How to Brew Coffee with Hario V60 Coffee Dripper

To brew coffee in a Hario V60, use 15 g of medium-ground coffee to 250 g of water at 92 to 94 °C. Rinse the paper filter, add the grounds, pour 45 g to wet them and wait 30 to 45 seconds for the bloom, then pour the rest in two or three stages. The whole thing should finish between two and a half and three minutes.

There's not much to a V60. It's a cone, angled at 60 degrees, with one big hole at the bottom and a spiral rib winding up the inside. That's it.

The big hole is the part that matters. Most drippers manage the flow rate for you by restricting it; the V60 hands that job over to you, which is either the appeal or the problem depending on how your morning's going. The ribs are doing something less obvious. They hold the paper off the wall so air can get out while the water drains. Press a wet filter flat against glass sometime and you'll feel it stick. That's what the ribs are preventing.

So the V60 responds to what you do. Pour differently, taste the difference. That sounds like a warning, but it's the reason people stick with them for years.

What you need

• A V60 dripper, plastic from £9, or ceramic, glass and metal
• V60 filter papers in the matching size
• A server, or just a mug the dripper sits on without wobbling
• A gooseneck kettle. The V60 Drip Kettle AIR is the cheapest way in at £22
• A grinder, either the Mini Mill PLUS or the Skerton N, both ceramic burrs
• A scale. You can skip it, but of everything on this list it's the thing that'll change your coffee most

If you'd rather not assemble it piece by piece, the Simply Hario V60 Glass Brewing Kit bundles the dripper, server and papers for £42.

Which one should you actually buy?

The plastic one. We sell a £45 stainless steel V60 and we'd still point you at the £9 plastic first.

It's not a budget compromise. Plastic hits brewing temperature straight away and holds it there, which is why you'll spot them on competition tables next to far more expensive kit. Ceramic looks better on a counter and holds heat beautifully once it's warm, but it pulls heat out of your first pour if you haven't pre-warmed it properly, and most people don't. Glass is lovely to watch. Metal survives being thrown in a bag.

The V60 Dripper NEO takes the plastic idea further if you want the current version of it.

On sizes: 01 does one to two cups, 02 does one to four, 03 goes up to six. Get the 02 unless you know you want otherwise. And they're not interchangeable, so 02 papers in an 01 dripper won't sit right.

The recipe

15 g of coffee, 250 g of water, ground medium, roughly the texture of granulated sugar. Water at 92 to 94 °C, which is about where a kettle sits thirty seconds off the boil.

1. Fold the paper along its seam and drop it in the dripper.
2. Pour hot water through it until it's properly soaked. This washes out the papery taste and warms everything up. Tip that water away.
3. Add the coffee and give the dripper a gentle shake so the bed sits flat.
4. Everything on the scale, zero it.
5. Pour 45 g over the grounds, centre first, spiralling out. Stop short of the paper. Now wait 30 to 45 seconds while the bloom rises.
6. Pour up to 150 g in slow circles. Pause, let the bed drop.
7. Pour up to 250 g. Don't pour onto the paper, because water that hits the filter runs straight down the side and misses the coffee entirely. 
8. Let it finish draining. You're aiming for somewhere between 2:30 and 3:00.

A Polaris scale puts weight and time on the same display, so you can watch your pour rate instead of guessing at it. If keeping the pour even is the bit you're struggling with, the V60 Drip-Assist sits on top and spreads the water for you.

When it doesn't taste right

Thin, sour, watery
Under-extracted. The water got through too quickly. Grind finer. If that doesn't do it, slow the pour down or add a degree or two.

Harsh, bitter, drying
Over-extracted. Grind coarser, or pour a bit faster. If you're going past three and a half minutes, it's almost certainly the grind.

It races through no matter what you do
Two things to check. Is water running down the paper at the edges? And was the coffee bed actually flat before you started? What you're looking for is channelling, water carving one quick route through the grounds and ignoring the rest. It's the most common fault in pour-over and the hardest to spot, because from above everything looks fine.

Where to go next

If pouring isn't your thing, the V60 Switch lets you steep the coffee in the cone and then flick a valve to drain it. Going away? The V60 Suiren uses the same papers and packs flat. And if it's the grind you keep getting stuck on, our grinder guide goes properly into burrs and settings.

Frequently asked questions

What is the correct coffee-to-water ratio for a V60?
Between 1:15 and 1:17. Fifteen grams of coffee to 250 g of water sits comfortably in the middle.

Do I need to rinse V60 filter papers?
Yes. It gets rid of the papery taste and warms the dripper and server, so your brew doesn't lose heat in the first few seconds.

What grind size should I use for the V60?
Medium, roughly the texture of granulated sugar. Finer if the cup tastes thin, coarser if it tastes harsh.

How long should a V60 brew take?
Two and a half to three minutes for a single cup, including a 30 to 45 second bloom.

Can I use another brand's filter papers in a V60?
Only if they're cone filters cut for a 60 degree cone in the right size. Flat-bottomed or trapezoid papers won't seat properly.