Since it was announced, HARIO’s V60 TETSU KASUYA Model has been one of the most talked about drippers in the specialty coffee community. This bright new star was produced by HARIO in collaboration with Mr. Tetsu Kasuya, the first Asian barista to have won the World Brewers Championship in 2016. Other than its stylish black look, it can be difficult to see the differences compared to the classic V60, so, Misako, our barista and head roaster at Kurasu Kyoto performed a back to back comparison of both drippers.
The biggest feature of KASUYA Model is its spiral rib structure- since the structure of the rib is what affects the water flow the most, HARIO modified the ribs to control the water flow differently. The deeper, shorter ribs don’t go all the way down to the hole and slows the water flow; this contributes to the water contacting the coffee for longer. This modification is based on Mr.Kasuya’s brewing method he calls the “4:6 method” that earned him a trophy at WBC (you can read about the 4:6 method in our blog.)
Let’s get started! This time, we used 02 size (for 2-4 cups), and brewed with the recipe Mr.Kasuya recommends (leaflet comes with the dripper.)
We used:
HARIO V60 02 TETSU KASUYA Model
Coffee 20g (EK #11 Coarse grind, Light roast)
- Set the paper filter into the dripper, rinse them, then add the coffee grind (20g each.)
- The first pour. (50g of water), 45 seconds to bloom.
At this point, no difference in the water flow was observed between the drippers.
- The second pour. (pour 70g), wait for 30 seconds.
Water flow started to show some difference- KASUYA Modelwas still holding some water after almost all the water had dripped through the classic V60.
- The third pour (pour 60g), wait for 30 seconds.
A difference started to become more and more obvious- KASUYA Model keeps the water flow very slow, while the classic V60 lets the water flow smoothly. From this step onwards, any adjustments needed to influence the strength should be made.
- The fourth pour (60g) and wait for 30 seconds.
While the classic v60 has almost completed emptied, the KASUYA Model is still nearly filled to the top.
- The final pour (60g.) Take the dripper off from the server at 3:30, having used 300g of water in total.
At this point, the classic V60 dripped almost all the water, producing approx. 270g of coffee. On the other hand, the flow in KASUYA Model is virtually stopped, and it’s still holding the water up to 2/3rds high in the dripper. At this point it has produced 180g of coffee, and it took 9.5 minutes for all the water to drip through.
There was a clear difference in flavor- as expected the classic V60 produced a perfectly clear cup with mild acidity and sweetness, and just the right amount of body. The first impact is quite soft, then the aroma spreads through your nose as you sip and the flavor develops wonderfully. The cup produced by the KASUYA Model had the clearness of a V60’s brew but was much more concentrated and had a very significant sweetness. The flavor is deeper, and the first impact hits and develops through with a long aftertaste. We were worried about potential bitterness and dry mouthfeel due to brewing for too long, but by using a coarse grind and by brewing slowly, we could maintain the right amount of strength and bring out the clear and pleasant flavors. (We used an EK grinder this time, but if you use a home electronic grinder or hand grinder, set the grind level to the coarsest setting, the brewing time could be shorter than the result we had.)
You can either finish brewing altogether at the point it had produced 180g, or drip the remaining water into another server and use it to adjust the strength etc.- KASUYA Model is such a wonderful dripper full of potential new recipes that keeps baristas on their toes with excitement! Please explore through many recipes and let us know what you discover!
Final Results
TDS
Classic V60 1.21%
KASUYA Model 2.14%
Produced
Classic V60 270g
KASUYA Model 180g
