V60

The V60 is quite frankly one of the most versatile brewing methods available. We always have at least one coffee dialed in for a V60 in the stores. They are a workhorse for the price, and they make an easy traveller as well. If there is only one brewing method that you’re willing to invest in, go for a V60. With the right parameters any coffee can taste good through a V60. This brew method typically offers a medium-bodied mouth feel, while retaining subtle notes. Also if your roommate or partner is sticking to their guns with a normal coffee pot, the conical filters often work for both. This guide will be for a 12oz cup; but if you need to scale down for an 8oz, simply lower your dose and tighten up your grind a bit. It won’t work effectively for pours over 12 oz due to the design of the V60.

Here’s what you’ll need:
V60
Hario Numver 2 Filters
Kettle
Grinder
Digital Scale
Timer
Mug
Patience

Brew Time: 3-4 Minutes

Step 1 - Dose and Grind

As for any brew method the amount of coffee will depend on your preferred strength of flavor and the bean density itself. We recommend for a 12oz cup, dose between 24-28g of coffee. For a V60, the size of the grounds should look similar to kosher salt or a medium-fine grind.

For a better experience make sure to grind right before preparing your coffee. After grinding your coffee loses it’s specialness rather quickly, so you want to keep your unused coffee in whole bean form and out of the sun.

Step 2 - Wetting the Filter

As any water aficionado can tell you, not all water tastes the same. We definitely agree with that. In fact, your paper filter changes your water taste dramatically. It mostly tastes reminiscent of a sweet glue. We definitely don’t like that taste in our cup, so we recommend fully saturating the filter getting all of those nasty glue tastes out. This helps warm up your brew method to extract better. This is also a good time to add hot water to whatever mug you will be using later.

Open the filter, fold it towards the spine and sweep your finger across the spine to keep the filter in an open position. Drop the filter in the V60 and saturate fully. Discard the filter water.  

Step 3 - Bloom

Add your pre-dosed coffee to the V60 and give it a gentle shake to level out the bed of coffee. Make sure your hot water is about 30 seconds off boil or around 204-208ºF. Next is one of the trickier parts. Start your timer and with as little water as possible (generally around 30-40g), wet the bed of coffee making sure that everything is fully saturated. Most of us start in the middle and spiral out.

Watch as the fresh coffee will rise and release the gases created in the roasting process, known as blooming. This allows for many of the not-so-tasty aromatics to purge. Begin on the next step between 30-60 seconds after starting your bloom.

Step 4 - Pour

Now is time for the main event! Start your pour like the bloom by spiraling in and out of the coffee bed. Pour clockwise until you hit a total of 375g on your scale (including bloom), which you will want to hit at about 1:30. Your pour should be as gentle as possible without breaking the stream. Avoid pouring on the filter as well as pouring too heavily in lightly colored areas of the slurry. Try to give it all an even distribution. 

Step 5 - Clean up and Enjoy!

Once the stream of coffee from the filter starts to stutter and the bed is no longer covered with water, remove the filter and discard. Your timer should read anywhere from 2.5-3.5 minutes depending on the coffee.

If your coffee brewed too quickly, make your grind a bit finer. If your coffee brewed too long, make the grind a bit more course. Remove the hot water warming your mug and replace it with your hard work. Enjoy!

Pro Tip: If your coffee tastes sour, it needed more time brewing. If it tastes bitter, it needed less time.