How to Choose Coffee Beans for Your Hario V60
Beyond the Cup · Origins & Flavours
For a Hario V60, choose coffee recommended for filter or pour-over brewing, then match its tasting notes to flavours you enjoy. Read the roast description too. Washed and natural coffees can both work; the individual bag tells you more than the country or processing label alone.
You have the dripper. You have the filter papers. Then you open a coffee shop page and find a whole new set of decisions: origins, varieties, processing methods and tasting notes.
Which bag should go into your V60?
Start with the flavours you enjoy, then check the coffee’s roast description and recommended brewing method. You do not need to memorise a map of coffee-growing countries before making your first choice.
Our suggested starting point: choose one coffee recommended for filter brewing, with tasting notes that sound appealing, and get to know it over several cups.
Start with flavour, not a country name
Before comparing bags, ask yourself what you want to drink tomorrow morning.
| If this sounds appealing… | Look for descriptions such as… |
|---|---|
| A familiar, comforting cup | Chocolate, caramel, nuts |
| A lively, fruit-forward cup | Citrus, berries, stone fruit |
| A delicate, aromatic cup | Floral, tea-like |
Use these as shopping prompts, not promises of an identical experience. The Specialty Coffee Association’s approach to coffee description considers flavour, aroma and mouthfeel alongside information such as origin and processing.
Two coffees from the same country can taste different. Variety, processing, roasting and brewing all contribute to the result. Origin is a useful part of the story; it is not the entire flavour description. The SCA explains these influences in its guide to roast and flavour.
Read the roast description, too
A tempting tasting note is a starting point. Next, look for the roaster’s advice about how to brew that particular coffee.
If you are new to V60, a coffee explicitly recommended for filter or pour-over brewing makes the choice simpler. Where the description is unclear, ask before buying: “I use a V60 and enjoy this kind of flavour. Which coffee would you suggest?”
Do not treat “light” or “medium” as a complete flavour forecast. Roasting changes coffee’s flavour chemistry, and roast labels alone cannot tell you everything about the cup. Read the SCA’s explanation of why roast colour matters.
Two coffees to explore
| Coffee | Process | Published tasting notes |
|---|---|---|
| Kenya Nyeri AA Washed | Washed | Kyoho grape, blackcurrant, molasses |
| Ethiopia Girma Tamiru Gerbota Natural Gr. 1 | Natural | Citrus, white orchid, blackberry; silky body |
Both appear in Nothing Beats Coffee’s pour-over selection. These are the individual coffees’ published descriptions, not a controlled comparison of processing methods. Check each product page for the latest availability.
Want to understand the process labels first? Read our washed vs natural coffee comparison.
Give your new beans a fair first brew
Once you have chosen a bag, resist changing everything at once. Keep a note of your coffee dose, water amount and grind setting so you can repeat a cup you enjoy.
For a simple reference, Hario’s basic V60 guide uses 15g of filter-ground coffee and approximately 250g of water (250ml in Hario’s published guide). It includes rinsing the paper, wetting the grounds for a short bloom, then slowly adding the remaining water.
You can follow that published guide while getting to know your coffee. It is a general starting point, not a recipe we have tested for this particular NBC batch.
Grinding matters, too. Hario suggests a medium-fine grind for V60. Treat this as a starting point for the recipe you follow, rather than a fixed setting for every V60 brew. If you buy pre-ground coffee, tell your supplier you are using a V60 rather than simply asking for “ground coffee”.
If the beans sound right but the cup still feels sharp or dull, read why your V60 may not taste sweet before changing bags.
Make the next bag an informed choice
After a few brews, write down three things: what you enjoyed, what you wanted more of, and what you would change.
“I liked the fruitiness, but want something gentler” is a useful starting point for your next purchase. So is “I want a comforting cup rather than an adventurous one.” There is no need to choose the most unusual coffee to enjoy the ritual.
Ready to find your next bag? Explore Nothing Beats Coffee’s single-origin coffee selection, read the individual tasting notes, and start with a flavour you are curious about.
Some moments are brewed, not made.
Common questions
Can washed and natural coffee both work in a V60?
Yes. Both processing methods can work in a V60. Choose by the individual coffee’s tasting notes and brewing recommendation; the process label alone does not tell you whether you will enjoy the cup.
Which Nothing Beats Coffee beans can I explore for V60?
Kenya Nyeri AA Washed is described with Kyoho grape, blackcurrant and molasses. Ethiopia Girma Tamiru Gerbota Natural Gr. 1 lists citrus, white orchid and blackberry with a silky body. Both are tagged for pour-over in our current catalogue. Check each product page for availability.
Do fruity tasting notes mean ingredients have been added?
Tasting notes describe flavour associations in the brewed coffee. A grape or blackberry note is not, by itself, evidence that fruit has been added. Read the individual product description for its origin, process and any stated additions.