You brewed a $22 bag of Ethiopian light roast, followed a YouTube recipe, and got something thin, sour, and a little salty. The beans aren’t broken. Your V60 recipe is tuned for medium roast, and light roast needs different numbers.
TL;DR
Aim for a clean, sweet, juicy cup from light roast single origins on V60. The three variables that matter most, in order:
- Grind size — finer than you think (medium-fine, not medium)
- Water temperature — 95–96°C (203–205°F), near boiling
- Total brew time — 3:00–3:45 for a 15 g dose
Everything else is a tweak on top of these.
Prerequisites
- Hario V60 (size 02) with matching paper filters
- Burr grinder (blade grinders won’t get you there — the grind is too uneven)
- Gooseneck kettle with temperature control, or a thermometer
- Digital scale that reads to 0.1 g, with a timer
- 15–20 g of a light roast single origin, ideally 7–21 days off roast
- Filtered water (around 75–150 ppm total dissolved solids)
If you’re brand new to the method, it’s worth running through a beginner-friendly pour-over walkthrough before you start chasing the finer details below.
Why Light Roasts Need a Different V60 Approach
Light roast beans are denser and less soluble than medium or dark roast. Less of the bean dissolves into your cup at the same settings. If you brew a light roast with a medium-roast recipe, you get under-extraction: sour, thin, salty, short finish.
The fix is to push extraction harder — finer grind, hotter water, more agitation — without crossing into bitterness.
Baseline Recipe (start here)
| Parameter | Value | Why |
|---|---|---|
| Dose | 15 g coffee | Easy math, fits V60 02 |
| Water | 250 g (1:16.7 ratio) | Balanced strength for light roast |
| Grind | Medium-fine (Comandante ~22 clicks, 1Zpresso JX ~2.2) | Slows flow, raises extraction |
| Water temp | 96°C (205°F) | Helps dissolve dense beans |
| Bloom | 45 g water, 45 seconds | Degasses fresh coffee |
| Pour pattern | 3 pours, finish by 2:15 | Even saturation, controlled flow |
| Drawdown end | 3:15–3:45 | Target window for clean cup |
The pour breakdown
- 0:00–0:10 — Pour 45 g in slow circles to saturate all grounds.
- 0:10–0:45 — Bloom. Gently swirl the dripper once at 0:30.
- 0:45–1:15 — Pour to 150 g in steady spirals from center outward.
- 1:15–2:15 — Pour to 250 g, slower, keeping the bed flat.
- 2:15–3:30 — Drawdown. Give one final small swirl at 2:30 to flatten the bed.
Taste Diagnosis: Read the Cup Before You Change Anything
Brew the baseline. Let it cool to about 50°C, then taste. Match what you got to one of these:
| Symptom | Likely cause | Fix |
|---|---|---|
| Sour, sharp, salty, thin finish | Under-extraction | Grind finer, raise temp 1–2°C, or extend brew |
| Dry, bitter, ashy aftertaste | Over-extraction | Grind coarser, lower temp 2°C |
| Watery, weak, but not sour | Low strength, not extraction | Use less water (1:15) or more dose |
| Fast drawdown (under 2:30), muddy cup | Channeling | Swirl more, grind finer, pour gentler |
| Stalled drawdown (over 4:00) | Too fine, or filter clogged | Grind 2 clicks coarser, rinse filter better |
Sour and bitter can coexist when you have channeling — water races through some spots and over-extracts others. The swirl matters. The same sour-and-salty profile shows up on other brewers too — if you also pull AeroPress shots, this troubleshooting guide for sour AeroPress walks through the parallel fixes.
Tuning One Variable at a Time
Change one variable per brew. Two changes and you won’t know which one worked.
Order of operations:
- Grind first. It’s the biggest lever. Move 2 clicks at a time on a hand grinder, one notch on most electrics.
- Then temperature. Adjust in 2°C steps. Most light roasts want 94–96°C.
- Then pour pattern. Slower, more centered pours raise extraction. Aggressive edge pours add agitation.
- Last, bloom. Try 2x dose (30 g) for 45 s, or extend to 60 s for very fresh beans (under 10 days off roast).
Keep notes after every brew. A phone note works. Date, dose, grind setting, temp, total time, one-line taste.
Dialing In by Origin Profile
These are starting points, not rules — origin behavior varies by farm and process.
| Origin (washed) | Grind | Temp | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Ethiopian (Yirgacheffe, Guji) | Slightly finer | 96°C | Delicate florals; aim 3:30 total |
| Kenyan (Nyeri, Kirinyaga) | Standard medium-fine | 95°C | Dense, acidic; watch for stalling |
| Colombian washed | Standard | 94°C | Forgiving; pull back temp for sweetness |
| Ethiopian natural | Slightly coarser | 94°C | Already fruity; avoid over-extracting |
Quick Reference Checklist
- Beans 7–21 days off roast
- Filter rinsed with hot water, dripper preheated
- Scale tared with dripper + carafe
- 15 g coffee, ground medium-fine
- Water at 96°C
- Bloom: 45 g, 45 s, swirl at 0:30
- Pours hit 150 g by 1:15, 250 g by 2:15
- Final swirl at 2:30
- Drawdown finishes 3:15–3:45
- Tasted at ~50°C, logged in brew notes
Your Next Step Today
Brew the baseline recipe exactly as written, write down one sentence about the taste, then change only the grind for your next brew. Two cups from now, you’ll know which direction your beans want to go.