Are you looking to buy one of the best coffee drippers around? Well, if you haven’t come across the Hario V60 Ceramic Dripper yet, you’re about to embark on a journey of pure flavor.
We’re going to take a deep dive into the Hario V60 Ceramic Dripper’s design and why we love it so much. We’ll very briefly be touching on the other materials they’re making the Hario V60 in, but our main concern here is this fantastic ceramic dripper.
All About Hario V60 Ceramic Dripper
You might’ve noticed the Hario V60 is almost ubiquitous in coffee shops these days, and there’s a very good reason for this – baristas have taken a shine to it due to its speedy delivery and superb yield. Nevertheless, it’s probably an even better dripper to use at home due to its versatility, as you’re about to find out.
Hario V60 Ceramic Coffee Dripper Pour Over Cone Coffee Maker
The Hario V60’s Ceramic Dripper Design
This product includes two parts: the dripper itself and a polypropylene measuring spoon with a maximum capacity of 12 grams. You can choose between a red or white ceramic dripper, and a larger or smaller version of the product. The larger version makes 1 to 4 cups, while the smaller version makes 1 to 2 cups. As usual, the color depends on your tastes, while the size you choose will depend on how much coffee you’d like to make in one sitting.
You should know the ceramic dripper is actually made of porcelain. This is good news as porcelain is denser than ceramic and, therefore, less porous. This means both the water and your coffee will flow more easily through the dripper, which is exactly what you want. It also means it’s easily rinsed and reused.
This product comes in a V-shape or upside-down cone. The sides are set up at a 60⁰ angle. These two features are standards in the industry and are used to help the hot water/coffee flow in a downwards motion towards your cup.
The ceramic dripper comes with its base (also called holder) attached, so the product is one solid chunk of ceramic. The base can be placed squarely on top of a cup, mug or your preferred container to brew into. Unlike other drippers, this one is so fast you won’t be needing to spin the dripper around to stimulate water flow.
The ridges or spirals you can see and feel on the inside of the ceramic dripper are not just there to be aesthetically pleasing. They actually speed up the brewing process by allowing air and water to flow through the device with ease. They also help keep the filter from sticking to the cold walls of the V60 and, thus, keep your coffee hot for longer.
The Bottom and the Filter – Hario V60 filters
Another of the Hario V60 Ceramic Dripper’s excellent design features is its bottom. The one large hole at the bottom of the dripper gives the dripper a very time-effective brewing process. You won’t be starting and stopping your pouring during this brewing process, just pour slowly and you’ll be done in a jiffy.
The large hole at the bottom also means not much water is going to be retained. You’ll find other drippers that don’t really filter all of the water because there just isn’t enough gravitational pull throughout the bottom to get all the water out. However, with the Hario V60 you’ll find the V-shaped cup and large hole at the bottom letting gravity do its work more effectively. Once done brewing, you’ll notice very little water left in the filter.
The proprietary Hario filters you’ll have to buy to use this product are super thin. The thinness makes that paper flavor you sometimes get with thicker filters almost imperceptible, and makes for a much smoother filtering process.
How to use Hario v60
This dripper is about as fast as they come –which is one of the many reasons why you keep seeing it around in professional coffee shops. However, it’s not just the speed of the drip that attracts us to this product; it’s more about the flavor of the brew (described as “umami” by Hario themselves) and the many ways the product can be tweaked to suit every coffee-lovers needs and wants.
Are Hario V60 Filters Compostable
The Ceramic, Glass, Copper, Plastic, Metal, Polypropylene and Kasuya Hario V60
As you probably already know, the Hario V60 pour-over comes in various materials. While we’re partial to the ceramic dripper, we can’t possibly tell you which one is the right one for you. They all come with a polypropylene measuring spoon and here are some of their features:
The Ceramic Hario V60 (actually porcelain, as we’ve mentioned) is flavor-neutral. This means it neither adds to nor takes away flavors from your brew. This keeps your coffee tasting exactly like it should. Ceramic also keeps your coffee warmer for longer than glass, and you want this even when the brewing time is fast. We, obviously, recommend using a ceramic cup too.
All Glass Hario V60s are transparent, but they do come with a colorful touch. You can choose from black, red or white bases. You can also get glass drippers with very classy-looking olive wood bases. Glass is easily chipped, though, and it loses heat much faster than ceramics.
The Copper Hario V60 comes in a single (copper) color. The body is copper, but it has a baked coating on the outside, the inside has nickel plating and the handle is made of brass. Copper, like other metals, has a problem: it gives your coffee an extra, tinny taste. This doesn’t always happen, but coffee lovers have reported this phenomenon when trying out metallic coffee makers.
The Plastic Hario V60 isn’t actually made of straight-up plastic. It’s actually made of something called Acrylonitrile-styrene resin (also referred to as “SAN”), which is used in food containers and water bottles. This material contains the temperature of your foods and drinks for longer than polystyrene and is FDA-approved.
The Metal Hario V60 comes in matte black and hairline silver colors, though both come with black silicone rubber bases. They’re both stainless steel, but the hairline silver one has no coating, while the other one has a matte black coating.
The Polypropylene Hario V60 comes in red, white and clear versions. And, just like the plastic version, polypropylene might be found to absorb some of the much loved flavors of coffee.
Last, but not least, is the Kasuya Model. This one was jointly designed by Hario and Tetsu Kasuya, the world-renowned winner of 2016’s World Brewers Cup. Just like the ceramic dripper, it’s actually made of porcelain, but only comes in a stylish jet-black version.
Why We Love the Hario V60 Dripper
We’ve already mentioned some of the features of this ceramic dripper that make it a staple in our everyday lives, but here are a couple more reasons why you need to give this baby a try.
It’s simple to use
Overall, it’s a pretty intuitive product, and either of the usual water pouring techniques (spirals or straight down) will work on it. Even if we do recommend using a gooseneck spout kettle, any type of spout will work on this beauty.
The product also lends itself to experimentation
Please do let your inner barista come to life when brewing with the V60 and trial and error this product to your heart’s desire. Also, if this is your first dripper, there’s no problem in having at it blindly or mixing it up with some online recipes, you’re the boss when it comes to the Hario V60.
It’s easy to clean
You can just rinse your Hario V60 Ceramic Dripper with a little water and you’re good to go! The slick porcelain makes it incredibly easy to keep clean, even the white version of the product.
Finally, it’s incredibly fast compared to other drippers. We really can’t stress this enough: the shape, the contours and the filters all work in favor of a fast but tasty brew.
The Bottom Line
The technology used in the design and filter of this product makes it a fast dripper without sacrificing the rich flavor of your favorite brew. The ridges in the design keep the brew nice and hot, while allowing the coffee to air out and supply you with the perfect amount of bloom.
You’ll need to put on your thinking hat and experiment with the Hario V60 ceramic dripper, but trust us when we say you’ll be getting the most pro brews out of it once you get the hang of it. In fact, this product is already being used by pro baristas around the world, so what are you waiting for?
Bonus: How to Use Hario V60: A Step-by-Step Guide
Read more: Kalita Wave Stainless Steel: Why We Love It So Much