· By Ines Marlow · 1 min read
How we brew a V60 at the bar
Fifteen grams, two hundred and fifty of water and three minutes: the recipe behind every filter we pour, and what to change when it tastes wrong.
Every filter at the bar starts the same way: 15 g of coffee, 250 g of water at 94 °C, and about three minutes. It’s a forgiving recipe, and it shows a light roast at its best.
What you need
- A V60 or any cone dripper, and a paper filter
- Scales that read in grams
- A kettle (a gooseneck makes it easier, but any will do)
- Freshly ground coffee, about as coarse as sea salt
The pour
- Rinse the paper with hot water and pour that water away. It warms the cone and takes the papery taste out.
- Bloom. Pour 40 g of water over the coffee, swirl gently and wait 40 seconds while the gas escapes.
- Pour in circles to 150 g by one minute, then to 250 g by a minute and three quarters. Keep the stream thin and steady.
- Swirl and drain. One gentle swirl flattens the bed. It should finish draining at about three minutes.
When it tastes wrong
Sour and thin? Grind finer. Bitter and dry? Grind coarser.
Change one thing at a time, by a small step, and write it down. Most days the grinder is the only dial you need.