Hario V60: the one-cup recipe

This is the recipe Hario publishes on its website, by James Hoffmann: 15 g of coffee to 250 g of water, a medium-fine grind and freshly boiled water if the coffee is a light roast. Hario’s own V60 instructions give a similar reference: 10 to 12 g of coffee per 120 ml and a brew that doesn’t go past 3 minutes.

If you’ve never made filter coffee, the plastic V60 is the cheapest way to start. If you’re torn between this and a Chemex, see V60 vs Chemex.

Step by step

1. Put the paper filter in the cone and wet it with hot water. Pour that water away: it removes the paper taste and warms the cone.
2. Add 15 g of medium-fine ground coffee and tare the scale.
3. Pour 50 g of water so the coffee “blooms” and give the cone a gentle swirl. Wait until 45 seconds.
4. Between 0:45 and 1:00, pour up to 100 g in total. Pause for 10 seconds.
5. Carry on in 50 g pours with short pauses: 150 g by about 1:20, 200 g by about 1:40 and 250 g by about 2:00.
6. Give the cone a last gentle swirl so the bed ends up flat and let it finish draining.

If it doesn't taste right

• Bitter or dry: grind a little coarser.
• Sour or weak: grind a little finer.
• Change only one thing at a time, and note what you changed.
• Use soft or filtered water: Hario’s recipe asks for it specifically.