The two-phase pour, step by step
This is the method I lean on when I want a cup that is sweet, clean, and easy to repeat. It has two simple phases. The first is penetration, where the goal is to get water to every coffee particle evenly. The second is development, where we slow things down and let sweetness, texture, and clarity build.
Coffee does not extract all at once. Different flavours come out at different moments.
What you need
- Coffee: 14 g, ground medium coarse
- Water: 200 ml, 80 to 100 ppm minerals
- Ratio: 1:14
- Brewer: SOLO or your usual dripper
The pour
- 0:00 — bloom. Add 60 g of water at 94 C and make sure all the grounds are wet. No dry pockets.
- 0:40 — build. Pour to 130 g, gently, in small circles from the centre.
- 1:20 — finish. Pour the last water to 200 g at a lower temperature, around 85 C, and keep it centred.
- Draw down. Aim to finish by about 2:30. If it is much faster or slower, adjust your grind next time.
Why it works
Coffee does not extract all at once. Different flavours come out at different moments. The early pours open the coffee and bring clarity, the middle pours build sweetness and body, and a gentle final pour keeps the cup from turning bitter or dry. The aim is not to push extraction harder. It is to keep the cup sweet, clean, and structured.
Have a question about dialling this in for a specific lot? Write to us at jackie@mazelab.coffee.