Coffee nerd blog

Every coffee nerd has their own V60 recipe. Hario V60 is one of the most standard, basic, and widely used drippers in the coffee scene. So it is only natural that every single person, professional or not, has their own preference and know-hows when it comes to V60 drippers. In this post I introduce you mine. I do not claim that my recipe is by any means superior to other formulas carefully crafted by home brewers and professional baristas; this is simply how I brew my filter coffee every morning at home.

Follow the recipe at your own risk!

ratio, grind, and temp

I usually go for a 1:12 ratio (ground coffee to water), since I want my morning brew to be stronger (flavourwise) than what I would typically prefer in the middle of the day.

While I make small adjustments based on the process and roast level of the bean I am working with, I usually go with a medium to fine grind for my morning coffee. I usually grind coarser with natural coffees and finer with washed coffees, mainly because washed coffees are much denser and have a tendency to produce coarser grounds than intended grind size. Similar adjustments should be made depending on how dark the roast is. I normally grind coarser with darker roasts and finer with lighter roasts.

Temperature is where the characteristic of individual beans really matters. I make a lot of little changes depending on the bean, but there is are some general principles that I work with. Washed beans and light roasted beans typically need higher water temperature of 92°C to 100°C to fully draw out the delicious solutes trapped inside ground beans. On the other hand, I brew natural beans and dark roasted beans at a slightly lower temperature of 85°C to 94°C.

brewing

After setting the basic features, I simply follow a set rule.

1. Use 20 grams of coffee with 240 grams of hot water.
2. Grind, rinse, and pour in the ground coffee.
3. Slightly shake to level the surface.
4. Pour in the first 50 grams of water, and then wait for thirty seconds.
5. Pour in 60 grams of water and wait for another thirty seconds.
6. Again, pour in 60 grams. Slightly swirl the dripper. Wait for thirty seconds.
7. Pour in the remaining 70 grams.
8. When the timer reaches 3 minutes, remove the dripper from the server.

When I use the V60, I usually pour in my waters in a spiral motion starting from the center. This is because the V60 has a shape of a cone. In a cone-shaped V60 dripper, the center of the dripper has more ground coffee and therefore needs more time and water to fully absorb the water. I also swirl the dripper between my third and fourth pour, since I noticed that this simple action improves the consistency of the brew for me. (I know that swirling is a subject of heated debate, and that many people are adamantly against it. It just works for me, though.)

tasting

Having finished brewing my morning cup, I give it a little taste test. If the flavours are too intense, I add some (10-30 grams) hot water to the brew. If the flavours are too weak, I just throw it back and cope with it.

other factors

Intense coffee nerds may complain – “But what about the water? The minerals? The position and motion of your hand?” I know. I’ve been there, done that. I simply find those factors like the mineral composition of water, the position of my hand, the speed of my spiral motions, etc. to be minor enough to not have a noticeably huge impact on the quality of my everyday morning brew. Sometimes you should draw the line somewhere, and this is simply where I drew mine.