*THE ULTIMATE V60 TECHNIQUE* Brew ratio: 60 g/L (e.g. 30 g per 500 mL) Grind size: medium fine Temperature: *the hotter, the better* (especially with lighter roasts) ◉ Grind 30 g of coffee ◉ Rinse paper filter with water just off the boil _This removes any paper taste and preheats the brewer_ ◉ Add coffee grounds to V60 ◉ Create well in the middle of the grounds _This helps to evenly saturate all the grounds during the blooming phase_ ◉ Start timer _t = __0:00_ ◉ Add 2x coffee weight = 60 g of bloom water _Don’t use more than 3x coffee weight_ ◉ Swirl the coffee slurry until evenly mixed _The aim is to wet all the coffee grounds by evenly mixing bloom water and coffee_ *Swirling is better than using a spoon* ◉ Bloom for up to 45 s _This allows CO2 to escape which will improve extraction_ _t = __0:45_ ◉ Add water aiming for 60% of total brew weight = 300 g in the next 30 s *This phase is critical!* _Since you already added 60 g bloom water, add 240 g in 30 s (flow rate = 8 g/s)_ _A full V60 is good to maintain high temperatures_ _t = __1:15_ _P.S.: Don’t worry about pouring directly onto the V60 filter_ ◉ Add water aiming for 100% of the total brew weight = 500 g in the next 30 s _Since you already added 300 g water, add 200 g in 30 s (flow rate = 6.66 g/s)_ _Poor a little slower than in the first phase, not too aggressively_ _t = __1:45_ ◉ Stir 1x clockwise and 1x anticlockwise with spoon _This knocks off grounds from side wall_ ◉ Allow V60 to drain a little ◉ Give V60 a gentle swirl _This helps obtain a flat coffee bed at bottom of V60 for even extraction_ ◉ Let brew drawdown *The higher the temperature, the faster the drawdown* _Filter paper also affects drawdown_ _Aim to finish drawdawn by t = __3:30_ ◉ *Enjoy!*
One more thing to try before enjoying the Brew: stir the coffee with a spoon. Especially if you are brewing directly into a mug. Similar reasoning to stirring an espresso before drinking, you mix the top bitter layers with the bottom sweet layers into homogenized goodness.
Amazing video! I have gone through many techniques how to brew coffee by using V60 but this one is the most reasonable. Thank you very much for sharing your knowledge / experience and for putting so much effort into this video. 👍🏽🙂
I just realized that stirring tastes worse than swirling is because ppl often stir with a cold spoon, thus messing up the brew temperature... Just a theory tho
@@stonecat676 absolutely. I thought of the same thing. Started using warmed up spoon (sitting in a bit of hot water). It seems to have worked. My problem now is getting a proper grind size to eliminate my longer draw down. On my harío manual ceramic grinder, I started at 26 clicks, but now at 21. Big difference. Any suggestions?
If you're struggling to remember how much 60% of the total water weight is, it will always be 10x the amount of coffee when using his ratios. So 30g coffee->300g water.
Timestamps for Replays: 3:49 coffee to water ratio/ filter rinse 4:36 final setup before pour 5:26 bloom stage pour 5:52 bloom stage swirl 6:33 60% total liquid in 8:05 100% total liquid in 8:30 spoon knock down 8:49 final swirl 11:01 conclusion/extraction adjustments
This could easily be the tracklist for the next Radiohead album They really went back to their roots with "Spoon Knock Down" and "Bloom Stage Swirl" imo
@@MysterousBear "final swirl" never misses to give me chills. The mood of the song always echoes me that exit music feeling. Prolly one of my fav albums so far
This series is such a welcome alternative to most other coffee instruction videos, with their meandering narrations and clumsy presentations. The Hoff is fluent, focused and engaging, with a likable personality. His speaking voice is well-rounded, not over-extracted, with prominent notes of origin.
Been practicing this for the past 2 days. Think I finally got the technique down this morning. We had a houseguest from Los Angeles visiting and I told him to give the coffee a try. His response was, "Damn, you people in Seattle really know how to make good coffee". I thought my pour over was good before. Thanks for improving it several times over by sharing this excellent technique.
I have been home brewing for 4 years now and I still come back and watch this from time to time. You always re-learn something, or maybe understand some things a little better.
I never had interest in making amazing coffee until I ran into your channel. Now I have a coffee grinder, good beans and spend all my time wondering how I can best optimize the flavor of my coffee. What have you done to me James!!!
Same as me. I used to drink .50 cents espresso vending machine shots with 3 spoons of sugar. Now i am living in a V60 paper house eating used coffee beans for breakfast and sun drying my own vineyard coffee beans
I keep coming back to this video. It's a good touch-point, to reset any habits I've slid into, and to question any changes I've made to my brew. Thanks James!
Thought I would add some observations after working with this method for the last week. I had been brewing 22g of coffee to 360g of water based on Scott Rao’s recommendation. A key insight that James provided here was the relativity of the pour to dose: it led me to realize that experimenting with the pour and agitation was going to be a whole lot easier if I was brewing a larger batch of coffee. Once I moved to 30 / 500 as in the video, it not only became easier to pour, but troubleshooting the brew became easier as well. Meaning the bitterness of channeling or the hollowness of under-extraction became far easier to discern. One other benefit of moving to a larger batch was that it also made it immediately obvious that I was getting channeling at the seam of the filter. There was a buildup of fines at the crease compared to the rest of the filter. Prepping the filter is not discussed in this video, which might be a welcome addition if James ever makes a V2 of this video. ;) I ended up referencing George Howell’s V60 video and watched how he prepped his filter: creasing it firmly against the counter and then pressing it firmly into the brewer to ensure that it was fully expanded before pre-wet. I think my poor prep of the filter was setting my brews up for failure. After going through a few bags of coffee this week, I’ve learned a lot about V60 brewing even though I’ve been making them at home for over a year. James’s ability to communicate the ideas behind what makes the technique work, as opposed to just demonstrating a recipe, really helped guide my brewing experiments and ultimately obtaining a more enjoyable cup.
Can confirm that my V60 with the small cone (01) finally taste good after adapting this insight! The key is to be more careful in the 1st phase, and then pour really close to the paper during in the 2nd phase. It ends up looking quite a lot different from brewing with the medium (02) cone
Totally agree, videos that skip the "why" explanations are almost useless if anything isn't going right. If I know WHY I am doing something, I can start to troubleshoot myself.
I once had to spit out my first sip from a cup that was brewed with a loose filter seam. I shouted at the barista, "DIDN'T YOU FIRMLY CREASE THE FILTER SEAM? YOU DIDN'T, DID YOU!" (Or maybe I just dreamed it.)
This has been my technique for V60 for over a year. It took me a long time to get the grind size and technique right (weeks to months) but now I can produce consistently delicious pour overs. Thank you!
James - As an american who is stuck at home for the pandemic and learning how to make goof coffee at home, your videos are more than god given. I hope that i will be given an opportunity to have a chat with you in person over coffee in a more lively and proper way
Thank you! My single biggest frustration with V60 recipes is that no one has quantified or explained as well as you have here the flow needed when pouring after the bloom. I noticed this weekend after doing some cuppings at home that I was pouring far too gently from the kettle. Not agitating the coffee enough and thus not getting a crust when cupping. My plan was to apply that to my V60 brews this week. This will make the trial and error far easier!
Thank you I’ve been enjoying your channel as a scientist for quite a while. I recently bought a V60 and wanted to experiment. I found this video and I think I’m in heaven. I’ve been very happy with a series of French presses and how we’ve managed making good French press coffee. This is another step. My V60 is far from perfect, but I see how to make it better
I just want to say, thank you for existing and making these videos. I’ve searched high and low for a quality channel dedicated to COFFEE. I’ve struck gold!
This video has literally transformed my v60 brews at home to a whole other level. I can finally definitively taste the notes that are listed on the coffee I buy. Thank you so much! How exciting!
Well, to be honest, making coffee or any other drinks is just chemistry, no matter it’s coffee tea or even coca cola. Coffee and tea are probably among the most complex things. We can launch a rocket out of the solar system, but we still can’t figure out everything that is in a cup of coffee.
James, as a healthcare professional with a heavy science background, I absolutely love your in-depth and scientific dive into the science behind brewing. You are a great teacher. Also, this method does brew the best V60 in my wife and I’s opinion. We’ve only been drinking coffee for 20years or so and got married in a coffee shop so I think our opinion is valid. Ha
OK, after third watch and three month of practice I think I finally remembered and understood the technique. But even not quite right procedure gives me great results. Thank you SO MUCH for this throughout tutorial!
Just got into grinding, brewing and in general just caring more for my coffee. It's been a steep learning curve so far, definately doesn't help that my beans (gifted as a starting package) apparently are quite easily bitter tasting. Thank you for the guide, newbies like me definately learned much. I think my biggest point right now is just to practice, practice, practice. My cups are getting better every time and it makes me very pleased. Can't wait to start having this in my fingertips.
I actually now own a v60 because of your channel, and I am doing my best to master this technique. The difference it makes, even as a beginner, compared to machine brewed coffee, is astounding. It's especially easy to see when using the same coffee for the machine and the V60. Thank you for this video, and for showing a coffee addict like myself that there is so much more depth to the world of coffee than I previously thought!
Thanks James. I brew with a v60 and am one of those people who have been grinding coarser to try and speed up my brew as it was taking too long. I've tested with your method the past two days and I have been able to grind finer, while brewing quicker. And crucially, my coffee has tasted better. So thanks for your time testing/developing this!
As a novice in pour over, this has helped me stop wasting my coffee grounds (for light and medium roasts) and get consistently good coffee (regardless of the beans I have) 😸 I always use to get under extracted coffee on light- medium roasts, because I was impatient and was not as particular with the difference in water temperature needed for lighter and darker roasts. Thank you~
Tried this method today and I was really pleased with the outcome. I appreciate that you stick with grams and mL, it really helps one when trying to duplicate recipes and methods of brewing.
I have never seen someone who explains everything in detail in a single tutorial video. Can't wait to try and explore this technique. As always thank you for the sharing the knowledge.
*Compact Instructions* *Overall:* 1L water - 60g coffee *Bloom:* 2g water - 1g coffee _Swirl until evenly mixed_ _Wait until 45 sec_ *Pour %60 of total water in 30 secs:* moderate speed & circular motion *Pour %100 of total water in 30 secs:* slowly _Twirl gently with a spoon 2 times each direction_ _Swirl when water drained halfway through_
Excellent quote: "The best technique in the world beautifully executed but with low quality coffee will just give you a perfectly terrible cup of coffee." XD
Its amazing to see someone as distingushed as you dedicating their time and effort to help out fellow enthusiasts and professionals alike. On behalf of the community, thank you James ❤
the single most important think to remember is after preheating v60/cup dump water into the sink ! i don't know how many time i have forgoten that, and wasted coffe
I started using a V60 recently and I appreciate the tips on how to use it. There's something I've noticed, which to my knowledge nobody else seems to be talking about in pour over guides. I rinsed my filter, like you suggested, that seemed to be an obvious step. Discarded the water, and then brewed. My coffee still had a taste of paper! The next time I brewed, I noticed that the flask still smelled of paper after discarding the rinse water. There's still residue in there! Now I give the flask a little rinse with hot water, after throwing out the filter rinse water. The flask then smells neutral, and the coffee doesn't taste of paper! How has nobody else noticed this? Multiple how-to guides I've read on the V60, not one gives this tip. Many neglected to say you need to discard the rinse water!
To be honest, it might just come down to the paper you're using. I switched to actual Hario papers recently and the paper smell seems to be a lot less than the brand I was using before, just throwing out the water from the pot seems to work well enough for me. But yeah with the papers I was using before, I had to rinse the flask pretty thoroughly to get rid of the strong paper smell
I've been making my morning cup of coffee with a cone-shaped brewer for years. After watching this video and using this technique, it transformed my morning cup from "meh" to "my god." Thanks, James.
I like this method and a lot of the information was very useful! Thanks James. However, I perhaps took your "the hotter, the better" tip too literally, and wasted a lot of good coffee burning the hell out of it by pouring 100 (212) degree water onto the coffee. Kept getting some nasty notes from the subsequent overextraction. I fiddled with the grind size and ratio, until I decided to go back to a lower temperature of 95 (203) and brewed an amazing cup of coffee. Thought this might help someone else trying to follow your method to the T. Cheers!
It took my 5 days of practice (I hadn't ever done a pour over before) but this morning I made myself the best coffee I have ever had! Thanks so much!!!
7 months of consistently brewing coffee with my V60 decanter using this method has brought to me the most delicious coffee results in great flavors. I've also tried different ways of brewing (apart from espresso) and this one is by far the most practical one and amazingly tasteful as well. Thanks James!
This separates James from so many others who advocate for a particular recipe rather than teaching us how to modify it and experiment according to our needs. Water temp? He teaches us how to modify it (hotter for lighter roasts). Bloom? 2-1 but no more than 3-1. Ratio? Starts us at 60g/L but tells us modification through experimentation is good. Etc. He has respect for his viewers. 😊
I'd say 15g coffee for 200g water (80c). Use the inverted technique. Pour all 200g in at once. gently agitate the top inch of the coffee with a tea spoon for 20s. Pop the filter on top which will take you to around 30s (rinse the paper beforehand of course). Gently press for a minute and aim to be done at 1m30s. Don't let the coffee get to the hissing phase. Stir your cup of coffee and enjoy. Would love to know others preferred methods.
@@peterbest4943 Not sure if you do the inverted technique much but I'd say push the plunger in so it's just touching the circle of the 4 and then 200g is around 1cm from the top. When you go for the flip be sure to push the cup and the plunger against one another and be fairly quick to avoid any accidents. I'm very curious how everyone else makes Aeropress coffee but this is my technique anyways.
I didn't think that you could have learnt anything from brewing by hand. But I did. My coffee actually tastes better. Especially the "wait 30-45 seconds" trick has helped so much. Thank you so much.
well, yes and no. He still didn't recommend doing it, but for a different reason. It's not that the water bypasses the coffee, rather it's because it slows the draw down too much.
I like the technique! You’re tips definitely help my V60 techniques. I have a small cafe and my customers loves single origin coffee . I’m from Indonesia and we only serve with local coffee beans since we have many variants from all over the country. With single origins we only used V60. Now I have never had any proper training, I actually learned a lot from my own baristas and the internet (who doesn’t 😅). I used to pour my hot water to another pouring kettle but I made sure to keep the temp between 90-98C, when it hits 90 and I still have more to go I’ll add more to the kettle to maintain the temp. Main reason is we only had 1 kettle & 1 stove (we used gas stove because we didn’t want to sacrifice our electricity bill), and it wasn’t a pouring kettle, but with the orders we had, a pouring kettle helps a lot. Now that we have grown, we have 2 pouring kettles with 1 only used for V60 which we heat our water in it directly. Never really compare the difference but it definitely saves time. I tried your technique with the swirling while blooming and the stiring at the near end of the brew just last night, it does improve the taste. With the coffee & water ratio, we used to ask our customers’ preferrence, we used 1:10, 1:12, and 1:15 (like in this video). After a while we finally stick to 1:12 (240ml for 20gr of fresh ground coffee), and we always used medium fine, we find this ratio and ground size fit best with most of our customers’ taste buds 😊 Thanks a lot for the tips and looking forward to learn more from you!
increíble como este video hace quedar como verdaderos novatos a los demás youtubers, no por el hecho que los demás explican mal, si no porque te alienta a probar diferentes técnicas y a demostrar que no hay un solo camino para realizar una buena extracción.
Thanks James, this was easily the best cup of coffee I’ve ever had even on my first attempt. A lot of the coffee I buy gives tasting notes and I could easily pick out all the notes that they give. V60 coffee is amazing and I’m looking forward to improving my technique!
This presentation made me an instant coffee hero at home. Every few years I try to make good coffee. I spend money and am disappointed. I bought a V60 plastic and now my wife likes my coffee better than going out. 60g coffee to 500g boiling water, nice flat bed. Perfect! I even learned how to dial down the bitter with grind, not less coffee. Sincerely, thank you.
Got a mental image of him bending down to look at my bottomless portafilter, then coming back up with coffee dripping off his glasses where it's sprayed all over his face, wiping the glasses with a handkerchief and, after a pause, saying "How about a cup of tea instead?"
This is fantastic tip, I have been making guestimate pour over at the office for a long time, and just by implementing whatever I could from this video immediately produced very noticeable results on the upside
I have to say, the Hario plastic brewer is the singular bastion in human existence for the highest quality version of something in a line of products being far and away the cheapest to purchase iteration.
I've been watching your videos a lot recently and I finally tried your V60 method (it was also my first time brewing coffee) and I was right to keep my expectations low because you certainly made it look easier than it actually is haha. I intend to practice consistently and hope to improve over time with experience. Thank you for all your informative videos. :)
Any skill gets easier with practice. Don't forget, you can take as long as you need measuring, grinding, setting up, and so forth; the only parts of this that are on any sort of timer are the actual pour steps -- bloom pour, swirl, wait 30-45 seconds, another 30 seconds pouring to the 60% level (which can be gauged by the cone filling if your brew is matched to your dripper size), then the rest of the brew water (the last 40%) over the following thirty seconds. Stir, then swirl, and when it's all drained through, dump the filter and grounds, pour the coffee, and enjoy!
its taken me a year, only now getting better. it's true with any hobby, you're gonna have a really rough start but if you commit you won't regret it. anybody who says they nailed it on the first try is either lying or their coffee is shit n they don't know
Personally found that with a regular kettle, it's better to not create the hole for the bloom, it's too difficult (for me) to control the water and it tends to hit through the grounds and basically drain before I have chance to even swirl it, so better to leave the grounds a bit "moundy" and then pour the bloom water
James, I have been laid up from knee surgery for the past week. I have watched multiple times many of your videos. You are one of the best presenters I have ever seen. Because of you I have broken out my wife's 1982 Moka pot and started experimenting with coffee again. I'm working towards procuring a Flair 58 and a Flair grinder. I love sitting on my back porch with my coffee (St. Augustine Florida) and watching the forest come alive as the sun comes up. The Flair products may be a bit fiddly but they won't disturb the quietness of the morning or my wonderful wife. Listening to you discribing the details of coffee has intrigued and stimulated my background as a scientist. Again, thanks a thousand times for your videos. Chip
Me: *just finished brewing a v60 coffee Hoffman: *uploaded a video about brewing with v60 dripper a minute later Also me: *screw this coffee, i’m gonna make a new one with the ultimate technique*
C'est passionnant de vous écouter parler de coffee brewer. Juste une chose quand même : le plastique n'est PAS fantastique (nocif pour la santé, ne pas l'oublier)
Thanks your in depth explanation. It a very scientific and practical approach. Your candor and humor makes the video engaging and entertaining at the same time.
I have watched this video so many time. As I am getting deeper into speciality coffee and pour over coffee brewing, I am being exposed into new issues and unknowns. Every time, I came back to this video and I learned something new.
Another more environmentally friendly and cost-effective way of using bottled water is to buy 5-gallon bottles which are actually refillable, unlike plastic water bottles. On the same topic investing in a good quality reusable water bottle such as a hydro flask and refilling from a 5-gallon bottle is also a great benefit from this method.
It finally worked. Colombian bean (medium roast) and Ethiopian. Full flavor. Longer drawdown than I expected (about 10 sec). But came out beautiful. Rich, lasting flavor. Thank you, James.
I’ve just recently gotten back into coffee after working on a 5 year project that has taken so much of my time. And being able to binge watch your videos has been such a value. You got me to retry the aero press, just picked up a V60 etc. to me coffee is a hobby and such a fun one at that.
Having a decent grinder is way more important than having a kettle. The baratza encore I bought years ago was only like $130 and it's still like brand new.
What I experienced: For finer grinds, stirring during bloom phase tasted better as swirling didn't move the coffee bed much. Stirring also reduced drawdawn time resulting into a less bitter cup. For courser grinds, I stick with swirling
As someone who always just poured all the water in there at the same time which left most of the coffee on the sides of the filter, this video changed my life
Weighing my beans has completely changed my brewing experience. I was using a scoop and estimating the amount of beans. My pour-over is so much better now. THANKS!
My mother tongue is not English, so I’m sorry if it is hard to understand my comments. I found this great video through “暮らしとコーヒー (The life and coffee)” channel. I made iced coffee with reference to your ultimate brewing method. I was able to drink very good coffee. I sincerely appreciate!
I want to make an important point about technique and timing that I learned while doing Hoffman's technique many hundreds of time: As James mentions, the speed of the initial pour post-bloom is critical. If it's too fast, you churn up the grinds too much; if you pour too slowly, you churn up the grinds too little. *But this also determines your total draw-down time.* If you pour too fast early, the total draw-down time will be very quick (possibly under 3 minutes), and vice versa. So targetting 3:30 *means* getting that initial pour speed just right. The later pour speed is less important regarding total draw-down time (though it's important for other reasons). Just thought I'd highlight this critical concept in pour-over technique.
@@eskility I believe so! I've done many hundreds more pour-overs since I left this comment and the post-bloom pour still does seem to be important to overall draw-down time. Good luck with your brewing!
@@jasonevans8914 This is given a certain grind size. If you pour differently using two different pour-over setups, both with the same beans and grind size, draining will be at different speeds.
I watched this video when I first started to make pour overs. I have found it to be very helpful as are all the videos you post. You are very knowledgeable and entertaining to listen to. Thank you from myself and I guess everyone else who has learned this technique from you!
Awesome video - super helpful. Our V60's are our second coffee brewing method and it's been hard nailing the technique. I imagine all this detailed advice will help a lot. You've answered so many of my questions. Thanks!
I didn't used to like coffee. I started drinking coffee a couple of years ago for its health benefits. I'm so glad I found your channel because while I'm still really new to coffee I have gotten to the point where I can make myself a cup I enjoy.
coming from someone who upgraded from the 185 to the v60, the best method is to spend $8 and buy the plastic V60. the papers on amazon were cheaper overall for the V60 as well.
