V60 recipes, techniques and ratios

Invented in Japan, drip coffee boasts some of the most complex, nuanced brews amongst the multitude of coffee-making methods. With the right recipes, the Hario V60 stands proud from the luxurious £80 copper funnel to the everymans, £8 plastic v60 cone.

Without any moving parts or complicated design features, this simple, understated contraption is best described as “expert-friendly”. To help you unlock the maximum flavour from your brews, here are the top V60 recipes and technique guides to get you started.

1. Scott Rao’s V60 technique – spin to win

Scott Rao “strongly recommends” the plastic V60, which maintains the heat of the brew and allows you to manipulate the funnel during the brew without burning yourself.

Serving/Ratio: 22g for 360g / 1:16.4
Brew time: 3 mins

1. Rinse filter & pre-heat V60
2. Pour in grounds, flatten, pre-wet with 66g water (~3x weight of grounds).
3. Gently excavate to wet all the grounds within 10s
4. At 45s, start main pour until 360g.
5. Gently stir to stop grounds from clinging to sides
6. At 1min 45s, swirl V60 to flatten coffee bed for even brew
7. Drawdown should be complete within 3 minutes.

2. James Hoffman’s V60 method – turning the heat up

Like Rao, James Hoffman recommends the plastic V60, but personally uses the Hario Drip Decanter, a glass carafe with a plastic insert. Hoffman also emphasises using a pouring kettle for maximum heat, using soft, pleasant-tasting water, and a high-quality burr grinder for consistent grounds.

Grind size: Medium fine
Ratio: 30g for 500g / 1:16.7
Brew time: 3min 30s

1. Rinse filter & pre-heat V60
2. Pour in grounds, create well in the middle.
3. Pre-wet with 60g water (~2x weight of grounds).
4. Swirl brewer until the slurry is even.
5. At 45s, complete the first main pour till 300g in the next 30s.
6. At 1min 15s, gently complete second main pour till 500g in the next 30s.
7. Stir gently clockwise and anticlockwise to kick grounds from the sides
8. Gently swirl brewer to flatten coffee bed for even extraction
9. Aim to finish drawdown by 3min 30s.

Buy James Hoffman’s pourover setup here:

• Kettle: Brewista Artisan Electric Gooseneck Kettle 1L 
• Pourover funnel/carafe: Hario V60 Drip Coffee Decanter 700ml 
• Coffee Scale: Acaia Pearl 

3. Tetsu Kasuya’s 4:6 strategy – control sweetness, acidity & strength with LOGIC and FACTS

2016 World Brewers Cup champion Tetsu Kasuya has a unique way of brewing his pour overs.

While Rao and Hoffman have similar procedures, Kasuya uses a much coarser grind (similar to French press), forgoes the bloom phase, and splits the pours into 5 batches.

According to him, the first 40% adjusts the balance between sweetness and acidity, while the next 60% controls the strength of the coffee.

Grind size: Coarse
Ratio: 20g for 300 / 1:15
Brew time: 3min 30s

1. Rinse filter & pre-heat V60
2. Pour in 20g of coarse-ground coffee
3. Add 60g of water per pour 5 times, waiting 45s between each pour. This results in a total brew of 300g.
4. Control the balance of the coffee by modifying the 1st and 2nd pours. For a sweeter brew, make a smaller first pour (e.g. 50g). For more acidity, a larger one will do the trick.
5. Use either less or more water for the second pour to compensate for the difference (if any) in the first one.
6. The 3rd, 4th and 5th pours can be tweaked to 2 larger 90g pours for a weaker brew, or into 4 smaller 45g pours for a stronger one.

To help you fully embrace his unique brewing technique, Tetsu Kasuya even offers a signature Hario V60 size 02 that has modified spiraled ridges to increase extraction.

4. Intelligentsia – third wave pioneer knows best

A veritable third-wave coffee pioneer, the US-based Intelligentsia Coffee makes local and international best-of lists and is home to award-winning baristas.

Grind size: Fine
Ratio: 26g for 468g / 1:18
Brew time: 4min

1. Rinse filter & pre-heat V60
2. Pour in 26g of coffee (ground to “sand-like” levels)
3. Add 52g (2x weight of grounds) of water for pre-wetting. Pour in a clockwise spiral outward from the centre. Wait ~1 min.
4. Add water 70-100g of water a time, waiting 10-12s between pours. Pours should be slow enough that the water falls directly downward, and concentrated in the centre of the coffee bed, moving outward.
5. Stop once the target weight is reached, removing the dripper once it reaches an occasional drip.

5. Hario’s own recommended V60 recipe

Of course, no one should know better about how to brew on a Hario V60… than Hario themselves. For those who were too eager to get started with their coffee brewing to read the manual, here are the manufacturer’s recommended steps:

Grind size: Medium-fine
Ratio: 12g for 120g / 1:12
Brew time: 3min

1. Fold filter paper and place on dripper, before rinsing and warming with boiling water.
2. Pour in 12g of coffee, shaking the V60 lightly to level the grounds.
3. Pour boiling water from the centre of the grounds, spiralling outwards. Let it pre-wet for 30s.
4. Pour the rest of the brew with the same spiral motion, taking special care to avoid pouring on the filter paper itself.
5. Remove the dripper once your brew is finished.

V60 recipe & technique guide

With its simplicity, the V60 is one of the most versatile methods to experiment with your brewing methods to extract the most flavour from your specialty grounds.

Based on these V60 recipes, you can modify the pouring frequency, agitation, grind size, and a multitude of variables to find a recipe that you can replicate for a quality brew every morning.

Check Our New Range of Coffee Beans for V60 Filter Brewing Below...