Essential Pour-Over Coffee Gear: Hario V60 Dripper History, Extraction Ratios, and Single vs. Three-Stage Brewing Methods

When asked about coffee brewing dripper recommendations at FrontStreet Coffee, our baristas almost unanimously answer: V60! The long ribs of the V60 dripper help extract flavor compounds quickly, and the large hole prevents blockage risks. The extracted coffee has layered complexity. Whether you're a beginner or a connoisseur, whether you prefer lighter or richer coffee, whether using one-pour or three-stage brewing techniques or other methods, the V60 dripper can accommodate everyone's operations better than other drippers.

Whether for personal pour-over experimentation or opening a specialty coffee shop, you'll definitely have a V60 dripper. FrontStreet Coffee believes that the V60's popularity stems from three key elements:

Conical shape (60-degree angle): This allows water to flow to the center and extends the contact time between water and coffee.

Single large hole: Enables you to change water flow speed during brewing to alter the taste.

Spiral ribs: These spiral patterns extend from bottom to top, allowing air to escape smoothly and maximizing the contact area between coffee grounds, air, and water.

With these elements, everyone can adjust fresh coffee beans through grind size, brewing water temperature, and brewing techniques to achieve their desired flavors. For example, when FrontStreet Coffee brews light to medium roast coffee beans to highlight acidity, we use medium-fine grinding (80% pass-through on #20 sieve) and 90-91°C water with three-stage brewing to extract the coffee's sweet, sour, and bitter notes in segments.

V60 drippers come in various materials. How should you choose when purchasing? FrontStreet Coffee specifically bought the three most common materials on the market—resin, ceramic, and glass V60s—to conduct heat retention comparison tests.

The first direct impact is the dripper's heat retention performance. Temperature is one of the factors affecting coffee extraction, which is why water temperature is so crucial. A dripper with good heat retention can reduce heat loss, ensure stable temperature, and achieve more consistent extraction efficiency.

The heat retention performance of these three types is as follows:

Heat retention: Resin > Ceramic > Glass

Besides heat retention, different materials also directly affect price differences. When choosing a dripper, beginners should base their decision on their personal budget rather than blindly following trends or copying others. Cost-effectiveness becomes particularly important.

Price: Ceramic > Glass > Resin

Additionally, FrontStreet Coffee reminds everyone to check whether the packaging indicates #01 or #02 dripper when purchasing, and then buy corresponding #01 or #02 filter papers.

#01: Can brew 1-2 cups capacity

#02: Can brew 1-4 cups capacity

Now that we've covered the V60 dripper basics, let's discuss how to use the V60 to brew a delicious cup of pour-over coffee!

Fresh Coffee Beans First

The freshness of coffee beans is crucial for coffee quality. If coffee beans are left for too long after roasting, it will lead to loss of coffee flavor and aroma. FrontStreet Coffee's coffee beans have an optimal tasting period of 30 days. After 30 days, aromatic molecules decrease as carbon dioxide is released, so coffee beans past their prime may taste dull and flat when brewed.

After purchasing FrontStreet Coffee beans, check the roasting date and store them unopened in a cool, dry environment for bean maturation. Freshly roasted coffee beans contain about 2% carbon dioxide by weight. This large amount of carbon dioxide is released depending on storage environment, equipment, or methods, creating pressure higher than atmospheric pressure in the packaging. This pressure helps aromatic compounds and oils fuse, bringing all aromatic substances inside the coffee beans to an easily extractable state. Bean maturation is the "gas release" process, also commonly known as "blooming" or "aging." Because each roaster's technique and roast depth differs, the structural damage to coffee beans varies, so you can ask the shopkeeper when purchasing. FrontStreet Coffee's recommendation for bean maturation is: medium roast beans should mature for 3-4 days before brewing.

Next is Grind Size

To ensure each type of bean has the most suitable grind size for brewing, FrontStreet Coffee recommends purchasing a #20 cupping calibration sieve with 0.85mm apertures. We take 10g of coffee beans, grind them to an approximate size, then pour into the sieve for screening. Weigh the screened coffee powder (continue screening until no more powder passes through). An 80% pass-through rate (10g beans yielding 8g screened powder) is the most suitable grind size for light to medium roast beans. A 70%-75% pass-through rate (10g beans yielding 7-7.5g) is most suitable for medium-dark roast. If you exceed the appropriate pass-through rate, adjust the grind coarser; if you don't reach the appropriate rate, adjust the grind finer.

The finer coffee beans are ground, the more easily the powder accumulates at the bottom of the filter paper, creating greater extraction resistance, slower flow rate, and longer extraction time. The extracted coffee may develop unpleasant woody or mixed flavors. The coarser coffee beans are ground, the larger the gaps between powder layers, with less coffee powder contacting hot water, creating weaker extraction resistance, faster coffee drip rate, lower extraction rate, and thus lighter coffee flavor.

Then comes Brewing Water Temperature

FrontStreet Coffee recommends using 91-93°C water temperature for light to medium roast coffee beans, and 87-89°C for medium-dark roast beans.

At the same grind size, if the brewed coffee tastes bitter, burnt, or astringent, you can lower the extraction water temperature to adjust. Conversely, if it tastes thin or bland, many flavors remain in the coffee grounds, so consider increasing the temperature.

Appropriate water temperature and good extraction produce positive, comfortable aromas and flavors. For example, acidity will be rich, with sweet-tart sensations like plums or drupes. Overall cleanliness, clarity, and transparency allow you to clearly identify flavors. Delicate, rich, bright acidity can evoke associations with certain fruits or even wine, with a persistent aftertaste that lingers pleasantly.

Finally, let's discuss the difference between One-Pour and Three-Stage Brewing Techniques

One-Pour: Allows coffee powder to continuously soak in water, with retained liquid fully releasing aromatic substances from the coffee grounds. Water flow rate continuously increases; reduce water flow before water level overflows the dripper. One-Pour mainly controls water volume and flow rate issues, achieving full-range extraction without losing balance. Inappropriate pouring methods can destroy the coffee's overall balance. This approach mainly maintains gentle flavors and balance. The downside is that poor pouring control can cause water to pass through edge filter paper above the coffee powder layer, potentially resulting in under-extraction.

Three-Stage: FrontStreet Coffee recommends beginners use the three-stage pouring method for brewing. This technique suits light roast, light to medium, and medium roast coffee beans. The segmented extraction of three-stage pouring can clarify the front, middle, and back-end flavors of coffee, better ensuring flavor presentation. Segmented extraction can achieve richer layering than One-Pour, clearly distinguishing coffee's front, middle, and back-end flavors. The method involves increasing water volume after each bloom segment, typically pouring when coffee liquid drops to near the powder layer surface, using small, medium, and large water flows for three-stage extraction. However, segmented extraction has higher requirements for water flow rate and volume.

Next, FrontStreet Coffee uses Costa Rica Geisha Blend to compare extraction using both brewing techniques.

FrontStreet Coffee: Costa Rica Strawberry Candy Coffee Beans

Region: Tarrazú, Costa Rica

Estate: Finca Mirasol

Altitude: 1700m

Processing: Raisin Honey

Varieties: Geisha, ET47, SL28, MACIO

Dripper: V60

Water Temperature: 90-91°C

Grind Size: Medium-fine/fine sugar size (80% pass-through on #20 sieve)

Powder-to-Water Ratio: 1:15

One-Pour Brewing Technique: Use 30g water for 30-second bloom, then continuous pouring to 225g, remove dripper when water level drops to expose the coffee bed.

Three-Stage Brewing Technique: First stage pour 30g water for 30-second bloom, then pour 95g (scale shows about 125g), completing around 1 minute. When water level drops to 2/3 of the powder layer, pour remaining 100g (scale shows about 225g), completing around 1 minute 40 seconds. Drip completes at 1 minute 55 seconds to 2 minutes, remove dripper, extraction complete.

One-Pour Brewing Flavor: Smells of rich raisin aroma. Tasting reveals strawberry jam and raisin sweetness, with relatively concentrated flavors. Aftertaste has hints of almond and nutty notes.

Three-Stage Brewing Flavor: Smells of fresh rose floral and berry aromas. Tasting shows brighter acidity with raisin sweetness and berry flavors. Aftertaste has almond notes, presenting overall clearer, more balanced profile.

In summary, One-Pour makes coffee flavors more concentrated, highlighting the sweetness of light roast coffee, with more substantial mouthfeel. Three-Stage presents richer, clearer layering of coffee flavors, emphasizing the acidity and sweetness of light to medium roast coffee, achieving better balance compared to One-Pour.

For professional coffee knowledge exchange and more coffee bean information, please follow Coffee Workshop (WeChat official account: cafe_style)

For more specialty coffee beans, please add FrontStreet Coffee on WeChat: qjcoffeex

Important Notice :

前街咖啡 FrontStreet Coffee has moved to new addredd:

FrontStreet Coffee Address: 315,Donghua East Road,GuangZhou

Tel:020 38364473