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8 Most Common V60 Brewing Mistakes (And How to Avoid Them)
A guide on how to avoid the most common mistakes when brewing coffee with Hario V60.
Published September 16, 2021
Susan Rov
Coffee experts@The Coffee Lab
Manual filter brewing methods such as Hario V60, Chemex, or Kalita Wave are popular among coffee connoisseurs because they offer more control over the brewing process and bring out a nuanced profile in the cup.
A cup brewed with the Hario V60 (or other standard pour over cones like the Melitta) is bright and smooth, uncovering the delicate flavor notes hidden inside the bean.
The superior taste profile comes with a drawback. While it can be considered one of the best manual brewing methods, it is also one of the most unforgiving ones.
Mistakes during brewing will be quickly manifested in your cup with off-flavors and inconsistent quality of the brew.
Here are the 8 most common mistakes and how you can fix them, making sure every cup you make meets your expectations.
1. Wrong Grind
Selecting coffee with the correct grind is one of the most fundamental things you need to get right in order to brew a delicious cup of coffee. This refers to the size of every particle of coffee grounds. Every single bit must be uniformly the same size to ensure a smooth and balanced coffee, as well as even extraction during your pour over session.
Buying pre-ground coffee from the store won’t usually ensure the correct grind. The grind required for a Hario V60 needs to be finer than the French press and coarser than the espresso grind.
If the coffee is ground too fine, the extraction will be too long, resulting in a bitter cup of coffee. If the grind is too coarse, you will end up with a sour taste and an under-extracted brew.
How to Fix It
If you want to ensure the correct extraction, grind your coffee beans with a burr grinder at home, just before brewing into a medium grind, similar to the consistency of sand. You can buy either an automatic burr grinder or a hand burr grinder.
If you don’t have a grinder at home, ask for a Hario V60 grind at your local cafe.
2. Water Is Too Hot
We all love a hot cup of coffee, but using boiling hot water for your brew can do more damage than good. Water that’s too hot can cause burnt flavors and bitterness in your cup. This is because hot water extracts flavors much faster from coffee, similar to the way you can also make a tea taste bitter with boiling water.
How to Fix It
The ideal temperature for coffee brewing should be around 195 degrees to 205 F, no more. Getting a kettle with a temperature control function is the best way to ensure accuracy.
If your kettle doesn’t have temperature control, you can wait for a few minutes after it boils to let it cool down to the required temperature.
3. Skipping the Coffee Bloom
If you’re skipping the 30-second bloom at the beginning of the brewing process, you’re missing out on flavors.
Coffee bloom happens when the grounds first come in contact with hot water, they bubble and expand, releasing carbon dioxide.
This prevents the CO2 from making your coffee taste sour and develops the flavors, which are then easier to incorporate into your cup.
How to Fix It
Don’t skip the coffee bloom and wait for 30 seconds after the initial pour to release CO2.
If you can’t see any bubbling during the bloom, it means your coffee is degassed and probably too old. Make sure your coffee is less than 3 weeks old for the best possible flavor.
4. Not Rinsing the Filter
Rinsing the filter before you start brewing fulfills a few functions. It gets rid of the papery taste and settles the filter in place, as well as preheating the cone and your coffee vessel.
It helps to stabilize the extraction process and makes the recipe easier to control.
If you start brewing with a cold dripper and a cold cup, not only will your coffee cool down faster but it can also reduce the sweetness and body of your brew while over highlighting acidity, causing off-flavors in your cup.
How to Fix It
Even though this step might seem unnecessary, it shouldn’t be overlooked. Pouring some hot water over your filter and preheating your vessel as well as your dripper cone will stabilize the extraction. Note that ceramic drippers might need more heating up than glass ones.
5. Wrong Pour Style
Hario V60 coffee is very sensitive to the way you pour, and there is more than one wrong way to do it.
Pouring to the side of the filter, pouring in a non-circular motion, or pouring too fast will all cause uneven extraction and water channeling. Channeling is when water filters through only portions of the cone rather than through all the coffee bed evenly. If the coffee grounds are rising to the side of your filter, this is an indication that coffee is not extracted evenly.
How to Fix It
The best way to achieve a controlled pour is by investing in a gooseneck kettle. It allows you to control water flow, making your pour and brew more consistent.
Pouring water slowly in a circular motion and ensuring all the grounds are getting well evenly will produce the best result.
Some people experiment with alternative center pours, but they produce a slightly muted taste profile.
6. Ignoring Freshness of the Beans
The freshness of the beans is what can separate a good cup of coffee from an amazing one. If your coffee beans are too old, your coffee will taste one-dimensional and flat.
It is also possible that your beans might be too fresh. If they’ve been roasted less than 7 days ago, the gases haven’t settled yet and your brew will be volatile and inconsistent.
How to Fix It
The optimal time for brewing a delicious-tasting cup is 5-21 days after roasting. If your coffee is too fresh, wait another few days before you start brewing, and if it’s too old, it’s best you get a new bag of beans to solve the issue.
7. Wrong Water-to-Bean Ratio
V60 brewing method has a recommended 16:1 water to bean ratio that produces a balanced cup of coffee.
If you’re too shy with your coffee grounds, your coffee will taste sour and under-extracted. And if you get carried away with the good stuff, you will produce a bitter cup of coffee.
How to Fix It
Using 15 grams of coffee per 250 ml of water is a good starting point. If you feel like you want to brew more, follow the 1:16 ratio. For example, use 22 grams of grounds for 350ml of water for optimal extraction.
8. Coffee Roasted Too Dark
The recommended roast for Hario V60 brewing is a medium roast or light roasted coffee, rather than dark roasts which are usually used for espresso brewing.
Since the extraction time with V60 is much longer than the 30-second extraction when making an espresso, dark roasts can develop bitter tasting notes.
Of course, you can use any coffee you like with your Hario V60, but if your resulting brew tastes too bitter, the dark roast might be the culprit.
How to Fix It
Select a medium roast or light roasted coffee next time you’re shopping for beans to use with your V60 brewer.
These roasts retain more flavor of the raw bean rather than taking on the dark flavors of the roast. When using medium roast, you’ll have more nuanced and delicate flavor notes in your cup.
Coffee enthusiasts swear by V60 pour over brewing methods. Even though it is quite unforgiving, most common mistakes can be easily fixed, and when done right, it rewards you with an unparalleled delicate flavor profile.
About the author
Susan Rov
A retired barista who turned into a writer. I love discovering coffee flavors and learning more about the magic bean.
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