Struggling to replicate barista standard filter at home? Fear not – it can be done.
 
Sean Pittaway, specialist barista at ThreeSixty°, the coffee brand behind the Make Decent Coffee Lounge at this year’s festival, talks us through the art of brewing perfect coffee using the v60.

What exactly is a v60?

A v60 is a form of brewing filter coffee – it’s a cup with ridges at the side and a hole in the bottom which helps the flow of coffee and makes it easier to extract. You brew the coffee using filter paper which collects some of the oils in the coffee, but not all of them, giving you a clean crisp coffee with a little bit of body.
 

The advantages?

A v60 is really simple to use – in fact it’s probably the easiest way to brew coffee at home. It’s also one of the cheapest brewing methods and because it’s quite small, it’s easy to keep clean and store.
 

What do I need?

•     v60
•     v60 filter paper
•     Stirrer or a spoon
•     Cup to place the v60 on top of
•     Scales
•     Timer
•     15g of ground coffee
•     300ml of hot water
 

How do I brew?

1. Place your v60 on top of a cup and place your filter paper inside it. 
2. Pour some hot water through the filter. This washes away the taste of the filter paper and also heats up the cup underneath. Don’t forget to empty the cup afterwards!
3. Take 15g of coffee and place it onto the filter paper in the v60.
4. Give the v60 a bit of a shake to level the coffee out and then use your spoon or stirrer to make an indent in the coffee.
5. Take 250ml of boiled water and start your timer – pour 50ml of water onto the coffee, trying to cover as much of it as possible in the first 10 secs.
6. Leave the coffee to bloom (where the gases escape and the coffee expands) for 30 secs.
7. Pour the rest of the water (200ml) into the centre of the v60 in a circular motion, aiming for a slightly steady pace so that you pour the last drop of water onto the coffee at about 1min 30 secs.
8. Stir the coffee to make sure all of the grounds are covered and let the coffee drip through the v60 into the cup – this should take about 2mins 30secs.
9. Take the filter paper and coffee out and throw them away. Wash down the v60.
10. Enjoy your coffee – you should have made about 8oz (250ml) of coffee.

     

What coffee would you recommend for the v60?

Generally I’d say a single origin as they’re purpose-built for filters (blends tend to be better designed for espresso machines). Our Ethiopia Yirgacheffe or Tanzania Kilimanjaro work well with the v60 as they’re quite fruity and bright.