V60 pour-over
A starting V60 recipe (15 g coffee, 250 g water, about three minutes), step by step, with how to adjust it and which coffees suit a pour-over.
What it does well
The Hario V60 is a cone with one big hole and a paper filter. Water runs through quickly, so the cup is clean and light-bodied, and the details of a coffee come through clearly: florals, fruit, a tea-like finish. It's the classic brewer for light-roasted washed coffees.
It's also sensitive to how you pour, which makes it rewarding and occasionally frustrating. The recipe below keeps things simple.
Starting recipe
- Coffee
- 15 g, ground medium-fine, a little finer than table salt.
- Water
- 250 g at 93 to 96 °C (just off the boil), plus extra for rinsing the filter.
- Ratio
- About 1:16.7.
- Time
- About 3 minutes from first pour to the last drip.
Step by step
- 1. Rinse
- Put the filter in the cone, rinse it with hot water to warm everything and wash out the paper taste, then pour that water away.
- 2. Bloom
- Add the coffee, shake it level, start a timer and pour about 40 g of water, enough to wet all the grounds. Swirl gently. Wait 30 to 45 seconds while it bubbles: that's the gas from roasting escaping.
- 3. Main pour
- Pour slowly in small circles, avoiding the paper at the edge, to 150 g by about 1:15. Then pour again to 250 g by about 1:45.
- 4. Draw down
- Give the cone a gentle swirl so the bed settles flat, and let it drain. It should finish around 3:00 to 3:30.
Adjusting
If it drains much faster than 2:30 and tastes sour, grind finer. If it takes longer than 4 minutes and tastes bitter or dry, grind coarser. Ratio, grind and time has the full taste guide.
Light-roasted washed coffees show off what a V60 does best.