Hario W60 brewing problem

[Deleted member 37603]

I'll make this as brief as I can.

I'm a long time Hario V60 user. I recently acquired the new Hario W60 brewer which consists of a fine mesh filter basket and ceramic V60 cone.

To be clear (no pun intended) I am brewing with both the mesh W60 flat-bottomed basket at the top of the drip cone with a standard paper V60 filter below that. My problem is that it can take 15-20 minutes for the last of my brew to drip through.
The water clears the W60 basket in fairly short order, but eventually stalls in the paper filter below. I'm not just talking about a few drops of coffee. There can be +/-75 ml of water hung up in the paper cone.
(+/- 1/3 cup for USA readers)

I am using the same grinder I used before I got the W60. I also use the same small cylindrical coffee sieve (shaker) to filter out the bulk of the "fines" before putting the dry coffee grinds into the W60 basket.

I have tried quite a variety of coarser (than my usual V60) grind settings with the W60, and I am still bothered by brews that eventually stall due to the build-up of fines in lower reaches of the paper filter.

I like the idea of 2 stage filtration, as I favour a nice clean brew. But I don't like waiting as long as this, and especially because I am used to brewing V60's in +/- 3 minutes.

I'd prefer to hear from folks who are familiar with the W60 first of all, if you don't mind.

TIA

 

[Musicphan]

I would say that you still are not grinding coarse enough... with the dual filter scenario, it looks like it should finish in 4-4.5 minutes. Unless you have some type of blockage its grind size.

 

[Deleted member 37603]

I would say that you still are not grinding coarse enough... with the dual filter scenario, it looks like it should finish in 4-4.5 minutes. Unless you have some type of blockage its grind size.

That sounds reasonable enough. I've been edging in that direction, but perhaps I've been too timid. If I open my hand grinder (Commandante clone) 2-3 more clicks, I should be there. That's getting pretty close to a cold brew grind.
As, I said, it makes sense, but at the same time it's counter-intuitive to put "boulders" into a pour-over brewer. How's *that* going to extract?
It's early morning where I am. I'll give it a go, and report back here. I'll make note of the drip-through time. I'm beginning to feel that the W60 was a not great choice for me. Thanks for your well-considered reply.

Up and at em!

 

[Deleted member 37603]

That sounds reasonable enough. I've been edging in that direction, but perhaps I've been too timid. If I open my hand grinder (Commandante clone) 2-3 more clicks, I should be there. That's getting pretty close to a cold brew grind.
As, I said, it makes sense, but at the same time it's counter-intuitive to put "boulders" into a pour-over brewer. How's *that* going to extract?
It's early morning where I am. I'll give it a go, and report back here. I'll make note of the drip-through time. I'm beginning to feel that the W60 was a not great choice for me. Thanks for your well-considered reply.

Up and at em!

I ground coarser, and achieved a drip-through time in the 4 1/2 minute range. It wasn't exactly bad, but it couldn't hold a candle to what I can get from the same beans using a regular plastic V60 cone. I brewed a standard V60 pot as a control.
I'm going to hang back and see what James Hoffman can achieve with the W60. Assuming he'll get around to it. But for the time being, I'm pushing the (pricey) ceramic W60 setup to the back of the cupboard. I just don't see any advantage to it. Just the opposite -- it has disappointed me on every attempt. Had I not had such excellent results from the cheap resin V60 on over many months, I might be inclined to blame myself. But this thing either requires some special technique, or it's a turd. And I am leaning towards the second option at this point. Perhaps it will make a decent flowerpot for our kitchen window.

 

[Musicphan]

I would try it without the paper filter... Pete is a big fan of flat-bottom baskets so if I was a betting man that was the primary design use. Pete is local to my area and I knowing him he wouldn't put his name on anything subpar.

 

[Backyard Beans Coffee]

I would also recommend ditching the paper filter under the flat bottom cone. I can't explain the science of it but a paper filter will actually filter coffee faster when the grounds are in it. If you were to just dump a french press through a v60 filter it would be very slow because the brew lacks the coffee grounds and fines.

If you really want the paper filter taster go ahead and try some flat bottom filters inserted into the w60. Possibly Kalita wave filters or Melitta flat bottoms would work, I haven't played around with it myself to know.