Find Your Pour Over Coffee Ratio.

If the cup tastes unpleasantly sharp and thin, it may be under-extracted or unevenly extracted. Start by grinding slightly finer while keeping your dose, ratio, water temperature, and pouring pattern the same. Change only one variable, then compare the next cup.

If the cup tastes harsh or bitter, start by grinding one step coarser while keeping the other variables fixed. If the drawdown is also slow, try less stirring or swirling on a later brew. A dry, puckering finish may be astringency rather than bitterness, and darker roasts may prefer slightly cooler water.

There is no single best ratio, but 1:16 is a reliable V60 starting point: 15g of coffee with 240g of water, or 20g with 320g. Once that baseline is repeatable, try 1:14 for a stronger cup or 1:18 for a lighter cup while keeping the rest of the recipe stable.

Start with a medium-fine grind, then adjust by taste and drawdown. Grind slightly finer if the cup tastes sharp and thin and drains quickly; grind coarser if it tastes harsh or dry and drains slowly. Exact settings vary between grinders, so treat another brewer’s setting as a reference rather than a rule.

Many 15–20g single-cup V60 recipes finish in about 2:30–3:30, but the coffee, grinder, filter, and pouring method all affect the result. Treat brew time as diagnostic context rather than a pass-or-fail score—the taste of the finished cup should determine your next adjustment.

A slow drawdown is often caused by grinding too fine, excess fines, or too much agitation. Try a slightly coarser grind first while keeping your pouring pattern stable. If the brew still stalls, test gentler pours and less swirling on a later brew; filter paper and coffee type can also affect flow.

Start around 200–205°F (93–96°C) for light roasts and 190–200°F (88–93°C) for medium or darker roasts. Temperature is usually a secondary adjustment: first establish a reasonable grind size and repeatable pouring pattern, then change temperature on its own if needed.

Use one repeatable V60 recipe and change only one variable at a time. Keep your dose, ratio, water, and pouring pattern stable, then record grind size, actual brew time, and taste. Comparing those brews makes it easier to see which adjustment genuinely improved the cup.