The V60 coffee pot: the method and history of filter coffee

The secret of this kind of coffee extraction is all in the name: in fact it derives from the shape of the coffee pot which is a “V”-shaped cone with an angle of 60°.

These unusual elements, together with the dexterity of a professional or enthusiast, can give us clean cups of coffee which bring out the flavors of your  favorite coffee blends.

In this article, not only will we reveal all the secrets for getting the best use from your V60 coffee pot, but we will also tell you  the history of filter coffee.

This method of extraction, popular in North America, has now become widespread throughout the world… 

The history of filter coffee  

In the early nineteen hundreds drinking coffee was not the pleasure that it is today.

This is because the percolators that were used at that time couldn’t filter the ground coffee and so they left a lot of residue at the bottom of the cup: and the resulting coffee was rather bitter.  

At some point though, a simple yet brilliant idea changed everything.

Melitta Bentz, a German housewife from Dresda, tried out a new way of making coffee. Indeed,  as a filter, rather than the traditional (at least for that era) filters made of linen, she decided to try a sheet of paper, taken from her son’s school exercise book. 

The result was a real revolution.

But Melitta did not stop there with her experimentation, in fact she created an entire “coffee machine”.

She used a small copper pan in which she had made a hole in the bottom and then covered in absorbent paper.

This is how the very first filter coffee machine was born, it was promptly patented in 1908 at the Imperial Patent Office. 

A one hundred percent home-made invention, destined to revolutionize the history of the coffee machine throughout the world. 

The most important characteristic of the V60 coffee pot is the angle of the filter, which allows  greater percolation of the water thanks to which we can use a more finely ground blend compared to other extraction methods such as the “pour over” technique, or “filter coffee”, like the Chemex (link).

The V60 coffee pot  has two main measurements, a smaller one recommended for domestic use, and another larger one recommended for use in a bar or coffee shop.

The first is the 01 cup, suitable for making one or two cups at a time (11.83 fl oz), while the second one is the 02 cup size, which is used for extracting a greater quantity of coffee (16.91 fl oz) and is thus more often used in coffee shops.

Even the materials in which the V60 is produced can vary: from the cheaper models in plastic right through to the more sophisticated models in ceramic, glass and the very latest models in metal, highly resistant and with excellent heat conductivity.

How is the V60 coffee pot used?

Even if this type of technique has been used for over 100 years, its applications evolve and change continually.

Let’s now look at the rules to follow for preparing the perfect coffee. 

The preparation 

Your reference parameters are as follows: 

• Ratio: 0.88 oz of coffee powder / 14.11 oz of water 
• Grinding granulometry: 600 / 800 micron
• Water temperature: 197.6 F°  – 204.8 F°
• Extraction time: 3 minutes (30 seconds of pre-infusion + 2,30 minutes of infusion)

First of all you need to insert the paper filter in the V60.

Then, you should use a professional kettle which has an S-shaped spout to wet the filter with how water, both to eliminate any hint of cellulose from the filter, and also to heat up the serving cup.  

Once you have carried out this operation, you can throw away the water from the jug and start pouring the freshly ground coffee powder into the disposable paper filter.

At this point you can start the pre-infusion by pouring water heated to 197.6° – 204.8° F for 30 seconds.

For the correct quantity of water, remember that it should be double or triple the weight of the coffee used in the filter (eg. 0.88 oz of coffee in the filter correspond to 1.76 oz to 2.65 oz of water for the pre-infusion).

Then you can start pouring the water slowly onto the coffee powder using circular movements. During this phase we recommend setting a timer from the moment you start pouring and leave it to infuse for 30 seconds.

Finally you can pour in the rest of the water in the remaining  2,30 minutes, all the time continuing with the circular movements.

When that time is up, remove the V60 cone and serve the coffee. 

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