How to Use the Hario V60: Complete Guide

The Hario V60 is one of the hardest brewing methods to master, but it’s also one of the most rewarding. It’s more finicky and difficult to get right than, say, the French press, but once you get it dialed in, it makes the best-tasting coffee I’ve ever had.

In this guide, I’m going to teach you all the tricks of the V60 trade. I’m going to teach you my favorite recipe, discuss what types of coffee work best with the V60, and share some tips you can use to troubleshoot your brew when it doesn’t come out the way you want.

What is the Hario V60?

The V60 is a simple cone-shaped pour-over coffee maker. It comes in plastic, glass, and ceramic versions. The plastic is my favorite because it’s cheap and insulates well. I have a red, plastic V60, which doesn’t win any points for aesthetics but works well and has been a workhouse for me for the last eight years.

The thin filter and large hole at the bottom of the cone are what make the v60 challenging to use. The only thing that controls the water flow is the grind size. You absolutely need a high-quality grinder to use the v60 to its fullest capability—I use a Lido 3 hand grinder.

I’ve also gotten decent results with a Baratza Encore electric grinder, but it’s a noticeable dropoff compared to using my Lido 3. You can read about the differences between manual and electric coffee grinders in this grinder guide.

You’ll need a kettle of some kind to make coffee with a V60. I highly recommend using a gooseneck kettle, but you can use whatever kettle you have. If you’re thinking about getting a new kettle and are interested in exploring V60 brewing, I suggest getting an electric, temperature-controlled gooseneck kettle.

Having a temperature control lets you dial in a specific temperature, which helps with consistency, and the gooseneck makes it much easier to pour water in a controlled fashion, which is essential for getting good results with the V60.

Why You Should Learn How to Use a V60

I’ve found that the V60 makes the most nuanced coffee, highlighting a coffee bean’s acidity and brightness better than any other method I’ve tried. It gives you the most control over your coffee of any brewing method, which means you can tweak and tune your brewing parameters until your coffee comes out just the way you like it.

The V60 also offers a nice middle ground between the crisp, clear brews you get from a Chemex and the full-bodied coffee you get from a French press. The V60 doesn’t filter out as much as the Chemex, so you don’t sacrifice as much body. Also, the V60’s paper filter removes some of the compounds that make French press coffee bad for your heart and cholesterol.

Finally, it’s just plain old fun to use! Brewing coffee with the v60 has a zen-like feel to it, which makes it a satisfying part of my morning routine. Dialing in a new bean with my V60 is an extremely enjoyable experience, sort of like solving a puzzle where the reward is delicious coffee.

The Best Hario V60 Recipe

Before we get into the recipe itself, I should mention that it took me years to settle on this recipe. You should treat this recipe as a starting point and tweak it to suit your taste. Half the fun of brewing with the V60 is the trial and error you do as you hone in on your own perfect cup of coffee.

Enough of that, on to the recipe:

1. Measure the water and coffee. Weigh out 16 grams of coffee and around 350–400 grams of water. You only need 240 grams of water for the brew. You’ll use the extra to rinse the filter.
2. Heat the water. Heat the water to 205 degrees Fahrenheit. If you don’t have a temperature-controlled kettle or a thermometer, bring the water to a boil and let it sit for about 1:30.
3. Grind the coffee. Grind the coffee beans on a medium to medium-fine setting. On my Lido 3, I set it between 0+4 and 0+5. The grinds should be about the consistency of table salt.
4. Rinse the filter. Pour enough water on the filter to wet it entirely. This helps remove any papery taste and preheat the cone and your mug. Don’t forget to pour the water out after you’re done rinsing.
5. The bloom. Add the ground coffee to the cone and pour about 45 grams of water over the grounds. The goal of this step is to wet all the grinds evenly to allow them to off-gas. Wait about 30 seconds before moving on to the next step.
6. The main pour. After about 30 seconds, pour the remaining water. Pay attention to how you pour the water. Focus on pouring water in any dark patches you see, as these are places where the grounds are clumped together and drier than the surrounding grounds. Try not to pour directly on the filter since that will allow the water to bypass the coffee, making your cup weaker and less flavorful.
7. The swirl. When you’re done with the main pour, give the cone a quick swirl. The goal here is to knock grounds off the walls of the cone and level the coffee bed. A flat coffee bed at the end of the drawdown is a good sign that your extraction was even.

Troubleshooting V60 Coffee

The most common troubleshooting tip you’ll find online for V60 brewing is to pay attention to the drawdown time. Total drawdown time is a useful diagnostic metric, but it isn’t everything. Ultimately, taste is what matters. I aim for 2:30 to 3:00 minutes, but if your coffee is finished draining at 2:00 and tastes great, don’t worry about the time.

If you think your coffee is over or under-extracted, you’ll have to adjust the grind size. Keep it simple. Grind finer if the coffee is sour and thin, and coarser if it’s bitter and dusty. Check out our grinder settings guide for a more detailed look at getting your grind size right.

Some people use a 1:16 coffee-to-water ratio instead of my 1:15 ratio. Try both to see what you prefer!

Remember to pour gently to wet the grounds evenly while avoiding pouring directly on the filter, which will make your cup weak and watery.

Comparing the V60 to Other Brew Methods

The V60 stands out from other manual brewing devices because of its fast drain time and light body. It’s my favorite brewing method, but it’s certainly not the only way to make good coffee at home. Before I wrap up, I want to quickly compare the V60 to other popular brewing methods.

Chemex

The Chemex uses thicker filters that extract less oil and retain less body than the V60. This produces a cleaner, crisper cup compared to the V60’s fuller body. A lot of people favor the Chemex for its exceptionally clear coffee, but I find the results to be lacking character and a bit boring compared to the V60.

Practically speaking, the Chemex drains more slowly than the wide-open V60, partially because it has a narrower opening and partially because of its thicker filters. This allows for a more uniform extraction and makes it much easier to get a good result using the Chemex. The downside is that the Chemex lacks the sweetness and nuance of a great V60 brew.

In my opinion, looks are the only area where the Chemex clearly beats the V60. There’s no denying that the Chemex’s striking hourglass shape and glass and wood design make it look much better on the counter than the plain V60. My red plastic V60 looks like a child’s toy that was left out by mistake next to the elegant Chemex.

French Press

French press is on the opposite end of the spectrum from the V60. Its metal screens allow for full immersion of the grounds to extract lots of oils and body. But this also extracts more bitterness and can leave sediment in your cup. The V60 offers a balanced cup that is cleaner than the French press but fuller than Chemex. It’s the perfect balance, in my opinion.

One of the advantages the French press has over the V60 is capacity. The standard one-liter French press makes much more coffee than the V60, which makes French press a better brewing method if you’re making coffee for friends and family.

Kalita Wave

The Kalita Wave uses a flat bottom with 3 small holes compared to the V60’s single large one. This produces a more even, consistent extraction versus the V60’s tendency to channel through the grounds. However, in capable hands, the V60 can produce a complex, sweet cup that’s less uniform but more dynamic than the coffee you’ll get from the Kalita Wave.

My favorite thing about the Kalita Wave is how consistent it is. I prefer the coffee I can coax out of my V60, but the Kalita is so simple to use that it feels like a cheat code for great coffee.

I also like that the Kalita Wave is a hybrid of a pour-over and immersion brewer. The three small holes slow the draining down enough that the coffee grounds get to sit in the water for a while, mimicking an immersion brew. At the same time, the water steadily drains throughout the entire brewing process the same way it does in a pour-over brewer.

Conclusion

Learning to use the v60 takes effort but it’s worth it! A plastic V60 is cheap, durable, insulates well, and is the perfect way to get started making pour-over coffee. Give my recipe a try as a starting point, but don’t be afraid to experiment. And most importantly: have fun dialing in delicious pour-over coffee!

FAQs

What type of coffee grind should I use for V60?

Aim for a medium to medium-fine grind that resembles table salt. The grounds should clump together slightly when pinched between your fingers. Too fine and the flow will be restricted, too coarse and the water will drain too fast. Use the drawdown time to assess your grind size. If it takes longer than 3:00, you might consider grinding more coarsely. If the water drains in less than 2:00, you should probably grind a little bit finer.

How important is water temperature for V60 brewing?

Very! Water that is too cold won’t efficiently extract flavors from the beans. 205°F is ideal, but anything from 200-208°F can work. I use a temperature-controlled kettle so that I know my water is always the same temperature when I brew. If you don’t have a kettle with a thermometer, bring your water to a boil and then let it cool for about one minute.

Can I make more than one cup at a time with the V60?

It’s best to brew just one cup, about 8-12 oz. Trying to make more leads to uneven extraction. Simply brew back-to-back cups instead of increasing the recipe size. Hario makes a larger cone, but I’ve struggled to get good results with it. You should choose a brew method with a larger capacity, like a Chemex or French press if you need to make more than one cup at a time.

Do I need special kettles or pouring technique to make V60 coffee?

A gooseneck kettle will make your life much easier when making coffee with the V60. A regular kettle can work, but it’s much harder to get an even pour without the control you get from a gooseneck kettle. Focus on keeping a consistent, gentle pour centered on the coffee bed. That matters more than the kettle shape.

Is a reusable or paper filter better for V60 coffee?

Paper filters make a cleaner cup and are easier to learn on. Reusable works, too, once you dial in the right grind size to slow the increased flow rate. Try both and decide which you like better. One benefit to using a reusable filter is that it cuts down on waste. Using a disposable paper filter every day isn’t great for the environment, and a reusable cloth filter can work just as well.