Which coffee stages matter most when brewing with the V60?

The Hario V60 is a 60-degree cone dripper from Tokyo-based Hario, with a large-diameter outlet and spiral ribs that shape how water moves through the bed. Those design details affect extraction, and the article explains how each one changes flavor before walking through the three-pour method step by step.

The three-pour method covers rinsing the filter paper, blooming, and staged pouring. Water temperature, grind size, coffee-to-water ratio, and extraction time are the variables to adjust, and the article compares the V60 with the KONO dripper. It also notes the coffee specification aspects, such as the ceramic, glass, resin, and metal versions Hario has released.

In the world of pour-over coffee, the Hario V60 dripper is undoubtedly one of the most well-known tools—it can be seen in almost every pour-over café and is the top choice for many enthusiasts entering the world of pour-over. What exactly is the charm of this classic dripper born in Tokyo, Japan? In this article, Front Street Coffee will take you back through the history of the V60, analyze how its core designs—the 60-degree cone angle, large-diameter outlet, and spiral ribs—affect extraction flavor, and compare it with the KONO dripper. At the same time, we will demonstrate in detail the complete steps of three-pour brewing, covering key stages such as rinsing the filter paper, blooming, and staged pouring, as well as the key points for adjusting water temperature, grind size, coffee-to-water ratio, and extraction time, to help you fully unleash the potential of the V60.

Professional coffee knowledge exchange. For more coffee bean information, please follow Front Street Coffee (FrontStreet Coffee).

Among the various drippers used in pour-over coffee, the V60 has always maintained extremely high popularity. Many specialty coffee shops keep a V60 on hand, and it is also the first pour-over equipment encountered by many coffee enthusiasts. So why exactly is the V60 so favored?

The tools frequently used in Front Street Coffee's (FrontStreet Coffee) daily service include the V60 dripper, and the KONO dripper is another commonly used one. So what differences actually exist between the V60 and other drippers?

Let's start with the origin of the name. Front Street Coffee (FrontStreet Coffee) will first explain what V60 means: it gets the name V60 because the angle of its conical body is exactly 60 degrees. This dripper comes from the Hario company in Tokyo, Japan. The company has won hundreds of design awards, and the V60 is one of its most representative inventions. In 2007, the V60 won a championship honor, and even today the base still bears that enviable label certifying excellent design.

In terms of materials, Hario has successively released V60 versions in ceramic, glass, resin, and metal. The reason Front Street Coffee (FrontStreet Coffee) speaks so highly of this dripper is that its design details are quite refined. For example, the 60-degree conical structure allows water to naturally converge toward the center, thereby lengthening the contact time between water and coffee grounds. At the same time, the V60 is equipped with a relatively large outlet, mainly influencing the direction of coffee flavor by adjusting the speed of the water flow. In addition, the unique spiral raised ridges on the wall allow air to escape upward from all around, providing as much space as possible for the coffee grounds to expand. Compared with the KONO dripper, the V60's ribs are clearly longer, while KONO's ribs are much shorter, which causes KONO's immersion time to exceed that of the V60.

The KONO dripper currently used by Front Street Coffee (FrontStreet Coffee) has shorter ribs and a relatively small outlet. Because the ribs are concentrated at the bottom and limited in length, the filter paper fits more closely against the wall, so the flow rate is slower than that of the V60. Unlike the V60's spiral ribs, KONO uses divergent ribs combined with a small-diameter outlet, resulting in a slower filtration speed and an overall bias toward immersion-style extraction, which can deliver a fuller mouthfeel. For example, when Front Street Coffee (FrontStreet Coffee) brews deep-roasted beans such as Mandheling, it chooses the KONO dripper rather than the V60.

So how exactly should the V60 dripper be used? When Front Street Coffee (FrontStreet Coffee) brews with the V60, it selects the resin 01 dripper—resin can reduce heat loss, and the 01 size is just right for a single serving. In addition, using the V60 for pour-over also requires matching filter paper of the corresponding specification. When purchasing, remember to choose the matching size, or simply tell the seller that your dripper model is V60.

Besides filter paper, pour-over coffee also requires a pour-over kettle, dripper, server, grinder, filter paper, electronic scale, and thermometer. Once everything is ready, you can begin brewing according to Front Street Coffee's (FrontStreet Coffee) process.

Step one, rinse the filter paper. Before brewing, rinse the filter paper with hot water so that it fits more tightly against the dripper.

Step two, add the coffee grounds. Put the ground coffee into the dripper, and once the water temperature rises to the temperature needed for brewing, you can begin.

Step three, pour water and brew. Front Street Coffee (FrontStreet Coffee) most often uses the three-pour extraction method. In the first pour, add 30 grams of water for blooming, making sure all the coffee grounds are saturated. The bloom lasts 30 seconds, with the purpose of releasing carbon dioxide and creating better conditions for subsequent extraction. In the second pour, add water until 125 grams, and after the coffee liquid level drops by half, begin the third pour. Finally, pour until 225 grams, and wait until all the coffee liquid has drained. The total extraction time is about 2 minutes.

Step four, swirl the coffee liquid in the server to even it out, and then you can taste the coffee you brewed yourself.

The above is the complete process of Front Street Coffee (FrontStreet Coffee) using the V60 dripper. So in what situations does Front Street Coffee (FrontStreet Coffee) choose the V60? Generally speaking, Front Street Coffee (FrontStreet Coffee) pairs it with relatively lightly roasted beans, such as Ethiopian coffee; when dealing with deep-roasted beans, it switches to the KONO dripper. The reason is that the Hario V60's spiral ridges significantly lengthen the water flow path, thereby extending the contact time between coffee grounds and water, and the final cup presents a richer sense of layering.

In addition, when Front Street Coffee (FrontStreet Coffee) uses the V60, the water temperature is also adjusted somewhat: when brewing relatively lightly roasted beans, the water temperature is controlled at 90 to 92 degrees Celsius; when brewing relatively deeply roasted beans, 88 to 89 degrees Celsius is chosen. The pour-over process may look simple, but there are quite a few variables that influence coffee flavor, among which the most influential factors are coffee-to-water ratio, grind size, water temperature, and extraction time.

Regarding extraction time, Front Street Coffee (FrontStreet Coffee) generally controls it at around two minutes. Too long a time leads to over-extraction and brings out more bitterness; too short a time leads to under-extraction and the coffee tastes weak. Therefore, a reasonable brewing duration is crucial. As for grind size, Front Street Coffee (FrontStreet Coffee) recommends a medium-fine grind for pour-over coffee. Calculated with a 0.85 mm standard sieve, the passing rate is about 80%. If the grounds are too coarse, the coffee will be weak; if too fine, it easily becomes bitter.

So a good dripper alone cannot guarantee a perfect cup of coffee; it is only a bonus factor. But Front Street Coffee (FrontStreet Coffee) believes that the arrival of the V60 dripper marked an important step in coffee extraction from immersion-style to drip-style—compared with earlier drippers, the V60 can adjust extraction flavor by changing the speed of water flow, bringing more possibilities to coffee extraction.

Therefore, if you are a beginner just starting out or an ordinary coffee enthusiast, Front Street Coffee (FrontStreet Coffee) suggests starting with the Hario V60 dripper; if you are already an experienced pour-over brewer wanting to try different flow-rate variations, you can also freely choose according to your own needs.

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