What is James Hoffmann's ultimate V60 recipe?

The recipe uses a 60 g/L ratio (30 g coffee to 500 mL water) and water at 93 °C. The process unfolds in five distinct steps.

Step one: rinse the paper filter with hot water, then discard the rinse water — this removes papery flavours and pre-heats the vessel.

Step two: the bloom. Pour double the coffee weight in water (60 g for 30 g of coffee) and gently agitate the V60 for 30 seconds to purge CO₂. A thorough bloom ensures even extraction during subsequent pours.

Step three: pour in a slow spiral until 60 % of total water is reached (300 g), taking about 45 seconds of continuous pouring. The goal is to keep the coffee bed submerged without excessive turbulence.

Step four: pour the remaining water (200 g) in one slow continuous pour up to 500 g. Once pouring is complete, Hoffmann recommends a gentle swirl — rotating the V60 — to level the coffee bed and promote uniform extraction through the entire puck.

Step five: allow full drawdown. Target total brew time is 3 min 30 s to 4 min. Faster drawdown suggests too coarse a grind or too fast a pour; slower suggests too fine a grind or a compacted bed.

The brilliance of the recipe lies in its dual agitation technique: manual stirring during bloom to fully hydrate fines, and a final swirl to level the bed before terminal percolation. Both moves reduce bypass channels (water routing around the coffee) and unextracted fines at the bed edges. The recipe works with most medium-fine grinds (EK43 at 9–10, Comandante at 22–25 clicks) and washed origins at medium roast (Ethiopia, Colombia, Guatemala). It suits naturals less well — those benefit from a coarser grind and a reduced ratio of 55 g/L to avoid astringency.

Hoffmann Ultimate V60 — step-by-step protocol