In this beginner’s brewing guide, I’ll show you step-by-step how to brew coffee with a Hario V60. This pour over coffee brewer is fantastic and also super easy to use. You’ll love it.
But that’s not all… I’ll also give you some information about the coffee brewer itself, the best coffee beans to use, the best coffee grind for this brewing technique, and I will also show you the best way to clean this coffee brewer.
Are you ready to learn the best way to brew some amazing coffee using the Hario V60? If so, grab some coffee and start reading away!
What is a Hario V60?
The Hario V60 is a V-cone manual coffee brewer that brews pour over style coffee. The coffee brewer has multiple sizes and materials. Currently, I’m using the clear version of the Hario V60 coffee dripper.
I highly recommend checking out the link above; this links to the same version I am using. I think this is the best of the bunch to start your coffee journey. It’s not that expensive, and it’s great in use.
However, there are many more different styles of this coffee brewer; this is why I love this coffee brewer so much. You can even get this coffee dripper in all kinds of colors!
How does Hario V60 coffee taste?
The coffee tastes like a balanced cup of coffee with (depending on the coffee beans used) notes of sweetness and just the right amount of punch to it.
Like every pour over technique, this coffee brewer uses a coffee filter to filter out any coffee beans’ inconsistencies. You are not getting the overpowering and robust coffee flavors found in French press coffee because of the coffee filter.
When you are just starting with home-brewing coffee, the Hario V60 is a great starting place. Let me guide you through this article, beginning with the equipment list down below:
Hario V60 equipment list to get started
Before we can get started on the brewing guide, there’re a few things you need to have near you to make sure you get the best coffee extraction possible. I have listed them down below:
- The coffee brewer
- Same brand coffee filters
- Coffee beans
- Coffee grinder (only if you want to use whole bean coffee)
- Scale to get the best measurements
- A small spoon
Let’s talk Hario V60 coffee filter
Of course, if you want to brew awesome coffee using the Hario V60, you’ve got to have the coffee brewer. But do you know what is even more important than the coffee brewer itself? Coffee filters.
The right coffee filters will fit your coffee brewer perfectly, without any excess filter paper on the sides. There are multiple styles and versions of this coffee brewer. I use the Hario V60 02 at home, so I will show you how to use this coffee brewer.
However, if you have a version 01 or 03, the same brewing technique will apply as these versions are just a bigger version of the same coffee brewer.
There’s a difference in size for the filters as well, make sure you grab the right one when. You’ll know it’s the right version because the same numbers will be pressed on the filters. For example; I use the Hario V60 version 02 and the filters are stamped with a 02.
What coffee beans to use for Hario V60 coffee?
The next important part of brewing Your Dream Coffee at home is using the best coffee beans.
I recommend using a medium roasted coffee bean for the brewing of pour over coffee and specifically for this coffee brewer. These coffee beans have just the right amount of punch from the roasting and enough sweetness and flavors for you to discover to make a great cup of coffee.
If you only have dark roasted coffee beans, don’t worry; these coffee beans will work as well. Your coffee will just taste a bit stronger, but you can still use them if this is not a problem for you.
Making coffee with a Hario V60 is a great way to try many different coffee beans, so you get to know what kind of coffee beans you really like.
The next best thing for you to try at home is using a coffee grinder to grind your whole bean coffee. Whole bean coffee has only been roasted and packaged. These coffee beans can be ground to any size you like, using a coffee grinder.
For the brewing of your coffee, I suggest using a medium to fine coffee grind to extract all the delicious flavors from the coffee beans. The grind size I like to use for the brewing of the coffee looks like this:
As you might have noticed, the ground coffee isn’t super fine, but also not very coarse. This is because when you grind your coffee beans too fine, you’ll over-extract them, and your coffee will begin to taste sour.
Furthermore, if you grind your coffee beans too coarse, you have the chance of under-extracting them. You don’t want this because this will leave you with bitter notes that aren’t very pleasant.
Do you want to brew coffee with this coffee brewer using pre-ground coffee? No problem, follow the same steps of the brewing guide. But skip the part about grinding your coffee beans.
Extra equipment you’re going to need
There are just a few things left on the list before starting this article’s brewing part. You will need a small spoon to stir the sides of the Hario V60 while brewing and a scale to get the right amount of coffee and water for your coffee.
If you want to brew great coffee, you will need to use the right ratio of coffee to water. Down below, you’ll see a table on the coffee to water ratio for Hario V60 coffee:
| The total amount of brewed coffee: | Amount of coffee needed: | Amount of water needed: |
| 1 cup (0.24 l) | 18 grams | 1 cup (0.24 l) |
| 2 cups (0.47 l) | 36 grams | 2 cups (0.47 l) |
| 3 cups (0.71 l) | 54 grams | 3 cups (0.71 l) |
| 4 cups (0.95 l) | 72 grams | 4 cups (0.95 l) |
For this article’s brewing process, I used 18 grams of coffee to 1 cup (0.24 l) of water. This way, I get to enjoy a nice cup of coffee, and I can place it onto my coffee cup. Let’s get into the brewing guide of the Hario V60:
How to brew coffee with a Hario V60
Down below, we’ll go over the brewing guide for the Hario V60 coffee brewer. Do you have everything ready? Let’s begin.
1. If you haven’t done so yet, grind your coffee beans to the grind size I have listed above.
2. Put on the kettle with water. Boil more water than you are going to need for the coffee brewing, as you will use this to rinse the coffee filter and preheat the Hario V60 and your cup.
3. Once the water has come to boil, take it off and start rinsing your coffee filter. Make sure to get all the edges of the filter and throw out the water that has run through. You don’t want this water to merge with your delicious coffee. The coffee filter will look like this:
4. Now, add your ground coffee beans in the middle of the Hario V60 and make a small hole in the middle of the ground coffee. This will ensure proper blooming of the coffee:
5. Pour 1/4 of the total water on top of your ground coffee beans, making sure to wet every coffee ground. The coffee beans will now start to bloom, leave the coffee to bubble away for the next 30 seconds:
6. After you’ve given the coffee a chance to bloom, pour on the remaining water. You’ll want to slowly pour the water on top, making sure not to disturb the coffee beans too much:
If you are brewing more than 2 cups (0.47 l) of coffee, you can pour the remaining water on the coffee in two rounds. You don’t want to keep adding water to the Hario V60 and flood the coffee brewer with water.
7. Your coffee will now start the full brewing process. When all of the water has been added, scrape the sides of the Hario V60 using the small spoon. When doing so, you are making sure all of the coffee particles are at the bottom of your coffee brewer. The coffee will extract all the coffee flavor and will taste great because of it:
8. The coffee is fully extracted when all that’s left is a filter full of wet coffee grounds. Proper extraction of the coffee beans looks like this:
The coffee bed left is flat, so the water had no way of getting through that easily. Essentially forcing the water through the ground coffee, leaving amazing coffee along the way.
9. Now, all there is left to do is drink your home-brewed coffee! Don’t forget to move onto the next part of this article, undoubtedly the most crucial part: the cleaning of your Hario V60:
How to clean a Hario V60
If you want to keep making great coffee at home, you’ve got to clean your coffee equipment the right way.
I don’t use this coffee brewer that often, but I give it a good rinse with hot running water every time I have brewed coffee.
Are you using your coffee brewer more often? You can also clean it with a bit of green soap and some hot running water. This way, you’ll clean it all the way; it’s best to do this at least once every week. If you use the Hario V60 a lot, you should aim to clean it thoroughly twice a week.
Do you have some gnarly coffee stains on your coffee brewer which don’t want to go, I suggest reading this article about cleaning the Hario V60. In this article, I go over four ways to cleaning your Hario V60 with different techniques. These tips will help get those coffee stains out of there.
Conclusion
I have gone over the most important things when talking about brewing awesome coffee with the Hario V60. In the step-by-step brewing guide of this coffee brewer, I have told you all about the brewing process of this coffee maker and guided you through it.
I hope to have given you all the information about brewing with a Hario V60 so that you will give it a try yourself. If you are interested in exploring even more of the coffee world by reading about even more beginner brewing guides, I suggest clicking below.
Are you going to give the Hario V60 coffee dripper a chance? Let me know by leaving a comment down below. If you have any other questions regarding coffee, you can also contact me directly by pressing the “Contact Me” button at the top!
