Hario

Hario and a century of Japanese glass

The company started in 1921 in Tokyo as Hiromu Shibata Works and for its first decades did something quite different from coffee: it made heatproof glass for laboratories. That is where the name Hario, king of glass, comes from, and where the quality the brand brings to brewing comes from too. Its equipment takes boiling water and sudden temperature changes without flinching.

Today Hario is one of the best known coffee brands in the world. Its gear stands on specialty cafe bars, on barista championship tables and in home kitchens, and the V60 dripper has become an informal symbol of the whole third wave.

The V60, the most popular dripper in the world

The V60 reached the market in 2004 and quickly pushed the competition out of specialty bars. The name comes from its geometry: a cone with a 60 degree angle. There is one large hole at the bottom and spiral ribs on the walls, which hold the filter away from the glass and let air escape. Water therefore runs through quickly, and you control the pace of the brew by how you pour rather than by the shape of the vessel.

That is both the greatest strength and the greatest challenge of the V60: it leaves enormous room to experiment and gives the clearest, most transparent cup of any popular dripper, but it takes some practice.

V60-01, 02 or 03, which size

Pick the size by the number of cups you brew most often.

Size	Cups	Best for
V60-01	1 to 2	brewing just for yourself
V60-02	1 to 4	the most universal size and the one bought most often. If you are torn between 01 and 02, take 02
V60-03	up to 6	larger batches, when you regularly brew for several people

Sizes are not interchangeable with filters. Only size 02 filters fit a 02 dripper.

Plastic, ceramic or porcelain

The function is identical, the difference is convenience. A plastic V60 is light, cheap, does not break and takes practically no heat from the coffee, so it needs no preheating. That makes it the best choice to start with and to travel with.

A ceramic or porcelain V60 holds a steady temperature through the whole brew and simply looks better on the counter, but it has to be rinsed with boiling water before the coffee goes in, or it will cool the brew down.

Filters, white or brown

The filter is the part that ruins good coffee most easily. Hario makes them in Japan, shaped for the V60 cone and separately for each size.

White, bleached. Neutral in taste, a short rinse with hot water is enough. The safe default.

Brown Misarashi, unbleached. Less processed, but with a more noticeable papery taste, so rinse them longer and more generously.

Whatever the colour, always rinse the filter with hot water before adding coffee. It warms the dripper and the server at the same time.

Server, kettle and scale

Hario has the convenient quality of letting you put a whole station together from one maker, without guessing whether the parts fit.

Range Server. A glass jug with a scale, which the brew runs into. The heatproof glass takes boiling water and the markings let you track the volume without weighing.

Buono Kettle. A kettle with a narrow gooseneck spout that gives control over the stream. This is one of those pieces where the difference in even saturation shows immediately.

Drip Scale. A scale with a built in timer, accurate to 0.1 g. Without it a good brew cannot be repeated.

Hand grinders

Grinding coffee right before brewing does more for the taste than upgrading to a more expensive dripper. The Skerton is a hand grinder with conical ceramic burrs and adjustable grind size, a comfortable start for anyone moving from pre ground to whole bean, and a good travel companion. It is not suitable for espresso, but for pour over, french press and AeroPress it works very well.

Not only for coffee

The same heatproof glass went into tea accessories. The Chacha Kyusu Maru glass teapot with a removable strainer lets you watch the leaves unfurl and brew tea without loose leaves in the cup.

Sets, to start with or as a gift

If you are just starting out or looking for a gift, a ready set is the simplest route. The V60 Craft Coffee Maker holds a dripper, a server and filters in one box, so you only need to add coffee and you can brew the same day. It costs noticeably less than buying each part separately.

Frequently asked questions

Where should I start with Hario?
With a plastic V60-02, a pack of size 02 filters and any jug you already have at home. The outlay is small and the difference against a drip machine is audible straight away. The server, kettle and scale can come later.

Do other brands of filter fit the V60?
Yes, as long as they are conical and the right size. The V60 shape became popular enough that many companies make filters for it. Flat bottomed filters, for example for the Kalita Wave, do not fit.

Does a plastic V60 taste different from a ceramic one?
With properly preheated ceramic the difference is minimal. The problem appears when the ceramic is not rinsed with boiling water, because then the vessel takes several degrees from the coffee and the cup comes out flat. Plastic simply does not have that problem.