How to Brew Coffee with a V60: A Step-by-Step Guide

With its cone shape and single large hole, the V60 leaves flow rate entirely up to you. That makes it one of the least forgiving, and most rewarding, pour-over methods. The good news: follow a few simple rules and you can get a great cup on your first try.

Quick recipe: 15 g coffee, 250 g water (1:16), 93–96 °C, medium-fine grind, 2:30–3:15 total time.

What you need

• A V60 02 dripper and matching paper filters
• 15 g of freshly roasted coffee (roasted within the last 2–6 weeks is ideal)
• A scale — weighing is far more consistent than using scoops
• A gooseneck kettle if you have one
• A grinder — grinding right before brewing makes the biggest difference

Need amounts for more cups? Use our coffee ratio calculator.

Step by step

1. Heat the water to 93–96 °C. No thermometer? Let boiling water rest for 30 seconds.
2. Rinse the filter with hot water to remove paper taste and preheat the cup. Discard that water.
3. Add the coffee. Put 15 g of ground coffee in the filter, shake gently to level it, tare the scale.
4. Bloom. Pour about 30–45 g of water to wet all the grounds and wait 30–45 seconds while CO₂ escapes.
5. Main pour. Pour in small circles from the center outward. Reach 150 g by 1:15 and 250 g by 1:45.
6. Finish. Give the dripper a gentle swirl to flatten the bed. The brew is done when the water has drained.

Dial it in by taste

Taste	Likely cause	Fix
Sour, thin, flat	Under-extracted	Grind finer or use slightly hotter water
Bitter, dry, harsh	Over-extracted	Grind coarser
Watery	Too little coffee	Move toward 1:15
Heavy, too intense	Too much coffee	Move toward 1:17

Change one thing at a time, otherwise you will not know what made the difference.

Common mistakes

• Pre-ground coffee. Ground coffee starts losing aroma within minutes.
• Measuring by scoop. Bean density varies; a scoop can be 5 g or 8 g.
• Pouring on the paper. Water runs down the filter without touching the coffee.
• Boiling water on dark roasts, which amplifies bitterness.

Bottom line

The secret to the V60 is consistency: same dose, same water, same timing. Once that is in place, experimenting with different beans is the fun part.