# Help with with V60 brewing!!



## rgoodcoffee (May 25, 2016)

Hi all,

I've been using my V60 recently and been buying a lot of nice (and expensive!) coffee's to try. And to be honest I'm really not getting coffee's im very happy with. None of them seem to have a tonne of flavour to them, which Is almost certainly to do with HOW im brewing, and not WHAT im brewing.

I'm using a Wilfa Svart grinder and using the Hario kettle along with a Hario V60-01 filter.

I'm currently using the Perger method, which uses 200g of water into 12g of coffee over 2 mins 20s (which feels too quick).

So i'm just wondering what people's 'go to' methods are when they've bought a new bag of coffee and how they tweak parameters to get a better a cup?

One problem I am finding is the water pooling a bit at the end of the brew. If i grind coarse then I also get a real sludge at the bottom of the filter, with very coarse grinds sitting on top of this, so I'm worried that maybe my grind isn't working too great?

Would appreciate any feedback and just what recipie's people use.

Thanks!


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## Syenitic (Dec 1, 2013)

So you mentioned "recently".....what were you doing before then? and with what...implication is you maybe preferred the 'before'? Maybe that was a darker roast?

Expensive does not mean it will be automatically to your taste. V60 is a standard that often works, but sometimes other methods might work better for you. Recently I bought an Oomph out of curiosity to replace a pretty much worn out Aeropress, for the coffee at the time it eclipsed the V60 & Aeropress...Would I recommend it? No, it is far too much faff with seals and several other parts to separate and clean.

Think for V60 technique @MWJB might be able to advise, I wouldn't give up on it.


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## MWJB (Feb 28, 2012)

It's unlikely that your grinder is the problem.

Sticking to 2:20 will be a problem because brew time has natural variation.

With any method with V60, you will normally have standing water over the bed at the end. If you're averaging 2:20 until dry bed, this isn't an issue.

What do you mean by a ton of flavour, espresso like kick?

I'd start by going coarse on the grind, bloom with stir 20g leave for 40s, then add 20g at every 20s interval (pour takes 10s). Pour gently in spirals, let the coffee fall from the spout of the kettle straight down, not hosing in an arc. Swirl the brewer after you add the last 20g. Early pours may drain out, don't worry about this, the last 2 or 3 might have standing water. Dry bed around 3:40 to 3:50, don't panic if you nudge 4:00. Go gradually finer until the taste is sweet & juicy.

When you get this tasting OK, work finer & use less, but larger pulses (e.g. bloom 20g/40s & 6x30g pulses every 20s).


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## mcrmfc (Sep 17, 2016)

Can't really add much to the wisdom of MJWB.

I would just say though aside from the brewing technique...what's your expectation? Have you got a reference point e.g. a V60 you have tasted in a good specialty shop.

Also ensure you let the coffee cool way way down to really get the sweetness and flavours coming through (assuming you are using lightly roasted specialty beans).

It took me a fair time to really start picking out what good really is..I go somewhere really top notch (e.g. Prufrock) and try and mentally store the tastes and balance...then try and replicate as close as I can at home by tweaking params.


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## rgoodcoffee (May 25, 2016)

MWJB said:


> It's unlikely that your grinder is the problem.
> 
> Sticking to 2:20 will be a problem because brew time has natural variation.
> 
> ...


Thank you very much for the recipe! I will give this a go for sure. What total dosage of coffee and water are you going for here though?

Thanks for your reply

EDIT: Sorry, I assume you're talking about the same ratio that Perger uses (200-->12g). Will give it a crack !


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## MWJB (Feb 28, 2012)

rgoodcoffee said:


> Thank you very much for the recipe! I will give this a go for sure. What total dosage of coffee and water are you going for here though?
> 
> Thanks for your reply
> 
> EDIT: Sorry, I assume you're talking about the same ratio that Perger uses (200-->12g). Will give it a crack !


Indeed, yes, 12:200g.


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## the_partisan (Feb 29, 2016)

12g:200g can be a little tricky since coffee bed is quite shallow and you need a quite fine grind to get the full flavours out. What grind setting are you using on the Wilfa Svart? You should be quite close to the "Aeropress" setting at that ratio, maybe try the second "R". Make sure when you're pouring that the water falls straight down and you're not pouring too aggressively.

You can also try something like 16:260g using 4 pours, which should extract a little more readily perhaps?


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## MWJB (Feb 28, 2012)

the_partisan said:


> 12g:200g can be a little tricky since coffee bed is quite shallow and you need a quite fine grind to get the full flavours out. What grind setting are you using on the Wilfa Svart? You should be quite close to the "Aeropress" setting at that ratio, maybe try the second "R". Make sure when you're pouring that the water falls straight down and you're not pouring too aggressively.
> 
> You can also try something like 16:260g using 4 pours, which should extract a little more readily perhaps?


You should be able to account for the smaller dose with a minor grind adjustment, or same grind as a 15/16g brew & more pulses. Same grind & pour regime should only drop about an average of 1% EY going from say 15g to 12g, but sure, bigger brews should extract more at the same grind/regime.

No reason to stick to 12:200g if your cups will take more (mine don't hold much over 200ml so I rarely go over 14g dose).


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## AmandaH (Oct 12, 2018)

After reading this thread I was wondering what (if any) importance there is to maintaining water temperature through out the brewing time. Obviously as you pour the water temperature will go down, resulting in a cooler slurry. On the 2nd, 3rd pour is it a good idea to use a consistent water temperature thus warming the slurry back up again?


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## The Systemic Kid (Nov 23, 2012)

You will be surprised how much difference there is between kettle water temp and slurry temp. Maintaining a slurry temp of 92c requires a much higher kettle temp.


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## the_partisan (Feb 29, 2016)

There' a Wilfa setting guide here has some sensible settings you can try: http://www.squaremileblog.com/2018/06/26/wilfa-grind-size-guide/

Regarding temp, I measured slurry temp in a Kalita 155 when doing 16g/260g brews doing 3 pours, and it never seems to be above 88-89C even when using boiling water for brewing. In Moccamaster it seems to be more less ~90-92C even though it doesn't use boiling water. Perhaps it has to do more with mass / insulation / heat loss when pouring than initial water temp.


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