I’ve been passionate about great coffee for a long time. My brewing journey began during university when I discovered home coffee machines and was fortunate to have an excellent roaster just a few miles away from where I lived. At a time when coffee grinders weren’t widely available, I invested in an electric burr grinder for home use. Over the years, I’ve experimented with various brewing methods, owning several espresso machines, drip brewers such as my trusty Melitta dripper, and found the Aeropress shortly after it was first released back in 2005. But it wasn’t until 2020 that I encountered the V60 pour-over cone, which sparked my desire to refine my techniques and craft more flavourful cups.
My Equipment
Updated March 2025
- Hario Switch (v60 base allows for immersion and/or percolation). Link here
- Glass v60 cones (01, 02, 03 ) fit the switch base. Selected based on cup size / guests. I do have the Mugan cone but prefer the original v60s. v60 01 Link here
- Smoked glass coffee carafe by Fellow. Lovely piece of equipment. See my review here.
- Comandante C40 v4 coffee grinder. Sweet smooth cup with good clarity. Link here.
- Hario paper filters, always the ones that come in a box. 01 size Link here
- Timemore Black Mirror Basic Pro scale. Link here
- Brewista gooseneck kettle.
- Fellow Atmos vacuum canisters (various sizes) Link here.
- Hario Olive Wood Dripper stand. Amazon Link
- Glass v60 cones (01, 02, 03 ) fit the switch base. Selected based on cup size / guests. I do have the Mugan cone but prefer the original v60s. v60 01 Link here
- Smoked glass coffee carafe by Fellow. Lovely piece of equipment. See my review here.
- Comandante C40 v4 coffee grinder. Sweet smooth cup with good clarity. Link here.
- Hario paper filters, always the ones that come in a box. 01 size Link here
- Timemore Black Mirror Basic Pro scale. Link here
- Brewista gooseneck kettle.
- Fellow Atmos vacuum canisters (various sizes) Link here.
- Hario Olive Wood Dripper stand. Amazon Link
My coffee station - 2025
Coffee
I'm a bit lazy when it comes to coffee beans. I have a subscription to the amazing Pharmacie coffee roasters in Lewes, and I pick up the odd extra bag from my favourite local micro-roaster Carlos at his cafe and shop Symva in Hove.
This means I normally have between two and four beans on the go at once and typically have a selection of washed, natural and the odd anaerobic process ready to go. Beans tend to be on the lighter side of roasting though I do get sent the odd surprise medium.
The coffee beans get stored in Fellow Atmos containers. This allows me to remove the air from the storage container and therefore see a marginal drop in freshness over a four to six week period.
How much coffee?
Whilst I keep a few coffees on the go at once I tend to have a maximum of two cups per day equalling about 500ml or less. Only at the weekend might I make a larger batch or have a third cup. The pour-over style tends to extract more from the bean and therefore has a higher caffeine content than other methods of brewing. So, I use the universal measuring volume of the cup - metric or imperial - which is approximately 240 or 250ml, not far from an 8oz cup.
12g of coffee for a 200ml cup is also the perfect starting point for dialling in coffee in my opinion.
Dialling in
Dialling in a coffee simply means finding the sweet spot between an under or over extracted coffee given any recipe. The trouble with coffee is that although the main variable, grind size, is quickly adjusted, there is also the brewer/dripper to consider along with decisions around immersion/percolation, water temperature, the water itself, coffee to water ratio, and finally the pouring technique.
My dialling in process is a bit rough and ready compared to some. I tend to start every new coffee at 20 clicks, follow up with a 30 click test and then work from there. I generally start at 98°C because the roasts are light, but I will often experiment around 86°C or even lower to develop flavours, especially when trying roasts nearer to medium or medium light. If I struggle with a bean, then I try a full immersion recipe using the Hario switch to steep the grains and cut down the number of variables I have to consider. See my 50/50 recipe below.
If I do follow someone's specific recipe and it turns out they use a different grinder, then I head to ’beean coffee roaster's’ website if I need grind sizes converted between different grinders. beean converter. Really handy.
I tend to start with 12g to 200ml of water which is a ratio of 1:16 and then get that ratio to 1:17 or 1:18 once I have worked out the nuances of the bean.
Recipes
The following recipes are for one cup using the switch base and the glass v60 cones.
My killer switch recipe is a go-to for larger batches, lazy Sunday mornings and perfect when I'm struggling to dial-in a coffee.
Ken's Switch 50:50
Approx 1:16 ratio - e.g. 41g coffee to 650g water (03 cone), or 30g to 470ml of water (02 cone)
30 - 32 clicks on Commandante grinder
92° C starting temperature
Hario Switch with 02 or 03 cone depending on volume.
For a light/medium roast coffee:
30 - 32 clicks on Commandante grinder
92° C starting temperature
Hario Switch with 02 or 03 cone depending on volume.
For a light/medium roast coffee:
- add 50% (325 g) 90-92° C water to the closed Switch (rinse filter first)
- start timer and stir in your (41 g) medium grind coffee; gentle swirl to settle the bed
- at 45 seconds, open the valve and draw down to about 2cm above the top of the coffee bed
- close the valve; slowly & gently pour the remaining 50% (325 g) of water. Give another good swirl to settle the bed.
- open the valve and draw down fully
- start timer and stir in your (41 g) medium grind coffee; gentle swirl to settle the bed
- at 45 seconds, open the valve and draw down to about 2cm above the top of the coffee bed
- close the valve; slowly & gently pour the remaining 50% (325 g) of water. Give another good swirl to settle the bed.
- open the valve and draw down fully
Total brew time should be between 3 and 4 minutes. If yours is shorter you can grind a bit finer or steep the brew for 30 seconds after the second pour.
Ken's v60 Single cup
The next recipe is my go-to single cup. I tend to use this at least once every morning.
1:17 ratio - example 12.5g to 212ml water. Ratio will have to change with the bean.
18-22 clicks grind size - Commandante. Grind size also changes with the bean.
Suited for lighter roast
Bring kettle to near boil and then don't reheat during the pour - 98C:
- Heat glass v60 and wash through filter
- Pour in (12.5g) ground coffee, settle and make a divot
- Add in 3x coffee weight in water (e.g. 35ml), swirl and leave to bloom for 45 seconds
- Add water to double original water weight (e.g. 70ml), keeping flow rate below 5 m/s
- Add water to double last pour (e.g. 140ml), keeping flow rate low and bed flat
- Add remainder of water and swirl very gently to flatten bed.
- Pour in (12.5g) ground coffee, settle and make a divot
- Add in 3x coffee weight in water (e.g. 35ml), swirl and leave to bloom for 45 seconds
- Add water to double original water weight (e.g. 70ml), keeping flow rate below 5 m/s
- Add water to double last pour (e.g. 140ml), keeping flow rate low and bed flat
- Add remainder of water and swirl very gently to flatten bed.
Total time 3-4 minutes. Adjust grind and pour if outside these times.
NB Other than changing grind size for over/under extraction, if undesirable flavours are present, try again but keep the water nearer 98°C throughout before changing other variables.
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