-
Measure out coffee.
Using your digital scale, measure 24 grams of coffee. (Using the recommended 15:1 water to coffee ratio, 24 grams of coffee will lead to around 12 fluid ounces (~300mL) of coffee). Depending on how large of a cup of coffee you’d like, 21 to 28 grams of coffee is a good starting place.
-
Grind coffee to medium fineness.
Using the Baratza Encore, the setting should be around 14 to 15. The coffee should be around the coarseness of table salt and look similar to the pictured coffee.
-
Heat water to 195° to 205°F (91° to 96°C).
If you do not have a kettle that will allow you to set a specific temperature, boil the water and then let it sit for 10 to 15 seconds to reduce the temperature.
-
Rinse the filter.
While the water is heating, place the paper filter in the V60 and rinse with either the heated water or hot tap water (50 to 60 grams). Discard the rinse water. Rinsing the filter helps reduce any taste the paper may impart to the coffee.
-
Add the coffee grounds to the rinsed filter and zero the digital scale.
At this stage, you should be ready to begin actually brewing the coffee.
-
Bloom the coffee.
Add about 50 grams of hot water (or double the weight of the coffee you used) in concentric circles to the coffee, making sure you cover the grounds completely. Blooming the coffee helps release carbon dioxide from the beans and leads to better extraction. If you have fresh coffee, you should notice the coffee “rise” to a dome shape like dough rising and start to bubble. It should take at least 20 seconds to slowly pour the water to complete this step. After pouring the water is complete, wait an additional 25 seconds. (Brew time: 0:45).
-
Slowly and continuously add the remaining water to the coffee.
Pour the remaining 310 grams of water onto the coffee, starting in the center and making concentric circles outward (making sure to not pour the water directly onto the paper filter because the water can pass through without fully extracting the coffee). Because of the large hole at the bottom of the V60 brewer, pouring the water slowly is especially important in this method. Try to finish pouring the remaining water in about 1 minute and 30 seconds. (Brew time: 2:15).
-
Allow water to fully drain through coffee.
Let the coffee drip until the coffee looks dry and is flat at the base of the brewer. If the grind size and pour rate were both correct, the coffee should finish filtering through after around a minute. (Brew time: 3:30).
-
Swirl & enjoy.
Discard the paper filter and ground coffee (you can compost both of them). Swirl the coffee for even flavor distribution and enjoy.
Tips for Problem Solving:
- If brew time was too long, coarsen the grind of the coffee.
- If brew time was too short, use a finer grind.
- If the coffee is too bitter, it may be over-extracted, and you’ll want to coarsen the grind of the coffee.
- If the coffee is too weak or astringent, it may be under-extracted, and you’ll want to use a finer grind next time.
