Try to make sure the bed of grinds is a flat even surface when you're done. That's typically a good indicator that the cup of coffee you're about to enjoy will be good.
To achieve that, pour one time in a circular motion clockwise starting in the center and work your way out in increasingly larger circles.
Next pour, go counter clockwise from the outside working into the center.
Make sure you use a gooseneck kettle so you have better control of the pour.
Use even sweeping pours so the grinds don't puddle up anywhere.
As you know, water follows the path of least resistance, so if you have an uneven bed of grinds then you'll have some grinds over extracted and some under extracted which leads to an inconsistent cup of coffee that will be bitter, weak, thin, funny tasting, yadda yadda.
Don't continue to add water when the coffee stops brewing. This is usually indicated when there is no longer a foamy bubbly layer on the top that almost looks like espresso crema. If you aren't seeing that, the coffee is telling you it's done brewing in most cases. But, that can also mean the coffee is old/stale, so keep an eye on the roast date as well as how the beans were stored as indicator while brewing.
Yes, I take this quite seriously with my coffee. I believe it is an art, and have even participated in the past in roasting and brewing competitions as well as learned from folks who are national and world champs in these areas.
Coffee, it's a big deal in our house.
-Mike
