Seattle Coffee Gear both give.
- Split the rest into 2–4 pours. Let the bed drop between them: Hario UK pauses after 150 g, and Philocoffea waits until the water has nearly passed through.
- Taste, then change one thing. Thin or sour: grind finer. Harsh or bitter: grind coarser (Hario UK). Balanced but too strong or too weak: move the ratio.
- Write it down: dose, water, pours, total time. See the grind size chart and water guide.
Sources
- Specialty Coffee Association — Protocols & Best Practices (Golden Cup: 55 g/L ± 10%; 200 °F ± 5° / 93.0 °C ± 3°)
- Wikipedia — Coffee preparation (secondary: preferred ratios 15–18:1 by mass; 55 g/L American, 63 g/L Norwegian standards)
- Hario UK — How to brew coffee with Hario V60 coffee dripper (16 Sept 2026: 1:15–1:17, 15 g : 250 g, 45 g bloom, to 150 g then 250 g, 92–94 °C)
- HARIO Europe — Tetsu Kasuya, V60 Ambassador: the 4:6 recipe (20 g : 300 ml, 92 °C, 50/70/60/60/60 ml)
- Philocoffea — How to make coffee using the 4:6 brewing method (1:15, five 60 g pours, strength by number of pours, temperature by roast)
- HARIO Europe — James Hoffmann, V60 Ambassador recipe (12 Oct 2021: 30 g : 500 ml, 60 ml bloom, 97 °C)
- Hario UK — Scott Rao, V60 Ambassador recipe (10 May 2022: 20 g : 330 ml, 60 ml bloom, 97 °C)
- Seattle Coffee Gear — Kalita Wave glass dripper product guide (1:15–1:17, bloom 40–60 ml or 2–3× the coffee, 3–4 pours every 20–30 s)
- Barista Hustle — Liquid Retained Ratios (LRR) (drip about 2 ml per gram of coffee; immersion about 3 ml)
- Wikipedia — World Brewers Cup (secondary: champions and competition recipes by year, format, 2% TDS limit)
- European Coffee Trip — Ales Pospisil, Winning pour-over recipe by Martin Wölfl (24 Oct 2024: 17 g : 270 ml, 93 °C, 60/60/50/100 ml)
- Sprudge — How to brew coffee like the 2025 World Brewers Cup champion (20 May 2025: George Jinyang Peng, 15 g : 210 ml, 30/90/90 ml)
- World Coffee Championships — Meet the 2025 World Brewers Cup finalists (World of Coffee Jakarta)