Skip to main content

The Manual may earn a commission when you buy through links on our site.

Brew a bolder cup: How to make pour-over coffee stronger

Learn how to perfect the process

how to make pour over coffee stronger pexels ron lach 9903577  1
Ron Lach / Pexels

If you like your morning pour-over coffee bold and strong, it can take some trial and error to adjust your brew to your liking. The art of pour-over coffee is unique, creating a balanced, rich, and complex coffee flavor that stands out from other brewing methods. But what do you do when your pour-over coffee keeps coming out too weak?

Making a few small adjustments to your pour-over brewing process can easily improve the strength of your final cup of coffee. For example, you can adjust your water-to-coffee ratio, grind your own beans, and ensure the proper water temperature for your brew. Here are our best suggestions on how to make pour-over coffee stronger.

Recommended Videos

How to make pour-over coffee stronger

Pour-over coffee roast
fornStudio / Shutterstock

If you’ve found your pour-over coffee to be too weak, we recommend starting with the basics. The most common reason is using the wrong grounds-to-water ratio.

Examining grounds-to-water ratio

The grounds-to-water ratio you use ultimately determines the strength and boldness of your cup of coffee. As a general rule of thumb, start with 14 to 20 grams of water for every 1 gram of coffee you use. Standard pour-over coffee ratios usually range from 1:14 to 1:20, with 1:14 resulting in a stronger cup of coffee.

If you prefer measuring in tablespoons, this equates to about 1.5 to 2 tablespoons of ground coffee for every 8 ounces of water you use. As you experiment to find the ideal ratio for your taste preferences, you can either cut back on the amount of water used for a smaller cup of coffee or increase the amount of coffee grounds you’re using to make for a stronger cup.

Eyeballing your coffee measurements sounds good (and easier), but you may be using more or less coffee than you think. Using a coffee scale can help yield more precise coffee measurements to help you craft a stronger cup of coffee.

Using the right water temperature

Another component of a great cup of pour-over coffee is using the right water temperature. If you’re using water that is too low, the coffee may not extract properly and you’ll be left with a weakened cup of coffee. For the ideal cup of pour-over coffee, water should be between 199 and 205 degrees Fahrenheit. Having the right equipment on hand is essential for this step, such as an electric gooseneck kettle that can be set at precise temperatures.

Using a gooseneck spout lets you control the water flow when making pour-over coffee for a precise brewing process. If you’ve been attempting to pour over without checking the temperature of your water, adjusting this may help you increase the strength of your brew.

Selecting freshly roasted beans

Regardless of your selected brewing method, selecting freshly roasted beans will always yield a bolder, stronger, and fresher cup of coffee. Using stale, old beans is a common mistake. Subscribing to a coffee subscription service is one way to ensure you always have freshly roasted beans right at your doorstep.

Of course, grinding your own fresh coffee from whole beans rather than using pre-packaged ground beans can help enhance freshness, too. To do this, you’ll need either a burr grinder or a blade coffee grinder. Burr grinders are best for ensuring a consistent grind size for stronger pour-over coffee, such as the Fellow Opus Conical Burr Grinder. While this is certainly investment, it’s a worthwhile one if you’re regularly looking to produce the best possible cup of pour-over coffee.

Choosing the right coffee ground size

Coffee grounds
Nathan Dumlao / Unsplash

When it comes to making pour-over coffee, selecting the right coffee ground size is a critical step. Using ground coffee that is too coarse or too fine can change the end product. As you consider how to make pour-over coffee stronger, take a close look at the grounds of the coffee you are using.

The best coffee grounds for pour-over brewing is a medium size (similar to sea salt). Selecting the right size of coffee grounds is important because a ground that is too coarse will allow water to pass through too quickly, whereas a ground that is too fine will result in a weak or bitter cup of coffee.

Experimenting with pour-over coffee

Pour-over coffee setup
Julien Labelle / Unsplash

All in all, there’s quite a few different components required to brew a delicious (and strong) cup of pour-over coffee. Through a process of trial and error, achieving a strong and delicious cup of pour-over coffee at home is more than doable — even for non-baristas.

Emily Caldwell
Emily is an accomplished freelance journalist with over seven years of experience in food, beverage, health, fitness, and…
Elevate your coffee game with these 5 best manual grinders
Once you grind your own beans, you won't go back
coffee grinder

There's a time and a place for pre-ground bagged coffee, which offers convenience for those busy mornings when you want a fast cup of coffee. But true coffee enthusiasts swear by grinding their beans. Grinding your own coffee beans sounds like a big hurdle if you've never done it before, but it's fairly simple once you get the hang of it. Not only does grinding your coffee beans result in a better-tasting and fresher cup of coffee, but it also allows you more flexibility to fine-tune your brew to perfection. Check out the 5 best manual coffee grinders in 2024 as you embark on your newfound coffee journey.
5 best manual coffee grinders

A manual coffee grinder is a must if you want to start grinding your coffee beans. These grinders are compact and lightweight and offer manual control over the grinding process. Below are some favorites, selected based on their performance and ease of use.
VSSL Java coffee grinder

Read more
Exploring volcanic coffee: Why soil and climate matter for flavor
Why coffee from volcanic regions differ from other specialty coffees
Volcanica Coffee

As you may have guessed, volcanic coffee is grown in regions near active volcanoes. The soil used to grow volcanic coffee creates the ideal environment for growing coffee plants. With rich soil and perfect climate conditions, companies like Volcanica Coffee have identified a rich opportunity to create delicious coffee by growing coffee in these volcanic regions. But what makes volcanic coffee, also sometimes known as Hawaiian coffee, different from other specialty coffees?

To learn more, we got the inside scoop from Maurice Contreras, CEO and Founder of Volcanica Coffee. We asked him all about what sets volcanic coffee apart from other coffees and why the nutrients in the soil make an impactful difference in the coffee's final flavor. Here's what he had to share about volcanic coffee.
What distinguishes the flavor profile of coffee beans grown in volcanic regions?

Read more
Salt in coffee? Here’s why you should give it a try
Cut the bitterness of your brew with this simple trick
Small coffee cup and saucer

Love or hate them, there always seems to be a new coffee trend. At the risk of sounding ancient, people took their coffee either black or with some mixture of cream and/or sugar before Starbucks came along. That was it. There were no Fraps or triple whip extra shots, a drizzle of confusing concoctions. There was coffee. Its sole purpose was to wake you up in the morning, not to act as a prop in Instagram selfies with stupid captions like, "coffee is my love language."
Now, there seems to be a movement to get back to the basics, and some people are embracing simpler pleasures—pleasures like deliciously rich, home-brewed coffee that has no idea what a Hibiscus Refresher is.
With that said, sometimes, coffee trends are beneficial. A piece of information comes along that doesn't necessarily fall into the "trend" category but is a new way to enjoy a classic—something that actually improves coffee and doesn't just slap some glitter on a fancy cup. In this case, that new piece of information comes in the form of an ingredient so ordinary that one could hardly call it trendy. The new, hip trend? Adding salt in coffee.

What does salt in coffee do?

Read more