There are dozens, if not hundreds, different devices for hand-brew in the market nowadays. All of them, mostly, can be divided into two big categories: drip, or percolation, and immersion. The main difference between these two is clear from their names. Drip methods imply water going through the ground coffee for some period of time, extracting soluble and insoluble particles on its way. And immersion means ground coffee is immersed with water for some time, and extraction is going on due to a simple diffusion of soluble and insoluble particles into the water. Both of these methods can do with any coffee, better or worse, with some adjustments of the initial brewing technique. Both have benefits and disadvantages.
And here comes the Hario Switch. Technically, it’s the well-known V-60 brewer from Hario, but with the valve. And the valve is the game changer. Because now you can combine the best from both drip and immersion. Here we provide only one of many ways of how to improve your brew using the Hario Switch.
Actually, you can use the Basic V60 recipe from here as a default, or use the version below with 3 pours in total, and the first pour you make with the valve closed. And later on, for the rest of the brew, you just open the valve and proceed as a usual V60 brew. The difference is huge. The first pour with the valve closed increases the efficiency of the extraction, as water has more time for the initial soaking of all the coffee particles. Moreover, it helps you to avoid channelling, which also goes for more consistent and controllable results with higher overall extraction.
So, here’s the full recipe.
you will need:- coffee :) - 15 grams
- Water - 250 grams + some extra to rinse the paper filter
- grinder
- scales
- Hario Switch
- paper filter
- gooseneck kettle
- brewing vessel
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Step 1: measure 15 grams of coffee -
Step 2: grind your coffee medium-coarse - the majority of particles should look like sugar -
Step 3: heat the water up to 92C -
Step 4: rinse* the paper filter.
Rinsing the paper filter helps to warm up the brewer and serving vessel and also to get rid of the smallest paper particles which deliver the paper taste in the cup. There are many discussions among professionals whether rinsing is really necessary ;) We’d say it’s up to you while using white paper filters but for the brown paper we definitely recommend rinsing well. -
Step 5: put the ground coffee into the Hario Switch and get ready to brew! We'll divide the total amount of water into 3 pours (70ml + 80ml +100ml) -
Step 6: keep the Switch valve closed; start the timer and slowly pour 70ml of water. The main goal is to cover evenly all the particles. To make the pour stable, controllable and repeatable - you can follow the spiral way of pouring either from centre to the walls or vice versa. Then let the coffee slurry steep until it’s 0:35 on the timer. -
Step 7: at 0:35 open the valve, let the water start pouring to the vessel. At 0:40 start the second pour - 80ml. Go slowly in order to evenly cover all the particles, try to make the pouring time 15 seconds for 80ml. Make a pause, let coffee drain for 10 seconds. -
Step 8: at 1:10 start the third pour - 100ml. Proceed the same as the previous pour. -
Step 9: Let the coffee drain fully. Aim for the total time* between 2 to 3:30 minutes (depending on the coffee). If time is under or over this range - adjust your grind size for the next brew.*total time is fixed when the water drains from the top of the coffee slurry
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Step 10: Let the coffee cool down a little bit and enjoy!Our tasting buds feel difficulty identifying the wide range of flavors while the coffee is hot - we can easily taste just bitterness. Let the coffee cool down to ~60C to get the full sensory experience!