Changes are coming to your favorite pour-over. After having reached the pinnacle of success, winning the inaugural Sprudge Ultimate Coffee Bracket Challenge, the Hario V60 is not resting on its laurels. Far from it. Instead the brand is releasing a brand-new take on the timeless brewing method, working in collaboration with 2013 World Barista Champion Pete Licata to bring more versatility to your brewing with the redesigned W60 dripper.
The original V60 is a timeless piece of gear, found as frequently in the homes of coffee enthusiasts it is at high-end coffee bars, and even as part of winning World Brewers Cup routines. But the V60 has lost a bit of market share in the coffee brewing zeitgeist over the past few years in favor of flat-bottom brewers like the Kalita Wave, or more recently to the versatile and aesthetic Origami Dripper. With the W60, Hario looks to win some of that back.
With its billowed cone shape, the new W60 is designed to hold standard paper filters as well as a custom-designed flat bottom resin mesh filter. And the W60 was designed to even use the two simultaneously for a double filtration system. This, according to the website, allows users the option of brewing a weightier cup with the mesh filter, a cleaner brew generally associated with V60s, or by combining a two, a cup that combines the even extraction of a flat bottom filter with the clean flavors of a paper cone.
Pete Licata has more to say about this new brew project:
I wanted to address the concern baristas have with “flat bed” brewing. Many have the goal of a consistently even coffee layer, which is difficult with both cone-shaped and flat-bottom paper filters. I am also a big fan of versatility, and in the process of working on the idea for flat-bottom brewing, realized that we could make a product with multiple ways to be used.
The brand new W60 dripper from Hario is seeing a limited release, currently only available via Hario Taiwan and Hario Korea’s official websites, ranging between $32 and $44 USD. We are eagerly awaiting its launch into the USA market. For learn more, visit the W60 information page.
Zac Cadwalader is the managing editor at Sprudge Media Network and a staff writer based in Dallas. Read more Zac Cadwalader on Sprudge.
