Best coffees for V60 pour-over.
When brewing V60 coffee, the paper filter catches nearly all of the extracted oils and ultrafine particles. The result is a cleaner cup with a lighter mouthfeel which lets the coffee flavours and acidity shine and is therefore well suitable for using a lighter roast profile.
What is V60 coffee?
Pour-over coffee is prepared by simply pouring hot water over a bed of ground coffee. And a V60 coffee refers to a pour-over using the popular Hario V60 coffee dripper.
In a pour-over, coffee allows gravity to draw the water through the coffee bed and filter the extracted coffee into a vessel. As a result, the hot water and the coffee grounds are in contact for a shorter period. The water extracts the coffee’s solubles and oils in a constant flow without clogging the paper filter (provided you have the correct grind size). We talk about grind size in a minute.
What you need to brew tasty V60 coffee.
- Hario V60 dripper, size 2
- Hario V60 paper coffee filter, size 2
- Kettle to boil your water
- Hario V60 server, size 2
- Barista scale for weighing the amount of ground coffee (dose) for V60 brewing and weighing the amount of brewed coffee (yield)
- Amount of coffee for V60: 15.6g of freshly roasted filter coffee
- Grind size for V60: medium
- Amount of water for V60: 250ml of water
- Coffee grinder (hand grinder or automatic coffee grinder)
V60 coffee brewing instructions for humans.
Step 1: Select the right paper filter
Step 2: Rinse paper filter
Step 3: Coffee dose
Step 4: Grind size
Step 5: Coffee bloom and brewing
Step 6: Sit back, relax and enjoy!
The Hario V60 dripper comes in different sizes: 1 cup, 2 cup and 3 cup. Conveniently, the Hario V60 coffee paper filter also comes in matching sizes. For example, for a V60 2 cup dripper choose the filter size 02.
Fold the paper filter at its seam and place it in the dripper. Place the dripper over your server and rinse the filter with hot water. Why? It eliminates any papery taste, helps the paper filter to fit snugly into the dripper and pre-heats the server. Make sure to empty the server before you start brewing.
How much coffee do you need for your V60 pour over? Well, this depends on the V60 cup size and how much coffee you want to brew. For a V60 2 cup dripper and 250ml of brewing water, we suggest you use 15.6g. This equates to 1g of coffee per 16ml of water or 6.25g of coffee per 100ml. This ratio allows you to adjust the amount of coffee you need for V60 coffee brewing given an amount of brewing water. For example, how much coffee do you need for:
- 200ml brewed coffee: 6.25g x 2 = 12.5g
- 250ml brewed coffee: 6.25g x 2.5 = 15.6
- 300ml brewed coffee: 6.25g x 3 = 18.75g
- 400ml brewed coffee: 6.25g x 4 = 25g
- 500ml brewed coffee: 6.25g x 5 = 31.25
We suggest a medium grind size when brewing with the V60.
Transfer the ground coffee into your rinsed V60 paper filter. You want the coffee ground sitting nice and flat in the filter. Place your server, with V60 dripper, filter and coffee on a scale and tare.
In the meantime bring your kettle to the boil and then let it sit for a minute or so. A perfect water temperature for V60 coffee brewing is around 94 degrees.
Now you are ready to start brewing. Pour some water over the coffee, just enough to evenly saturate the coffee without too much water dripping through – about 30ml, this is double the weight of the ground coffee we are using to brew 250ml. You will see bubbles on top of the wet coffee bed emerging. This process is called ‘coffee bloom’ and starts the chemical reaction, which removes gases from the coffee.
After 30 seconds, keep adding water to the coffee bed by slowly pouring in circles from the inside out. Make sure not to overfill the filter. Repeat until the scale measures 250g.
Well done! You made a delicious pour over using the Hario V60.
And remember it is all about YOUR taste buds and you are sitting in the driver’s seat brewing the cup you enjoy. Don’t be afraid to experiment.
Tips and tricks for making better V60 coffee.
Which Hario V60 size should you use? The Hario V60 range comes in different sizes: 1-cup, 2-cup and 3-cup designs. The 2-cup design can easily brew 1 – 4 cups in a single session.
You don’t have a grinder? Order pre-ground coffee, selecting the V60 pour-over grind size..
You don’t have a scale? For measuring the dose (ground coffee), use a measuring spoon.  For example, 1 level tablespoon of fine to medium-ground coffee is approximately 7g, and 1 level teaspoon equates to about 2g of coffee. If you are using the Hario V60 measurement spoon, it measures 8g, 10g and 12g.
For measuring the yield (brewed coffee), use a measuring cup. First, fill it up to the level of water you want to brew, for example, 250ml. Then, transfer the water into your favourite mug and see to what level 250ml equates.