How to Adjust V60 Brewing for Different Coffee Doses

The V60 #01 dripper is built for one or two servings, with 15-20g of coffee grounds as the usual dose. When the same dripper handles 10g, 15g, or 25g, the parameters do need to change. In tests with Ethiopian Yirgacheffe Natural Red Cherry at 90C and a 1:15 ratio, the 10g brew finished in 1 minute 35 seconds with a flat, citrusy cup lacking the full body of the natural process.

The 15g dose, bloomed with 30g of water for 30 seconds and poured in stages to 225g, took 2 minutes and delivered berry-like sweet acidity, fermented aroma, almond notes, and a full, smooth mouthfeel. The 25g dose needed a 50g bloom and a longer 2 minute 36 second extraction, showing that bloom water, pour volumes, and timing should scale with the dose in the same size coffee filter cup.

Introduction

The V60 #01 dripper is designed for brewing 1-2 servings of coffee, and using 15-20g of coffee grounds is most suitable. Some friends who can't drink that much alone will brew less, while others sharing with friends will brew more. So, when using the same size dripper to brew different amounts of coffee, do we need to adjust the parameters?

Brewing Experiment

Front Street Coffee will next use Ethiopian Yirgacheffe Natural Red Cherry as the brewing subject. The brewing parameters are: V60 #01 dripper; 90°C water temperature; coffee-to-water ratio 1:15; medium-fine grind (80% passing through China standard No. 20 sieve), circular pouring technique, with brew doses of 10g, 15g, and 25g respectively.

"Before starting the brew, rinse the filter paper with hot water to help it adhere better to the dripper and to preheat the dripper and server."

Brewing 10g of Coffee Grounds

First pour 20g of water, then let it bloom for 20 seconds. Then pour until 90g, pause, and when the water level drops and is about to expose the coffee bed, continue pouring until 150g and stop. When the water level drops and is about to expose the coffee bed, remove the dripper. (Timing starts at the beginning of the bloom) The extraction time is 1'35".

Brewing flavor: Citrusy acidity, honey finish, overall flat, lacking the full-bodied mouthfeel brought by the natural processing method.

Brewing 15g of Coffee Grounds

First pour 30g of water, then let it bloom for 30 seconds. Then pour until 125g, pause, and when the water level drops and is about to expose the coffee bed, continue pouring until 225g and stop. When the water level drops and is about to expose the coffee bed, remove the dripper. (Timing starts at the beginning of the bloom) The extraction time is 2 minutes 00 seconds.

Brewing flavor: Berry-like sweet and sour as the main note, fermented aroma, almond fragrance, honey-sweet finish, rich layering, full and smooth mouthfeel.

Brewing 25g of Coffee Grounds

First pour 50g of water, then let it bloom for 40 seconds. Then pour until 160g, pause, and when the water level drops and is about to expose the coffee bed, continue pouring until 375g and stop. When the water level drops and is about to expose the coffee bed, remove the dripper. (Timing starts at the beginning of the bloom) The extraction time is 2 minutes 36 seconds.

Brewing flavor: Almond bitterness, citrus acidity, tea-like, lacking layering, with a bitter and astringent sensation.

From the brewing flavors, it can be seen that the amount of coffee grounds has a certain impact on coffee extraction. From the images, we can notice that when brewing 10g of coffee grounds, due to the smaller amount, the bowl-shaped coffee bed after brewing appears uneven in thickness. Some water flows into the server without fully extracting the coffee flavors, diluting the coffee liquid, resulting in a flat coffee flavor.

When brewing 25g of coffee grounds, the increase in coffee grounds leads to higher density between particles, narrowing the water flow channels. During brewing, the impact force of the water flow cannot effectively tumble the coffee bed, and after brewing, a uniform bowl-shaped coffee bed cannot form. The bottom layer of coffee grounds is too thick, extending the extraction time, resulting in a bitter and astringent taste.

Furthermore, we can see that when brewing 25g of coffee grounds, the water level is dangerously close to the edge of the dripper! If the water flow is not carefully controlled, the water level will overflow.

How to Brew 10g of Coffee Grounds with the V60 #01 Dripper?

Adjust the water flow rate! When brewing 10g of coffee grounds, to ensure the coffee bed is evenly distributed on the dripper walls, we should choose a fine water flow for brewing. A smaller water flow can reduce the vigorous tumbling of the coffee bed caused by the impact of pouring, which would otherwise cause the coffee grounds to sink to the bottom of the dripper. How fine should the water flow be? Front Street Coffee recommends a medium-fine flow rate of 4-5g per second, while a fine flow rate is 7-8g per second.

How to Brew 25g of Coffee Grounds with the V60 #01 Dripper?

Adjust the grind size! Since the reduced space between coffee particles narrows the water flow channels, we can coarsen the grind size slightly to increase the space between particles. Of course! We shouldn't adjust it too coarsely. The grind size selected for this brewing is 80% passing through China standard No. 20 sieve; the adjusted grind size is recommended to be 75% passing through China standard No. 20 sieve.

However! For the #01 dripper, 25g of coffee grounds is not what its size should handle. If brewing this much coffee grounds for a long time, Front Street Coffee recommends buying a larger #02 dripper ~ Only when the dripper has enough space can it ensure better and more uniform extraction of the coffee grounds.

The above content is compiled by CoffeeHunters, a coffee news website.