James Hoffmann v60 Brewing Technique: Is It Really Good?

I have been trying out various coffee brewing techniques for the v60 for quite a long time. In this article, I will review the James Hoffmann v60 brewing technique.

First, I will start by going over the v60 recipe, followed up by an in-depth explanation of it, including photos. After that, I will give my own thoughts about this technique, and I will also give you some tips on how to improve your brewing.

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Grab yourself a nice cup of coffee and start reading away.

James Hoffmann v60 water to coffee recipe

I have watched the YouTube video James Hoffmann made explaining his v60 brewing technique multiple times. The reason that I have watched his video so many times is that I keep coming back to it to get more information from him.

In the video, he goes in-depth on how to brew with his technique. I have made a quick cheat sheet for you to check out down below. On this cheat sheet, you can find the amount of water and ground coffee beans that he recommends:

To make 1 cup (250 ml) of coffee:To make 2 cups (500 ml) of coffee:

Do keep in mind that this can change, depending on the person. I would suggest brewing like he does for the first time and then changing the recipe to your liking. Later on, I will tell you how I brew my coffee using the James Hoffmann technique.

James Hoffmann v60 brewing technique

It’s time to get technical now. This brewing process will take a bit of time to master. I have been trying to get the best grind size for me personally for a few days now.

The fun part about this technique is that you can drink lots of coffee until you find that perfect coffee grind to make Your Dream Coffee.

There are a few steps to follow, which I will mention down below. This is just for a quick overview so you can easily follow along. After that, I will go in-depth about what you should pay attention to.

1. Boil your water.
2. Rinse your coffee filter and preheat your mug with the boiled water.
3. Add ground coffee to the filter and make a small well in the middle of the coffee bed.
4. Pour water on your coffee beans (use twice the amount of water of your coffee beans used).
5. Swirl your v60 until all the coffee grounds are evenly wetted, and let the coffee bloom for 30 to 45 seconds.
6. Pour 60% of total brew water to the v60. Slowly pouring, this should take about 30 seconds.
7. Let the coffee sit for a few seconds, so some of the water can run through.
8. Slowly pour the remaining water on top.
9. Stir your v60 with a spoon from left to right.
10. After the water has come down to about half-way, swirl for the last time.
11. Let the brew finish and throw out the filter.
12. Enjoy your coffee!

The total brew time depends on the coffee beans you are using. My average brew time from start to finish is about 4 minutes and 10 seconds.

This will change when you are using different coffee beans cause of their density. Don’t worry if your brew takes longer or even shorter.

I know it must be overwhelming to see these many steps to brewing your coffee, but don’t worry it will get easier when you start making multiple cups of coffee a day using this technique.

To make it easier for you, I have taken some photos for you. This way, you can follow along by looking through the photos and making a cup of coffee yourself!

What you should pay attention to when brewing your coffee

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There are a few things that I have run into when making coffee using this technique at home. I will go over them below:

• Stirring is really important. By stirring through your coffee brew, you force the left over coffee particles to sink to the bottom. This way, you will get the best extraction time. If any of the bigger chunks of coffee beans are still on the sides of your v60, you have under-extracted your coffee.
• The end swirl should not be forgotten. By using a spoon to stir the sides of the v60 and swirling for the last time, will give you a flat coffee bed at the bottom of your v60. The flat bottom ensures the best extraction possible.
• After blooming for 45 seconds, make sure you are slowly pouring your coffee on top. By doing this too aggressively, you might create air pockets in the coffee bean bed where the water can easily run through. This will result in an under-extracted coffee.

What is the right water temperature for this technique?

James Hoffmann recommends that the water be as hot as possible when using a lightly roasted coffee bean. This means that you should instantly use the water from the kettle when it has just come of the boil.

When using a darker roasted coffee bean, you can wait for an additional 20 seconds before pouring your water on the coffee beans.

If you want to learn more about why this is, I suggest you watch James Hoffmann’s video. I have listed the video at the end of the article.

How to improve your coffee experience

If you have made your coffee with the James Hoffmann v60 technique, but you feel like there is something wrong, don’t worry. I had made a bunch of mistakes when I started trying out this technique a few months ago.

One of the first mistakes I made was brewing my coffee with a very coarse grind size. Down below, I will tell you how to fix this and give you some tips on how to do so:

Changing the coffee grind size

Does your coffee taste a bit off? The first thing to change is the grind size of your coffee beans.

James Hoffmann recommends trying out every step of your coffee grinder until you feel like you have pushed the maximum and you have reached a point where the coffee turns bad.

I have done exactly this, and I must say I am surprised by the result. I must have made over 15 cups of coffee before finding the best coffee grind size for this technique. This is the grind size that I am happy with:

Speaking from experience, start from a medium grind size first. Now, this might seem a bit too coarse, but it will get you started. Next up is turning that switch to a finer setting on your coffee grinder. Taste the coffee each time before turning that knob to a finer setting.

If you feel like you have made the coffee worse than the one before it, you have found the right grind size. Turn that knob back one setting, and you are good to go.

Adding additional coffee beans to your brew

Does your coffee still taste a bit blend, even when you have turned the grind setting to its best size? You might want to consider using a bit more coffee beans in your brew.

By adding more coffee beans to your brew, you will extract more coffee flavor because you are using more coffee beans. I think that the amount of coffee beans James Hoffmann uses is enough; you might think otherwise.

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It is all up to you, so feel free to change this up.

Still not satisfied? Try using a different coffee bean or a different roast of the coffee beans you are already using.

Are you using lightly roasted coffee? Pick out a medium roasted coffee bean the next time you feel like buying coffee.

Are you already using a dark roasted coffee for your v60 brew? Consider trying out a lighter roast, as these coffee beans have a more sophisticated flavor palate. The fun never stops when brewing your coffee, if you ask me.

My thoughts on this brewing technique

As I have mentioned before, I have been very busy trying out this v60 brewing technique by James Hoffmann. For me, this is one of the more perfect cups of coffee I have had.

The first try did not quite cut it for me, though. I have made lots of grind changes until I found the right grind size that works for me.

I now know exactly how to adjust my grinder to get this grind size. It is so much fun to finally get that perfect cup of coffee after tasting so much coffee.

If you want to learn more about this technique I suggest checking out James Hoffmann’s brewing technique in the video below:

Conclusion

This was a nice article to write. James Hoffmann has lots of good YouTube videos on his channel. I think that his brewing technique of the v60 is one of the better ones out there.

There are so many coffee brewing techniques, and ratio’s out there, it’s fun to compare the flavors of them. Feel free to add more coffee or change your grind size to your liking.

Making Your Dream Coffee at home is all about making changes to an already existing recipe or brewing ratio to make it your own!

If you want to see more recipes from James Hoffmann, then check out this article I created around his French press technique.

I have also listed a few articles below for you to check out. These articles are all focused on making the best coffee at home.

Are you going to James Hoffmann’s v60 brewing technique? Let me know by leaving a comment down below. If you have any other questions regarding coffee, you can also contact me directly by pressing the “Contact Me” button at the top!

More articles to check out

• What Is Double Brewed Coffee: And How to Make This Coffee
• Recommended Coffee Gear to Start Brewing Coffee at Home
• Burr vs Blade Coffee Grinder: Two Grinders Put to the Test

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Categories: Recipe