How to: Hario V60 Coffee

5/11/2019 0 Comments

How to: Hario V60 Coffee

If you have ever been to our shop, you may have noticed that we brew most of our coffee on a Hario V60 pour-over. This is but one of many different devices that use a drip method; pouring new water over ground coffee, saturating the coffee and dripping into a carafe. Other drip method devices include the Chemex, Kalita Wave, Melitta, and a batch coffee brewer.

What you will need:

V60 Dripper (we recommend plastic, as it is a better insulator of heat, however ceramic/glass is just fine)
V60 #02 paper filters
- Do NOT use 'Natural' brown filters, it will taste like you are brewing through wet cardboard.
Carafe or mug
Digital Scale
Timer
Gooseneck Kettle
Coffee grinder
Clean, filtered water

The steps:

Heat your water. Start off by heating up your water. Coffee likes to be brewed between 195-205°F. If you don't have a variable temperature electric kettle, you can heat up your water to boiling, then let it sit for 45s-1 minute to allow it to get down to temperature. If you brew it at boiling (212°F) you will scorch your coffee.
Grind your coffee. While you wait for your water to heat up, you can grind your coffee. Coffee is always best freshly ground, and can actually stale just 15min after grinding. We highly recommend you invest in a good grinder, and you can read all about why here. For the V60, use a medium-coarse grind setting, similar to kosher salt.
Pre-wet your filter. This pre-heats your carafe/mug and your dripper, as well as gets rid of any papery taste you might get from the filter.
Coffee-to-water ratio. It is time for some math! To ensure you get some good coffee, you need to have a good coffee-to-water ratio. For a pour over method, we use a 1/16 ratio, meaning that for every 1 gram of coffee, we will be adding 16 grams of water (This is where the scale comes in). So, let's start with 25g /400g.
Zero out your scale. Now, put your V60 with your coffee and your carafe on your scale, and zero it out. Grab your hot water and your timer, and get ready to pour. Remember, start your timer right when you start pouring.
Bloom. Slowly pour in 50g of water to saturate all your coffee and wait for 30s. This is called the bloom. During the roasting process, gasses are built up in the bean, and once you saturate them with water, they start to release. This blooming period gets rid of a lot of gas, and it makes your coffee taste less...gassy (sour). This also can indicate the freshness of the coffee; more bloom = fresh coffee.
Slow-Pour. This is your last step, but it is the hardest. The goal is to pour your water in slow, concentric circles without hitting the sides of the dripper (just like the game Operation). If you hit the sides, the water can slide down and miss the coffee entirely. We recommend pouring in a series of pulses. Here is a guide based off of the recipe we gave you;

  Time Action Total
0:00s 50g    50g
0:30s     150g    200g
1:00s     50g    250g
1:15s     50g    300g
1:30s 50g 350g
1:45s 50g 400g
8. Drain & Enjoy. Stop your pour at 1:50s, and if it drains out between 2:30-45s, you should have some great coffee. If it takes longer, or shorter, adjust your grind setting accordingly. (Coarser makes it drain quicker, finer makes it drain slower).

DISCLAIMER: There are countless ways to brew coffee. This is not the only way, however we get great results using this process. Taste is subjective, so play with it until you find what you like!