Hario V60 Recipe & Interview with Hario Ambassador Nora Smahelova
Nora Smahelova
Co-Founder of Chapter One Coffee, Berlin.
Coffee-Community-Education | La Marzocco Deutschland.
German Barista Champion 2002
How Long Have You Worked in The Coffee Industry?
I started to work as a part time barista in 1999, so more than 20 years ago now… time flies, right?!
What Was Your First V60 Encounter?
I don’t fully remember when I saw a V60 dripper for the first time, but I do remember where I bought my very first V60 - an 02 porcelain dripper. I was judging at a barista competition in Austria, and a German guy - Robin - was running a booth with all kinds of brewing equipment. I was so glad to have the chance to drink some coffee in between my judging, and to be honest, I didn’t expect to find this V60 treasure there. Robin ended up to be the owner of Bestbrew - the HARIO seller for Germany - and became a very close friend of mine.
Why Do You Love the V60?
First of all, I like the V60 aesthetically. I love porcelain and I like simple, timeless objects – and, for me, the V60 Dripper ticks all those boxes! On top of this, it is very easy to handle and doesn’t get blocked like some other drippers.
What’s One of Your Best Memories from Your Career?
One of the best moments I have was at Chapter One in Berlin. We used to be closed on a Monday when we first started the business; and one day I came up with the idea to open for a limited time on Mondays but JUST serve filter coffee. So we can kind of naturally forced customers - who otherwise wouldn’t - to try it. We started to call those Mondays “Black Mondays”, and we’d either pick a guest roastery for the coffees or took from our regular brew offer. I even implemented the use of our espresso machine (a La Marzocco Strada EP) by removing the drip tray and installing three Hario V60s below it. The Strada EP allowed us to create brew profiles with a totally free pressure profiling, and the great thing was, we could even program the profiles. It was like a “automatic machine” using the technology of an espresso machine - but to make brewed coffee! For me, it was the perfect synergy of the espresso and brewed coffee world.
A Message for Hario
It is incredible to see the status that the Hario V60 has reached in the third wave coffee business here in Germany and across the borders in Europe. In Germany, most people are used to Melitta hand filters, as it is more traditional here. But, if you enter a third wave coffee shop, you will most likely find a Hario V60 Dripper. I particularly like the videos Hario did about the production of the porcelain V60 dripper - it is simply just beautiful! One day I hope to have the chance to visit Japan and hopefully see Hario with my own eyes.
Nora Smahelova V60 Recipe
V60: Ceramic
Dose: 18g Coffee
(Colombia Tunubala (Carlos Tunubala – Eucaliptos Farm), washed)
300mL Water (94°C / 201.2°F)
Time: 2:30
There is no universal recipe, because I always tend to adapt the variables. Whether it be the pouring technique, the amount of coffee, the water used, or even the coffee itself - including processing and age after roasting, plus the roast style. I opt for the ceramic V60 because of the temperature stability and material surface texture.
- First, pre wet the filter paper (I choose to use the Hario V60 02 papers produced in Japan). Pour enough water through so that the server gets preheated, as well as the dripper itself.
- Grind 18.5g of coffee and ensure to centralise the grounds in the middle of your Hario V60 dripper.
- Heat the water to 94 degrees Celsius, and conductivity 110 micro siemens.
- For the blooming, start the timer and pour as much water as necessary to pre-wet the coffee grounds. Let it steep for 30 seconds and then pour in a circular motion until you reach a height of approximately 5.5cm. Once you have arrived at this level, observe how fast the water is going through and keep the level with a centre pour until you reach 300mL on the scale and a time of 1:55 minutes.
- The pour will be ready around the 2:30 minute mark (sometimes longer depending on the coffee and roast)
Shop the Hario coffee equipment used in this recipe:
