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Brew guide

The unhurried pour-over

Our house method for a clean, sweet cup — one slow bloom at a time.

Mara Okafor
Mara Okafor
April 2, 2026 · 6 min read
The unhurried pour-over — illustrative demo image

A great pour-over is not a performance. It is a slow, boring, repeatable little ritual — and boring, done well, tastes incredible. Here is the method we teach every new barista at Nocturne.

Start with the numbers

We brew at a ratio of 1 gram of coffee to 16 grams of water. For a single cup, that is 22g of coffee to 350g of water, ground medium-fine like table salt. Weigh everything. Your scale is the most important tool on the counter.

  • 22g coffee, ground medium-fine
  • 350g water at 96°C
  • Total brew time: 2:45 to 3:15
  • A rinsed paper filter

Bloom, then pour in stages

Pour twice the coffee weight in water — about 45g — and wait 40 seconds. This bloom lets trapped gas escape so the water can actually reach the grounds. Then pour in slow, concentric circles, adding water in two or three gentle stages rather than one flood.

The whole trick is patience. Rush the pour and you rush the flavor right past sweet into sour.

Taste and adjust

Too sour or thin? Grind finer or pour slower. Too bitter or harsh? Grind coarser or cool your water a touch. Change one variable at a time, keep notes, and within a week you will have a recipe that sings for your beans and your brewer.

That is it. No theatrics — just good coffee, made the same careful way every morning.

Mara Okafor
Mara Okafor
Writing for Nocturne Coffee Roasters — a fictional demo roastery.

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