# V60 strength



## 2971 (May 7, 2012)

Lately, I've been drinking mostly V60 with occasional forays into Aeropress, Kalita, Chemex etc, but mostly V60. In general, I have one cup a day, and I make it with 18.7g coffee beans ground in an HG One to 300ml water from an Osmio. I tend to use the Kasuya 4:6 method with a regular cheapo size 2 plastic V60 and Hario papers from Ocado, if that matters.

On the rare occasions I have had guests in recent history, the comment has been made by several people that the coffee is very strong.

I've been thinking about this, and although I enjoy the coffee I make, I do find one cup a day is enough caffeine, and any more gives me jitters. It would be quite nice to be able to drink two cups a day, and I was wondering about exploring going weaker.

So, my question for the forum is, if I want to make a weaker coffee, am I better off brewing at the same ratio as I normally do, and then diluting with hot water (and drinking less), or would it be just as good/better to alter my ratio?


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## Jony (Sep 8, 2017)

Only mark knows the filter man knows the answer, I use filters from Pact amazon 100 o2 I use around 13.5 14.g coffee 223 or 232 I got this off him long time ago it just works. I need a change so will definitely seek out is advice


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## Stu Beck (May 31, 2020)

I'd try altering your ratio to 50g/l and work up from there. 50-60g/l is the typical recommendation for pour over methods I've seen.

There is a great v60 thread on here with a load of recipes and tips - I'm with @Jony that the 13.2 : 220 one suggested by @MWJB is ideal for one cup 👍


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## MWJB (Feb 28, 2012)

If you make your cup as normal, then dilute, you will still be ingesting the same amount of coffee in total. If you want to avoid the jitters, I'd reduce the brew size. Maybe have 2x cups made with 12.5-14g of coffee?

People who aren't used to making their own coffee may struggle with getting 2-3 times their normal dose in one hit. Do they mention the strength early on in the cup (too concentrated)? Or, as an after effect (caffeine hit, due to overall intake)?

I used to make my work colleagues a cup with 14g dose & 200g brew water, about 170g in the cup. This makes for a fairly 'strong' ratio (1:12* in the cup*, compared to your 1:14), but I didn't get complaints about strength, similarly at home, my girlfriend will drink this happily.

Sure you can try brewing at say, 1:17, or 18. See how it goes but I think simply reducing brew size is the way to go. If you have guests, give them smaller cups (5oz) and split 1 brew between 2 (mix well in server, before dividing).

Let's say your future cups are made with 14g of coffee, when you split between 2 people and they say it's very strong, add another 7g of hot water to the cup, give it a stir & see if that helps, add another 7g if necessary & so on.

I don't think the 4:6 method is going to work well for these smaller brew sizes, Try using 225g water, pour 25g every 20s, start with spirals, working into the middle, if you get standing liquid over the bed, start & end in the middle. Each, gentle, pour takes 10s, water must drip straight down from the kettle spout (an 01 brewer would be better for the smaller drop from the kettle). Grind finer until cups are too silty, then back off (pouring too aggressively will cause silt before you get as far as over-extracting).


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## potter985 (May 3, 2020)

MWJB said:


> If you make your cup as normal, then dilute, you will still be ingesting the same amount of coffee in total. If you want to avoid the jitters, I'd reduce the brew size. Maybe have 2x cups made with 12.5-14g of coffee?
> People who aren't used to making their own coffee may struggle with getting 2-3 times their normal dose in one hit. Do they mention the strength early on in the cup (too concentrated)? Or, as an after effect (caffeine hit, due to overall intake)?
> I used to make my work colleagues a cup with 14g dose & 200g brew water, about 170g in the cup. This makes for a fairly 'strong' ratio (1:12* in the cup*, compared to your 1:14), but I didn't get complaints about strength, similarly at home, my girlfriend will drink this happily.
> Sure you can try brewing at say, 1:17, or 18. See how it goes but I think simply reducing brew size is the way to go. If you have guests, give them smaller cups (5oz) and split 1 brew between 2 (mix well in server, before dividing).
> ...


I'm using a regular kettle... I know... do you think could I reproduce this recipe with 9 pours?


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## MWJB (Feb 28, 2012)

potter985 said:


> I'm using a regular kettle... I know... do you think could I reproduce this recipe with 9 pours?


 In a word, no.

It'll be too hard to pour consistent weights & do it smoothly.

It would be best to get a cheap pouring kettle, with a lid, preheat it & use your regular kettle to heat the water only. Or, if you want to just use the regular kettle, switch brewers to a Melitta 102 with 1 hole.

Either way, with either brewer, if determined to use the regular kettle to pour, I find it is best to grind on the fine side, bloom with 1.5 times dose weight for 60or 90seconds, then add the re-boiled brew water as quickly as you can to minimise disturbance. Even better if your kettle's minimum boil is small enough to hold the post bloom brew water (I have kettles with 150ml & 250ml minimums - don't burn up a 700ml minimum boil kettle by boiling 200 or 300ml), then you can weigh the cold water into the kettle and pour quickly without having to worry about overshooting, while watching the scales. Results will be OK with V60, but not as good as when using a gooseneck.

Whether 1 pour, or 9, the recipe is always the same, tasty, representative brews. One fast pour needs a finer grind, than 9 small & spaced pours, apart from mouthfeel (heavier with a fine grind) there shouldn't be a big difference when everything goes right.


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## potter985 (May 3, 2020)

MWJB said:


> In a word, no.
> It'll be too hard to pour consistent weights & do it smoothly.
> It would be best to get a cheap pouring kettle, with a lid, preheat it & use your regular kettle to heat the water only. Or, if you want to just use the regular kettle, switch brewers to a Melitta 102 with 1 hole.
> Either way, with either brewer, if determined to use the regular kettle to pour, I find it is best to grind on the fine side, bloom with 1.5 times dose weight for 60or 90seconds, then add the re-boiled brew water as quickly as you can to minimise disturbance. Even better if your kettle's minimum boil is small enough to hold the post bloom brew water (I have kettles with 150ml & 250ml minimums - don't burn up a 700ml minimum boil kettle by boiling 200 or 300ml), then you can weigh the cold water into the kettle and pour quickly without having to worry about overshooting, while watching the scales. Results will be OK with V60, but not as good as when using a gooseneck.
> Whether 1 pour, or 9, the recipe is always the same, tasty, representative brews. One fast pour needs a finer grind, than 9 small & spaced pours, apart from mouthfeel (heavier with a fine grind) there shouldn't be a big difference when everything goes right.


Thanks a lot!!! I"ll try every single advice. Really appreciate that


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## Xabi17 (Jun 1, 2020)

I regularly read that people call a serving of 220ml of water in as a 'cup' and wonder whether I'm the one who's way off when my normal cup is 320ml of water in! It just feels like a normal mug of coffee to me! 🤣


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## Rapid (Jun 12, 2020)

Xabi17 said:


> I regularly read that people call a serving of 220ml of water in as a 'cup' and wonder whether I'm the one who's way off when my normal cup is 320ml of water in! It just feels like a normal mug of coffee to me! 🤣


 220ml = cup

320ml = mug

right @Drewster?

😂


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## MWJB (Feb 28, 2012)

Xabi17 said:


> I regularly read that people call a serving of 220ml of water in as a 'cup' and wonder whether I'm the one who's way off when my normal cup is 320ml of water in! It just feels like a normal mug of coffee to me! 🤣


 That's right, it's a mug...unless you like to call your mugs "cups", which is up to you.  My girlfriend likes 420ml "cups" of tea.

Hence why it's better to talk in ml/g/fl oz in capacity.

320g of filter coffee is a bit much for me if I'm planning to have several coffees in a day, as I'd need a dose of 25-26g for that size of cup/mug/ram's horn/goblet...

I like to have 3-4 cups a day, so a 14g dose suits me, in a 210ml cup (about 170-180ml of finished coffee).

Many brewers show a "cup" as 100-120ml, in the US it used to be 160ml, lots of coffee cups are 7oz/210ml...really it's best to look at the amount of coffee you need as a water overdose is less likely than a caffeine overdose


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## Xabi17 (Jun 1, 2020)

Ha, agreed. I will continue referring to it as a mug!


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## V60 (Nov 24, 2020)

1:15 ratio works well for me. I give the decanter a swirl about 20% through pour and leave for about 15 seconds for water to cover more surface area of the beans without grinding too fine and becoming bitter


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