# Brewed Coffee V60 - Different Pour Methods



## Mm391 (Apr 19, 2020)

Hi All,

Being a lover of brewed coffee i have attempted a few V60 techniques but only after being told or advised on what to do following frustration of my inconsistent cups of coffee. I’m currently using a Porlex hand grinder to grind and forever fiddling with the grind adjustment and never getting the results I want. Rather than keep adjusting the grind setting I’ve read that you can adjust you pour regime to get a long or shorter brew time. However I don’t know enough about constant pour or pulsed pour to be able to put it in to use. I know I could experiment but was hoping someone might also please explain the difference in the methods? (apart from one being constant and one being pulsed ) Does one method produce a longer brew time or short brew time than the other and why?


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## GrahamSPhillips (Jan 29, 2021)

Youtube: Lance Hedrick; James Hoffman


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## MWJB (Feb 28, 2012)

Don't worry too much about brew time, you can get the same result at various times.

Basically, for a fine grind your pour speed can be on the faster side. If you are too fine, you will get bitter, silty cups at normal extractions.

If you grind on the coarser side, then slow the pour down. If you grind too coarse your extractions will be low & the coffee will drop into tangy/woody territory.

Pulsed pour and constant pour are irrelevant. As your pour rate gets slower, you don't want to be pouring all the way through the brew, as this will result in too much agitation and silty cups. If your grind is fine enough, a constant, quick pour might be fine. Pulsing makes it easier to stick to an average pour rate without having to speed up & slow down during 1 pour.

But, you say you have a Porlex. This isn't a problem in itself, but it will have a wide distribution, so if you grind fine enough to get normal extractions, you will get a higher proportion of silt. So I would grind on the coarser side, say 9-13 clicks from lock up?

At around 9 clicks try 33g poured every 20s, each pour taking ~10s each, up to 233g total. 15.5g dose. A quick stir (more of a dig & wiggle) at the first pour. First 4 pours are spirals, last 2 are down the middle. Round up every 3rd pour to 100, 200,so the cycle repeats 33, 66, 00.

At around 13 clicks I'd pour 20g every 20s, each pour taking ~10s each, up to 200g total. 13.3g dose. No stirring, swirling or any other agitation. All pours are spirals, unless there is standing water over the bed at the start of the next pour, if so just pour down the middle.

In both cases leave the brewer for 30-40s after dry bed, don't pull the brewer while there is still liquid above the bed.

When you are getting ball park results, stick to the same grind setting for a while, unless every coffee is suffering the same malfunction. To reduce extraction use larger pulses at the same 20s intervals. Constant grind setting changes will make brewing very inconsistent.

This all assumes an 01 brewer & keeping the kettle spout as low as you can. If you are using an 02, use the coarsest setting, or maybe look into a Hario Drip Assist (will need a revised pour regime).


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## Mm391 (Apr 19, 2020)

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## Mm391 (Apr 19, 2020)

Thanks @MWJB 

I have 02 V60 and I enjoy larger cups of coffee usually dosing around 20g of coffee.

I tend to find the the final cup of coffee a little on the bitter side, so maybe I’ll try pulsing a larger amount of brew water in the same time intervals, agitating more, in a hope that it extracts slightly less due to water having less contact time with the grounds? I would go for a coarser grind but it’s tricky on the Porlex as I can’t really feel the clicks after about 13.

Am I correct in saying that for the finer grind, you pulse larger volumes of water, giving a quicker draw down, as there is a larger surface area of coffee. Therefore the water can extract more and can be in contact with the coffee of a shorter time to produce the same flavours as the coarser grind.

The coarser grind, you pulse small volumes of water, as there is less surface area of coffee available, thus increasing the time the water stays in contact with the grounds to extract the same flavours as the finer grind.


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## MWJB (Feb 28, 2012)

I have 02 V60 and I enjoy larger cups of coffee usually dosing around 20g of coffee.

I tend to find the the final cup of coffee a little on the bitter side, so maybe I’ll try pulsing a larger amount of brew water in the same time intervals, agitating more, in a hope that it extracts slightly less due to water having less contact time with the grounds? I would go for a coarser grind but it’s tricky on the Porlex as I can’t really feel the clicks after about 13.

Am I correct in saying that for the finer grind, you pulse larger volumes of water, giving a quicker draw down, as there is a larger surface area of coffee. Therefore the water can extract more and can be in contact with the coffee of a shorter time to produce the same flavours as the coarser grind.

The coarser grind, you pulse small volumes of water, as there is less surface area of coffee available, thus increasing the time the water stays in contact with the grounds to extract the same flavours as the finer grind.
[/QUOTE]

OK, I've never made cups with as a porlex at as big of a dose as 20g, but an 02 should be fine for that.

Forget "contact time" it's not a thing.

I doubt you need to go coarser than 13 on a Porlex, after a point you get so coarse that large chunks of bean jam in the burrs. If you see this, drop a click on the coarseness.

Agitation is not good, do not aim to agitate more, 'just enough' to get the job done, any more than that will make cups silty with no more extraction.

Forget surface area, it is too complex to grasp, stick to grind setting.

Brew time is not a thing either, it is too variable based on coffee/origin.

Yes, you pour faster for larger volumes of water (at the same grind).

You seem to be labouring under the misconception the draw down time (no one has ever reported on this) & brew times are important. What is important is that, after selecting brew size, pour rate (as an average) is critical & the only thing you can actually control.

The flavours in the coffee are the same, within reason, whether brewed, drip, steep, or espresso...you affect them by level of extraction and level of silt in the brew.

So, you want to brew with 20g. Good, use 300g of water. Pour at a rate of 50g every 20s, or 75g/30s at 12 or 13 clicks, minimal agitation. Report back after 3 cups at the same regime.

I don't know why you would enjoy cups of a certain size/mass more than smaller cups that are cleaner & just as well extracted, but hey, if you need 250g of finished coffee per brew, then that is what you need.


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## Mm391 (Apr 19, 2020)

MWJB said:


> I have 02 V60 and I enjoy larger cups of coffee usually dosing around 20g of coffee.
> 
> I tend to find the the final cup of coffee a little on the bitter side, so maybe I’ll try pulsing a larger amount of brew water in the same time intervals, agitating more, in a hope that it extracts slightly less due to water having less contact time with the grounds? I would go for a coarser grind but it’s tricky on the Porlex as I can’t really feel the clicks after about 13.
> 
> ...


OK, I've never made cups with as a porlex at as big of a dose as 20g, but an 02 should be fine for that.

Forget "contact time" it's not a thing.

I doubt you need to go coarser than 13 on a Porlex, after a point you get so coarse that large chunks of bean jam in the burrs. If you see this, drop a click on the coarseness.

Agitation is not good, do not aim to agitate more, 'just enough' to get the job done, any more than that will make cups silty with no more extraction.

Forget surface area, it is too complex to grasp, stick to grind setting.

Brew time is not a thing either, it is too variable based on coffee/origin.

Yes, you pour faster for larger volumes of water (at the same grind).

You seem to be labouring under the misconception the draw down time (no one has ever reported on this) & brew times are important. What is important is that, after selecting brew size, pour rate (as an average) is critical & the only thing you can actually control.

The flavours in the coffee are the same, within reason, whether brewed, drip, steep, or espresso...you affect them by level of extraction and level of silt in the brew.

So, you want to brew with 20g. Good, use 300g of water. Pour at a rate of 50g every 20s, or 75g/30s at 12 or 13 clicks, minimal agitation. Report back after 3 cups at the same regime.

I don't know why you would enjoy cups of a certain size/mass more than smaller cups that are cleaner & just as well extracted, but hey, if you need 250g of finished coffee per brew, then that is what you need.
[/QUOTE]


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## Mm391 (Apr 19, 2020)

This is great @MWJB. Thanks for you patience. It all makes sense when explained by someone. I got carried away with reading lots of posts about pulse pouring, osmotic flow, continuous flow etc. i probably got some of my terminology mixed up.

Also noted noted about my quantity over quality problem. Haha. From now on more is not always better.

I’ll give it a go this week, maybe even try and get a video and report back with the results.


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