Guide on Brewing Filter Coffee with V60

Coffee brewing at home is the favorite ritual of many coffee lovers across the globe. Whether you are only beginning your coffee hobby or already a seasoned home barista there are coffee brewing tools that are absolute necessities. 

In this guide, we are exploring Hario V60, a staple in professional and hobby coffee brewing.

What is V60

The Hario V60 pour-over is one of the oldest and most popular hand-brew coffee tools. It was developed by the Japanese company Hario, founded in Tokyo in 1921. Initially focused on heat-proof glassware for scientific use, Hario ventured into coffee brewing with its first product, a coffee siphon, in 1949. The V60 pour-over design emerged in the 1980s but remained on the shelf until 2004 when it was reintroduced with innovative features like spiral ribs and a 60-degree cone shape. 

These enhancements allowed for improved water flow and extraction, making the V60 a favorite among coffee enthusiasts and professionals. Its name, “V60,” reflects its distinctive shape and angle, which contributes to its brewing efficiency and flavor clarity.

Flavor Profiles of V60 Coffee

V60 brewing yields a clean and balanced cup of coffee with a pleasant and perfume-like aroma. The conical design and large drip hole allow for even extraction, highlighting the coffee’s nuanced flavors. 

The spiral ribs prevent the filter from sticking to the sides, ensuring optimal and even water flow. This method is particularly effective for light to medium roasts, allowing the inherent sweetness and acidity of the beans to shine through.

When using specialty coffee V60 users can control variables like grind size and water temperature, brewers can manipulate flavor profiles to achieve desired results, from fruity and floral notes to rich and chocolatey undertones.

Which Material is Best for V60 Brewer

The V60 pour-over is available in several materials, including ceramic, glass, plastic, and metal. Each material has its advantages:

•  Ceramic: Excellent heat retention, ideal for maintaining temperature during brewing. It’s also aesthetically pleasing but can be fragile.
•  Glass: Offers a clean look and allows visibility of the brewing process. However, it may not retain heat as well as ceramic.
•  Plastic: Lightweight, durable, and affordable, making it great for travel. It’s less expensive but may not retain heat as effectively.
•  Metal (Copper/Stainless Steel): Provides superior heat retention and conductivity, leading to better extraction. Copper is particularly favored for its thermal properties but requires more maintenance to prevent tarnishing.

Ultimately, the best material depends on personal preference and brewing style. At specilatykava.si we prefer plastic as the most utilitarian of the materials mentioned.

How to Brew V60: Best Recipes

Recipe 1: Classic V60 Brew

1. Ingredients: 15g coffee (medium grind), 250ml water (96°C).
2. Method:
   • Place the V60 over a cup and insert a filter.
   • Rinse the V60 coffee filter with hot water to remove paper taste.
   • Add ground coffee and zero the scale.
   • Pour 50ml of water to bloom for 30 seconds.
   • Slowly pour the remaining water in a circular motion, allowing it to filter through (total brew time: 2-3 minutes)

Recipe 2: Bloom and Brew Method

1. Ingredients: 20g coffee (medium grind), 300ml water (96°C).
2. Method:
   • Set up the pour-over with a V60 filter paper and rinse it.
   • Add coffee and zero the scale.
   • Pour 60ml of water to bloom for 45 seconds
   • Pour in 240ml of water in three increments (80ml each), stirring gently between pours.

Recipe 3: 4:6 Method by Tetsu Kasuya

1. Ingredients: 20g coffee (coarse grind), 300ml water (93°C).
2. Method:
   • Prepare the V60 with a filter and rinse it.
   • Add coffee and zero the scale.
   • Pour 120ml of water, wait 45 seconds, then pour 180ml in three increments of 60ml, allowing for breaks between pours.

Tetsu Kasuya started experimenting with brewing methods at home and quickly became skilled, winning the 2015 Japanese AeroPress Championship, 2016 Japanese Brewers Cup, and World Brewers Cup 2016 using V60 and his signature method.

“In my opinion, the coffee made by a V60 is the most balanced. Not only sweet, not only floral, not only acidic, and not only encompassing a good body but also balanced.”

Recipe 4: Method by Mariia Stryzhenko

1. Ingredients: 16g of ground coffee (medium-fine 23-25 Comandante clicks), 240ml of filtered water (heated to 93-96°C).
2. Method:
   • Bloom: pour 60 ml (to highlight the acidity)of water over the coffee grounds in a circular motion, making sure all grounds are saturated let it bloom for 45 sec.
   • First pour: Slowly pour water in small, circular motions from the center to the edges 00:45-1:15 up to 120 ml.
   • Second pour: Continue pouring slowly in circles 1:45-2:00 up to 180 m.
   • Drain and serve: 2:15 up to 240 ml.
   • Allow the water to fully drain through the coffee around 3:30-3:45 minutes total brew time.

Mariia Stryzhenko is 4th place in the National Austrian Brewers Cup 2024 and the winner of Commandante Cup 2023, she recommends light roast Ethiopian coffee for delicate tea-like flavors with notes of jasmine and berries and Kenyan coffee for vibrant acidity and juicy citrus or berry-like notes.

Here are some recommendations from Mariia:

“To home baristas or beginners: Medium-fine grind (about the texture of sand or table salt) is ideal for the V60. This grind size allows for optimal contact time between the water and coffee grounds, typically between 2:30 and 3:30 minutes, ensuring even extraction and balanced flavors.

If you notice your brew is taking too long (over 4 minutes) or tastes bitter, try a coarser grind. If it’s finishing too quickly (under 2:30 minutes) or tastes weak and too sour, try a finer grind.

For novice baristas: focus on mastering the bloom and pouring technique to control extraction time and balance flavors effectively. 

Work on finding the best water-to-coffee ratio for the coffee you are working with (a standard V60 water-to-coffee ratio for me is 1:16).”

Outro

Experimenting with these recipes will help you discover the flavor profiles that suit your palate best. Adjust grind size, water temperature, and pouring technique to refine your brewing skills and enjoy the perfect cup of V60 coffee.

You can learn even more about the nuances of filter coffee brewing in our article. 

Finally, it is worth noting that coffee is a very complex and flavourful product. It often is true that the same coffee lot can express itself beautifully with different recipes. Changing the total brewing time or water temperature can help in revisiting your favorite coffee. 

Keep brewing and discovering!