A few years ago, when I was starting to get passionate about the world of coffee, I saw a video on YouTube where they were preparing the V60 and I thought “but this isn’t coffee… it must be a disgusting drink of diluted coffee that only Americans like.” Well… over time I realized I was slightly wrong and that perhaps there’s more than just espresso. In this article I want to guide you step by step to getting a perfect V60 at home.
The spread of the V60 in the world: from Japan to specialty coffee bars around the globe
The V60 is a method born in Japan in the early 2000s and quickly became one of the symbols of the Third Wave Coffee movement(we’ll talk about it in upcoming articles). From the coffee shops of Tokyo to those of Melbourne, Berlin, New York, and Milan, the V60 has established itself as the favorite tool of baristas and home brewers for its precision and the ability to customize every parameter of the extraction. It’s a star in every World Brewers Cup, and is now an icon in specialty coffee labs around the world.
In this article we’ll explore the three pillars for brewing a perfect coffee with the V60: flow, time, and technique.
What do you need to prepare the V60?
My advice is to buy a Hario Kit like THIS, which has everything you need, including about a hundred filters with which you’ll get familiar.
You’ll then need a kettle. I recommend THIS because it lets you choose the exact temperature in a range from 40° to 100°.
Lastly, a scale. It’s not essential to buy one, but if you have to, then I recommend THIS because it has an integrated timer and it’ll be very useful to have the time at hand when you pour water over the coffee.
Now that we’ve done the shopping, only the main ingredient is missing: the coffee!
Step 1: Weigh and grind
The recommended dose is 15 grams of coffee for 250 ml of water. This figure can be a great starting point, but shouldn’t be a dogma. As we’ve already said and we repeat it here, coffee is a matter of taste, so my suggestion is to experiment with different proportions and you’ll then decide which one suits you best.
The grind for the V60 should be medium, similar to the consistency of sand, slightly coarser. The goal is to avoid a grind that’s too fine, which could clog the filter, or too coarse, which would let the water pass through too quickly without properly extracting the aromas.
As for the roast, I instead recommend a medium-light one which keeps the aromas intact in the cup. Dark roasts are not suitable for this type of preparation.
Step 2: Heat the water and prepare the filter
Heat the water to a temperature between 88 and 95°. Here too, as you can see, I don’t give you an exact value because you’ll be the one to choose the temperature that makes your coffee most enjoyable. It’s clear that the choice of temperature is greatly influenced by the type of coffee we use. In general, the higher the altitude at which the coffee was grown, the denser in aromas the beans will be, requiring hotter water for extraction. Also, the lighter the roast, the more we’ll tend to use a higher temperature to better extract the aromas.
Place the paper filter in the V60 and rinse it with hot water. This eliminates the paper taste and pre-warms the whole system. The water will run down into the carafe and then be discarded. We’re ready then for the third step.
Step 3: Add the coffee and zero the scale
Pour the coffee grounds into the filter you’ve just preheated and level them with a few taps to distribute them evenly.
Place the whole thing (carafe and dripper with the filter) on the scale and zero the tare. You’ll now need to measure how much water you pour over the coffee grounds.
Step 4: Blooming
Start the timer and pour about 40–50 ml of water (2–3 times the weight of the coffee) to dampen the whole bed. Wait 30–45 seconds: the coffee will produce bubbles, it’s releasing CO₂. This step is crucial for a good extraction because otherwise, if you pour all the water at once, the gases produced during roasting would remain trapped, with obvious repercussions on the final taste.
Step 5: Extraction
Pour the remaining water in a circular motion, from the center outward, without wetting the edges of the filter. Keep the flow thin and steady, splitting the extraction into 2 or 3 pours until you reach the total of 250 ml. You can do it this way:
- First the blooming with 50 ml and wait 30-40 seconds
- Pour another 100 ml, always with a steady flow and circular movements. Wait 10-15 seconds
- Pour the last 100 ml to reach the total of 250 ml. Wait until the timer reads a time between 2’30” and 3’00. If the water drops too quickly before this time, it means the grind is too coarse. Conversely, if you see the water can’t drop down, it’s too fine.
Step 6: Let it drip and serve
When the water has completely passed through the coffee bed, remove the dripper. Swirl the carafe or gently stir the cup to blend the aromas and serve a homogeneous liquid.
T he V60: a dance between precision and sensitivity
Getting a perfect cup with the V60 is not just a matter of numbers, but an art made of attention, repetition, and sensory listening. Your hand, your palate, and your curiosity are the best tools for reaching the ideal balance.
