Whether you call it a V60, drip filter, pour over, Kalita, Melita, or Hario, our V60 brew guide will show you how to nail this brew method. We’re a big fan of the V60 brew method and it’s our go-to every morning here at the roastery. There’s a few things to look out for to nail it though. Like with all coffee brewing the grind degree is a key part. Too fine and your coffee will over-extract; be bitter and lack sweetness, too coarse and your coffee will under extract and be thin and weak. Also, the type of filter paper you use will make a difference. We tend not to recommend unbleached filters as these usually have a stronger paper taste and tend to flow slower. Go for the white (bleached) papers. They’ll give you more clarity in the cup. The drip filter brew method is especially suited for lighter roast coffees and works equally well with natural processed and fully washed coffees. The result will be a clean, bright tasting cup with great clarity and good balance. We recommend something like our Ethiopia Yirgacheffe. Here’s how to nail it.

STEP 1

Place the filter paper in the cone and boil your kettle. Aim for 93 degrees Celsius. On a conventional kettle turn it off when you first see bubbles rising from the bottom. Rinse the filter paper out with approx. 100ml of hot water. This washes any papery taste away and heats the brewing cone and server.

STEP 2

Add the coffee. You want to aim for a medium grind – like granulated sugar. Remember, the finer the grind the slower the extraction. Equally a coarser grind will speed up extraction. Start with a 60g of coffee to 1 litre of water brew ratio, so 12g per 200ml cup. Adjust this to suit your coffee. Very light roast coffees might need a bit more, and more developed coffees might need a little less. In this instance, we used 24g of coffee for 400ml of water.

STEP 3

Pre-infuse the coffee. Pour 10% of the water over the grounds in a circular motion. For example, we used a pre-infusion of 40ml. Wait 30 seconds for the coffee to “bloom”. This begins releasing the CO2 from the coffee and starts the extraction process.

STEP 4

Begin the main pour. Add 50% of the remaining water to start with. Work in a circular motion. Once the level in the cone has reduced by about half, add another 25% of the water and then repeat by finally pouring the remaining 25% over the grounds. The idea of this is to retain a consistent level in the filter cone during brewing. This helps create a more consistent extraction.

STEP 5

Once all the coffee has dripped through agitate the brewed coffee a little and serve. You’re aiming for a total brew time (including the 30 second pre-infusion) of around 3 minutes. This can vary and it’s a good idea to find the “sweet spot” for your coffee.