Hario's stainless steel water kettle, the V60 Buono, has been spotted popping up in coffee houses and the kitchens of baristas for some time now. A detailed search on the web will reveal, for the moment at least, that the Buono seems to be widely accepted as the most useful pouring kettle available. What makes this kettle so popular amongst pour-over enthusiasts? Several reasons stand out.
First, the thin pouring spout enables greater pouring precision as well as a slower, more consistent and controlled rate of pour, both of which are very helpful in achieving a precise, prolonged extraction.
Second, the stainless steel construction and large 1 liter capacity contribute toward keeping up the brew temperature for the duration of the entire brew cycle.
Third, the ergonomics involved in the design of the kettle help to make using it much easier. This may not seem like much, but if you're brewing large batches of coffee and pouring for three or more minutes per batch, doing several batches of coffee will quickly become a chore if your kettle doesn't cooperate with you.
Combine all of these facets with the fact that the Buono is manufactured by Hario, a very popular name in the coffee-brewing community, and the kettle's popularity is easily understood. For best results, combine the Buono with a
V60 Dripper or
Chemex to get a truly exceptional cup of coffee.
I'd really like to get my
I'd really like to get my hands on a CafeSolo--one of the guys from Intelli did a series of videos for epicurious.com and noted that the CafeSolo was one of his favorite brew methods.
Peter, be sure to check out the videos on inverting the Aeropress--when I discovered this alternative, it made the Aeropress far more valuable and versatile. A lot of folks compare it to the kind of cup you get from a Clover.
I have been playing with the
I have been playing with the inverted method and getting some really good results. Do you usually dilute it or just drink it as coffee concentrate?
Also, about the Cafe Solo, we are working on having those in stock fairly soon. Stay tuned.
Really helpful instructions
Really helpful instructions Peter.
I've always gone a little finer than drip, which has resulted in very good cups. The only way I can see how you can finish at 4 mins with a fairly coarse grind, is if you are brewing a liter.
I just tried to record my v60 brewing with doing a little bit courser than drip but my camera died :( hopefully I'll get a video up of it soon. I poured extremely slow and finished at 3:15 with 30g/500mL . I wasn't happy with how the grounds finished at the end (not many on the side, most on the bottom, thus uneven extraction) and I don't think this has as much to do with my pouring as it does with the grind......
The cup is popping though; its the Ardi Sidamo that I roasted yesterday and it is medium-bodied, delicate orange-peel goodness with a touch of pomegrante :)
V60 Brew Method
Chris, I grind fairly coarse, but finer than for a french press. I think the key to keeping it from flowing through too fast is a slow, controlled pour. That's where the Hario Buono Kettle becomes useful. The whole process generally takes me about 4 minutes. I'm by no means an expert at brewing with a V60, but here is my basic method:
1. Grind the coffee fairly coarse, but not as coarse as a press. (sorry its hard for me to be exact on this one)
2. Pre-wet and Pre-heat the paper filter with hot water.
3. pour the grounds in and make a small hole or crater in the middle (experiment with different sizes and depths, I've seen a few different ways to do this). Creating this hole will give you a more even extraction throughout your pour.
4. using a precision pour kettle, pour slowly in concentric circles starting in the hole and moving out towards the edges (kind of like a spiral) until all the grounds are saturated. This will take about 10 seconds. Though you want all the grounds saturated, you don't want to pour at the very edge. Keep about an inch of distance between your pour and the edge. This way you don't disturb the cone shape of the grounds and will have a more even extraction. Keep this distance from the edge throughout your pour.
5. Once all the grounds are saturated, wait for the bloom to start to shrink (usually about 30 seconds) and then repeat the same pouring pattern from before, starting in the middle, moving out, then coming back in. You should be finishing your pour at about 3:30.
6. Give it another 30 seconds to drain out and you should be finishing up around 4:00.
Also, there is a lot of good stuff here, here, and here.
Hope that helps.
v60
Peter - how do you grind for the V60? I must be very fine to keep from just flowing through the large hole? Can you give me a base line to start? On average, what is your total brew time with the V60 in the size I bought?
lachris
Coffee@SmelltheSmoke.net
We just received our shipment
We just received our shipment of Aeropresses. I think I'm going to have to change my favorite method =)
Just looked it up, haven't
Just looked it up, haven't seen it before. it's definitely full-immersion like the French Press, but in the same way as the FP you are losing heat from the time you pour in the water. With the siphon you have the burner going the entire time which keeps the temp in the upper chamber very close to 190-200 for the entire 1-2 min. brew time. The best you can do with the FP or the Cafe Solo is pre-heat the vessel so it doesn't lose temperature as fast.
This is the good thing about espresso, since it is such a fast brew time (15-30 secs) and since the boiler is connected to the group, you have 200 degree water pushing through the entire time..
This is me presupposing that consistant brew temp is ideal for the best extraction...but I think that is right.
The Vac Pot (Siphon) has to
The Vac Pot (Siphon) has to be my favorite. To my knowledge no other brewing method offers constant full-immersion brewing temperature. I'm a fan of the cloth filter as well. In my opinion it provides the most pure tasting coffee experience, letting the coffee speak for itself. I even prefer it to espresso as a brewing method... but i know i'll get in trouble for saying something like that. :)
Matt, what do you think about
Matt, what do you think about the Cafe Solo? Does it compare to the Vac Pot as far as having a constant full-immersion brewing temperature?
Current favorite
Not manual but most current - Technivorm - just picked one up and it is very good! Using the Swiss Gold Filter it has the feel and taste of a french press. It drips into a thermal jug to keep fresh for perhaps an hour. Still experimenting with it some. Tasty!
Manual - Vac pot (coffee bong).
lachris
Coffee@SmelltheSmoke.net