Short answer: yes, probably. But only if you’re happy to spend about four minutes on your coffee instead of forty seconds.
The Hario V60 is about as simple as coffee kit gets. It’s a cone. You put a paper filter in it, add ground coffee, sit it on your mug and pour hot water over the top. No pods, no plug, no descaling. The one I’d go for is the white ceramic size 02, which Hario says makes one to four cups.
Why this one and not the plastic version?
Honestly, not for the heat. Plenty of coffee nerds will tell you the cheap plastic cone keeps the brew slightly hotter, because ceramic soaks up warmth, especially in a chilly kitchen in January. If you go ceramic, rinse the paper filter with boiling water first, which warms the cone at the same time. The reason to pick it is that it’s solid, it feels nice to use, and it’ll still look good in ten years. Hario makes it from Arita-yaki porcelain, a traditional Japanese ceramic, and it goes in the dishwasher. It’s heavier than the plastic one and you can break it if you drop it on a tiled floor. I’d still take it.
The shape is what makes the V60 a V60. The cone is a 60° angle with one big hole at the bottom, so how fast you pour changes how the coffee tastes. Pour quickly and you get something lighter. Go slowly and it’s richer. Spiral ridges inside stop the paper from sticking to the walls, so the water runs through the grounds rather than down the sides.
What you’ll need besides the cone
A shopping list, because “just get a V60” isn’t quite the whole story.
- Paper filters. Size 02, the cone-shaped ones. The listing mentions a measuring spoon and a brewing guide in the box but doesn’t promise filters, so order a pack at the same time.
- Ground coffee. A bag of pre-ground filter coffee is fine to start with. If you get hooked, a decent grinder is where the real jump in flavour happens.
- A kettle. Your normal one works. A gooseneck kettle makes the slow pour much easier, though you don’t need one on day one.
Some people weigh everything with a coffee scale. You can skip that at first and use the spoon.
If your morning coffee is something you drink while hunting for your keys, a V60 will annoy you. You have to stand there and pour. It’s also one mug at a time, more or less, so it’s not ideal for a house full of guests on Boxing Day.
And if you like your coffee very strong and milky, a moka pot or a pod machine gets you closer to that faster.
But if you’ve been drinking instant and wondering what the fuss is about, this is the cheapest, least committal way to find out. Worst case, it becomes a very nice-looking cone in the back of the cupboard.
