The perfect V60 —
step by step
The V60 is a pour-over filter for brewing a clean, aromatic coffee. With a little practice you can brew a cup at home that shows off fruity and delicate notes beautifully.
What you need
- V60 dripper and matching paper filters
- Coffee grinder (freshly ground tastes noticeably better)
- A scale and a timer
- Kettle, ideally with a gooseneck spout
The recipe at a glance
A good starting point is a ratio of about 1 part coffee to 16 parts water. For a large cup that is roughly 18 g of coffee to 290 g of water. Grind medium-fine — about like table salt — and heat the water to around 92–96 °C.
Step by step
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1
Rinse the filter
Insert the paper filter and rinse it thoroughly with hot water. This removes the paper taste and pre-heats the carafe at the same time. Discard the rinse water.
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2
Weigh in the coffee
Add the freshly ground coffee to the filter and shake it gently level. Tare the scale and start the timer with the first contact of water.
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3
Blooming (0:00–0:45)
Pour roughly twice the weight of the coffee in water — for 18 g about 40 g — and wait 45 seconds. The grounds swell and release carbon dioxide. This step ensures an even extraction.
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4
Pour in stages
Pour the remaining water in two to three slow, circular pours. Let the level drop a little in between, but never run completely dry. All the water should be poured by around 2:00.
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5
Let it draw down
The total brew time is ideally between 2:30 and 3:30 minutes. Give the carafe a quick swirl, pour and enjoy.
Fine-tuning
If the coffee tastes sour or thin, the extraction was too short: grind a little finer or pour more slowly. If it tastes bitter or dry, it was too long: grind coarser or shorten the brew time. Always change only one variable at a time and work your way in.