My Hario V60 continuous pour recipe

This article is a few months old and has been in my drafts for a while. I think there's some interesting insights in this post so I thought it would be worth publishing this article.

In my latest article on the Hario V60, I noted "I am inclined to try the continuous pour a few more times because the cups I made were so delicious." I decided to focus on the continuous pour with my standard recipe to see whether I could produce more delicious cups. After having two delicious cups with a continuous pour—and a stir—I thought more testing was needed. I've brewed a few more cups since I wrote that the continuous pour delivered a good cup and each one has been consistently good.

A continuous pour requires a bit of practice to get right. There are two variables I need to monitor at once:

1. Am I pouring in circles, around the coffee bed?
2. Am I pouring at the right rate?

Pulse pouring—where you pour a certain amount of water in increments—also requires monitoring these variables, but at least I get a break between pours. I need to keep my kettle suspended in the air, constantly pouring water, until I reach my target brew weight.

Why should you use a continuous pour? It is all a matter of preference. I tried a continuous pour on my Kalita Wave out of curiosity. I had the same mindset when I got my Hario V60. I wanted to see what recipe would produce the best cup. Many people online spoke about continuous pouring and the technique was mentioned in one of my favourite coffee books, Craft Coffee: A Manual by Jessica Easto.

My continuous pour recipe presently looks like this:

15 grams of coffee to 250 grams of water

15 setting on my Baratza Encore (medium-to-fine grind)

1. Put V60 on top of a mug. Fold paper filter and place inside the V60. Rinse the paper filter thoroughly. Preheat your mug or carafe.
2. Pour your ground coffee into the V60.
3. Pour 50 grams of water over the coffee.
4. Stir north, east, south, west using a spoon. Stir in all directions between. Do not be too rough. The goal is to make sure all of the coffee is saturated with water before the rest of the brewing process.
5. Slowly pour 200 grams of water over the coffee.
6. Swirl the V60 to remove grounds stuck to the walls of the brewer.
7. Remove the V60 before 3:00 (usually when there is a little bit of water still in the coffee slurry).
8. Enjoy your cup of coffee.

I have a few tips on how you should try to pour your water:

1. Pour as slowly as you can without breaking the stream of water. If your stream turns into droplets, you are pouring too slowly. Pouring slowly helps to keep a level amount of water in the bed of coffee.
2. Pour in circles going inward and outward until you reach your target weight (in my case, 250 grams of water in total). This ensures all of the coffee is saturated with water. Although I must say I have not tried any other techniques yet. This is an avenue for experimentation.

Pouring continuously requires some practice. I'm still learning how to pour best using my kettle. I will probably keep experimenting with my pulse pouring, too, so I can reflect on which technique I prefer. Some of the best cups of coffee I have made using my V60 have leveraged the above recipe and so I am happy to recommend a continuous pour for the V60.