What is the Hario V60 Coffee Dripper?
The V60 has become increasingly popular in recent years. It delivers incredibly clear flavours and aromas, allowing coffee lovers to enjoy even the subtlest notes in their coffee. For this reason, the V60 is one of specialty coffee’s favourite brewing methods. Within 3 minutes, you can brew an incredibly tasty coffee.
The V60 Coffee Dripper (also referred to as the V60 Coffee Maker) is made by Hario. The name stems from the shape of the device. It is “V” shaped with angles of 60 degrees. The internal sides also have interior ridges which help with air flow during the brewing method. Filter paper is inserted into the V shape and coffee grounds placed within the filter paper. The brewed coffee then drips into your cup, delivering a great coffee.
The shape, design and materials used to create the Hario V60 have been utilised to help offer optimum extraction. They come in ceramic, plastic, glass and metal styles, offering a solution for any budget or purpose. Certain materials, such as copper, are associated with better extraction due to more heat being retained by the V60. Others, such as the plastic V60 are designed more to suit the traveling barista, rather than favouring heat retention.
Hario V60 also offers a great solution for reducing any unwanted sediment during the brew process. For anyone who enjoys brewing coffee at home, they are certainly worth the investment.
V60 Pour Over Coffee Ratio, Water Flow and Water Temperature
For help brewing the perfect V60 coffee, check out our specific guide on how to brew with V60. This covers everything you need to ensure your coffee brewing delivers the optimal taste.
Generally, we recommend a V60 coffee to water ratio of:
6-8g coffee per 100g water (1ml water = 1g water)
Depending on the V60 Dripper size, this should equate to a brew time of 1-3 minutes for 1 cup, or 3-4 minutes for 2 cups. Bear in mind that there are many other factors influencing the brewing time you should look to achieve, including roast degree of the coffee along with temperature of water being used.
It’s recommended to pour hot water through the filter paper before you start brewing, just to rinse the paper and remove any residue and papery taste. This also helps warm up the cup and dripper, helping create a more stable environment for extraction during the brewing process.
We recommend a grind size of medium-fine. Changes made to the grind setting have consistent results across all brew methods. A coarse grind allows water to pass through coffee without as much resistance as would be present with a finer grind. It will also mean that the brew time of a coarser grind would need to be longer to allow flavour to be fully extracted. A finer grind results in smaller coffee particles, exposing more surface area to the brewing water which can therefore ‘access’ and dissolve the available flavours more easily, necessitating a quicker brew time to achieve the desired level of flavour.
If water is added slowly and flows slowly, it will allow more extraction to take place, which will result in a richer, full bodied coffee. If the water is added quickly, and flows quickly, les extraction will take place, resulting in a lighter-bodied coffee.
This means the V60 is perfect for the coffee experimenter who wants to coax different flavours and tastes from the same coffee, simply by changing the grind size and flow of water.
Any kettle is suitable for pouring but for the serious coffee home brewers, the gooseneck kettle offers superior precision. This gives you more control over your brew and allows you to control the water flow much better. For those wishing to experiment with how water flow can impact the flavour of your cup of coffee, then a gooseneck kettle makes this possible. A notable improvement by pouring with one of these is that you can control turbulence in the brewing coffee.
Uncontrolled pouring can lead to uneven coffee extraction. Ideally, you want to be pouring in very controlled circular movements, helping ensure a consistent extraction and brew. Electric gooseneck kettles can also be set to a desired temperature, instead of “boiling.” This means brewers can test different water temperature to find their optimal temperature. As a starting point, water temperature between 92-96 °C is usually recommended.
Best Coffees for V60
Although you can use any coffee in a V60, certain coffees are perfectly matched to this brew method. The V60 highlights the complexity, character and balance of a coffee so certain coffees lend themselves to this and provide extremely quality brews. Our advice is to use light to medium roasted coffees that have undergone wet processing (aka washed coffees) with your V60, as they tend to feature cleaner, brighter levels of acidity and lighter body and texture.
These are characteristics that will be ‘unharmed’ by the V60 and with its relatively thick paper filtration, so to speak, you won’t lose the leading characteristics of your coffees simply from the method you used to make your brew.
If you want to get started with the V60 or continue your use of it, right now we’d recommend trying our Kenya Ragati PB. This coffee offers beautiful blackcurrant, mango and lemony notes that all come through with great clarity through V60 brewing. This is a coffee of real character and impressive complexity, which will be perfect for enjoying without milk, for anyone wanting to enjoy a very pure and authentic recipe, undiluted.
Our Colombia Los Naranjos also offers a great choice for the V60. This can be enjoyed with or without milk and provides amazing lemon curd, butter and honey notes.
V60 Brewing Equipment
The following equipment will help you get the most out of your V60. For a full breakdown of how to brew the perfect V60, check out our V60 brew guide.
- Hario V60 Dripper
- Cone shaped filter papers of the correct size for your V60
- Gooseneck kettle
- Speciality grade coffee beans
- Burr grinder – manual or electric
- Scales
- Timer
- Mug / cup
V60 Vs Aeropress
The Aeropress is often a popular brew method amongst home coffee enthusiasts, so people often ask how other brew methods compare. Both the Aeropress and V60 are great brew methods and your favourite is likely to be down to personal preference.
The V60 is a great alternative to the Aeropress for home brewing if you’re looking for a much cleaner cup of coffee. The V60 will create a lighter bodied coffee, allowing delicate notes and flavours to come through. For full bodied coffees, such as our House Blend, an Aeropress is a great choice, whereas a fruity African single origin offers characteristics perfect for a pour over brew method, such as V60 or Chemex.
In terms of how the coffee is processed, washed coffees lend themselves very well to the V60. On the other hand, Natural and Honey Processed coffees usually go very well with the Aeropress method, given the thinner paper filtration and how it then allows a percentage of coffee oils through its filtration to add texture and mouthfeel to the brew.
In terms of taste, it completely depends on your preference – some will prefer the Aeropress, others will prefer the V60 – it’s a matter of mood and the level of richness of texture you’re looking for in that particular brew. We enjoy using both brew methods as depending on the type of coffee, and what kind of brew you want to achieve, both have their advantages and are worthy of a place in any home barista’s cupboard.
If you are interested in coaxing out a very clean and flavoursome cup of coffee, then a V60 is certainly worth looking into.
Final Thoughts
The Hario V60 is a fantastic brew method. It allows the subtlest of flavours to shine through, as well as being so easy to use. Anyone can get started with the V60 and enjoy amazing tasting coffees. It also provides the perfect platform for experimenting with the brew and finding your personal preference. The V60 is also practical for everyday life, being very quick to clean as well as being mobile to fit in your bag and take with you wherever you go.