How to Read a Coffee Recipe · Pour Over Coffee Knowledge Base

Every recipe in this knowledge base follows the same structure, deliberately, so that a human can scan it in five seconds and a machine can parse it without guessing. This note is the contract: it defines each field you'll see in the frontmatter and in the Recipe Card callout near the top of every recipe note. Once you know the schema, every recipe reads the same way. 🧩

#The Recipe Card

Near the top of each recipe you'll find a > [!example] ☕ Recipe Card callout — a key/value table that mirrors the structured frontmatter and adds a plain-language Resulting cup row. It's the at-a-glance spec sheet. The same numbers live in the YAML frontmatter above the H1, which is what an app actually reads.

#The Structured Fields

ℹThe recipe contract

Field	Meaning
`recipe`	Always `true` for an actual recipe note (false/absent on index notes).
`category`	`official`, `competition`, or `community`.
`brewer`	The device, e.g. `Hario V60`, `Kalita Wave`, `AeroPress`.
`dose_g`	Grams of dry coffee.
`water_g`	Total grams of brew water (including bloom).
`ratio`	Coffee-to-water as `1:NN` — see The Brew Ratio.
`temp_c`	Brew temperature in Celsius; a range like `92-94` is allowed.
`grind`	Relative size plus a reference point, e.g. medium-fine. See Grind Size for Pour Over.
`bloom_g`	Grams of water used in the bloom.
`bloom_time_s`	Bloom duration in seconds.
`brew_time`	Target total time as `m:ss` — see Brew Time and Total Contact Time.
`roast`	The roast level the recipe flatters.
`source`	Originating person or brand, plus year.

#How the Fields Relate

The numbers are not independent. dose_g and water_g together imply the ratio; a 15 g dose with 250 g water is a 1:16.7 ratio. The bloom_g is conventionally two to three times the dose — see CO2, Degassing, and the Bloom Science for why. The grind, temp_c, and brew_time form an extraction triangle: finer grind, hotter water, and longer time each push extraction up, so recipes balance them. Change one and you usually compensate elsewhere, which is the whole subject of Recipe Variables and Cup Outcomes.

#Reading the Pour Schedule

Below the card, each recipe lists a numbered, timed pour schedule. Every step gives three things: the clock time (from when the bloom water hits), the cumulative water in grams your scale should read at that moment, and the action (pour, swirl, wait, drain). Cumulative — not per-pour — weight is used because that's what you watch on the scale as you brew. Hit each number on time and the recipe reproduces.

✦A recipe is a starting point, not a law

Treat published numbers as a calibrated baseline. Your beans, grinder, water, and dripper all differ from the originator's, so expect to dial in. The Pour Over Troubleshooting Guide tells you which way to nudge.

#Continue Reading

Recipe Variables and Cup Outcomes — what happens when you change each field
The Brew Ratio — the math behind dose_g, water_g, and ratio
The Bloom — what bloom_g and bloom_time_s are for
Recipes and Methods — back to the recipe hub
Dialing In Grind Size — turning a recipe into your recipe