Coffee at Home: Hario v60 Recipe

I love brewing up a cup of coffee anytime of the day. My favorite method is the to make a pourover using the Hario v60. The Hario v60 is just a ceramic cone, they also come in glass or plastic, that holds a cone filter and allows water to pass over the grounds and into a carafe or mug. Many people claim that this is one of the purest and most challenging ways to make a cup of coffee.

I have been using this method for a few years now. Over the last year or so I have really begun to brew a consistent cup of coffee with the v60. It took some time and a whole lot of tweaking, but I’m finally comfortable enough with my method to go ahead and share it with others. I want to be clear here, I have had plenty of input over the years from people in the specialty coffee scene so in now way do I want to act as if this is soley my creation. Many thanks to all of them.

I’m a reluctant starter in most areas of life and specialty coffee was no different. From the beginning I had friends break down what I needed to get started, but I ignored them and introduced each variable individually instead of jumping all the way in like I should have. I could say that’s the scientific side of my that likes to isolate variables but that’s more of an excuse than anything.

You need to start with the right water. I boil my water over a stove top. Initially I thought filtered water from the fridge was good enough. It wasn’t. I found a lot of hard water residue left behind after the boil. That affects the flavor of your cup of coffee. I learned the hard way. Start with clean water!

Choosing the right coffee beans was the next big hurdle for me. I had the equipment but was still using old beans that were over roasted. Once I started buying fresh coffee beans I was headed in the right direction. Look for beans with a roast date not an expiration date.

Properly ground beans are another key component. I thought a blade grinder would do the trick. No no! I finally got a Hario Skerton Mill Grinder and that helped tremendously. The problem with grinding your own beans is finding the right size grounds. I have probably played with this aspect the most. I finally have it at a place where the water passes through the grounds at the right pace.

With the two biggest components addressed we turn our focus to accuracy. Accuracy involves time and ratios. You need a digital scale and a timer. Hario makes a great one that does both. After tinkering with various suggestions from friends, I recommended a 1 to 16.3 ratio. That is for every one gram of coffee, use 16.3 grams of water. Once you have your ratio down, the focus needs to be on timing. I try to pour all of my water by the 1:30 mark. The water will not completely pass through the grounds until about the 3:30-4:00 mark. Take breaks in between pours, but I suggest focusing on the hard end time of 1:30 more than anything else. Just don’t dump all your water over the grounds in one shot. That’s a sure way to lead to a disappointing cup.