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Brew guides · four brewers, plain steps

Make it at home the way we would

You don’t need new gear. You need a scale if you can, fresh beans, and a few numbers. Here they are, written the way we’d explain them across the bar.

The numbers, all in one place

BrewerCoffeeWaterGrindTime
Pour-over15 g250 g at 94 °CLike table salt2:45–3:15
French press30 g500 g just off the boilLike coarse sea salt8–9 min
Moka pot (3 cup)About 17 gHot water to the valveFiner than filter4–5 min
Espresso18 g36 g in the cupFine, adjust to taste25–30 s
A cone pour-over dripper on a glass server with a kettle pouring

Pour-over (cone dripper)

15 g · 250 g water · 3 minutes

  1. Fold the paper filter along its seam, put it in the cone and rinse it with hot water. Pour that water out.
  2. Add 15 g of coffee, ground like table salt. Give the cone a shake so the bed is flat.
  3. Start a timer and pour 40 g of water, just enough to wet everything. Wait 40 seconds while it bubbles.
  4. Pour slowly in small circles until the scale reads 150 g at about 1:15, then on to 250 g by 1:45.
  5. Let it drain. It should finish around 3:00. Swirl the server and pour.

If it’s not right: sour or thin means grind a little finer; bitter or slow to drain means a little coarser.

A steel French press with coffee on a pale wooden table

French press

30 g · 500 g water · 8–9 minutes

  1. Put 30 g of coarsely ground coffee in the press.
  2. Pour in 500 g of water just off the boil and start a timer. Don’t put the lid on yet.
  3. At 4 minutes, stir the crust on top gently with a spoon and scoop off the foam.
  4. Wait another 4 to 5 minutes. The grounds sink on their own.
  5. Put the lid on and press the plunger only to the top of the coffee, not to the bottom. Pour slowly.

If it’s not right: muddy cups usually come from pressing hard or pouring the last bit; leave the dregs in the pot.

A stovetop moka pot on a gas burner next to a jar of ground coffee

Moka pot

About 17 g in a 3-cup pot · medium-low heat

  1. Fill the bottom chamber with hot water from the kettle, up to just below the little valve.
  2. Fill the basket with coffee ground finer than filter, level it with a finger. Don’t press it down.
  3. Screw the pot together with a towel (the base is hot) and set it on medium-low heat, lid open.
  4. When coffee starts to flow, turn the heat down. Take it off as soon as it starts to sputter.
  5. Run the base under the cold tap for a few seconds to stop it, then pour.

If it’s not right: if it tastes burnt, use less heat and stop sooner; if it’s weak, grind a step finer.

Portafilters holding ground coffee next to whole beans and a latte

Espresso at home

18 g in · 36 g out · 25–30 seconds

  1. Use beans five to seven days after their roast date. Fresher than that and the shot spits and foams.
  2. Grind 18 g into the basket, tap to settle, and tamp level. Level matters more than how hard.
  3. Put a cup on the scale under the spout and start the shot and a timer together.
  4. Stop at 36 g. Aim for somewhere between 25 and 30 seconds.
  5. Taste it before adding milk. Change one thing at a time.

If it’s not right: a fast, sour shot needs a finer grind; a slow, bitter one needs a coarser grind.

Still stuck? Bring us your numbers.

Tell us your brewer, your dose and what the cup tastes like, at the bar or at hello@halfmooncoffee.example. We’re happy to suggest a coffee that suits the way you brew, too.

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