The Hario V60 is one of the most popular brewers around, so when the new Hario V60 Mugen came out, I was really excited to try it. It has a slightly different design than the original Hario V60, and the results are very interesting!
Hario V60 Mugen Review
Design
The Hario V60 Mugen has a really unique design because it goes completely against the grain of the original Hario V60.
For starts, the Mugen is made from plastic only. The original V60 was available in plastic and ceramic both.
The ceramic model was nice, but it’s very prone to shattering!
Instead of having a ribbed cone interior as the V60, the Mugen has a very flat cone except for very tiny grooves in the shape of a star.
This forces the water directly into the bottom of the funnel, where it must pass through all the coffee grounds before dripping out.
The brewing mechanism of the Mugen is very different from that of the original Hario V60.
If you brew with a clear Hario V60, you’ll see coffee dripping through the ribs and towards the bottom of the funnel, where it collects and filters out into the cup.
The Hario V60 Mugen has no ribs, which causes the filter to cleanly stick to the sides of the cone. As a result, all the water filters down from a single point.
This is very similar to the Chemex.
Detachable mount
Another interesting design touch in the Mugen is the bottom plate that rests on the cup or carafe.
The plate on the Mugen is much longer and an oval shape, but the neck of the funnel is quite narrow.
This means you can fit the Mugen on a much wider variety of mugs. The original V60 has a ring around the neck of the funnel which makes it kind of difficult to sit on some narrower mugs.
Finally, the cone can actually pop out of the holder and you can just place the cone directly in a jug instead of perching it on top.
This prevents any unnecessary tip-overs.
Ease of brewing
Now to the actual brewing. The beauty of the Mugen is that you can finish the whole brew in one continuous pour instead of the usual pulsing pour of a regular pour over.
All you need to do is bloom the coffee and slowly pour in all the water. If you’re making a lot of coffee, you may need to wait a few seconds before continuing the pour!
Once all the water is poured in, give a quick stir to agitate the coffee grounds and let all the water filter through.
Taste
Here’s where things get interesting. The Mugen can actually produce a slightly more flavorful cup than the original V60.
This is because the proper V60 brewing technique is a little challenging and it can be hit or miss. You can end up with channeling, where all the water drips through a single tunnel in the coffee.
Or the coffee grounds may end up stuck to the walls of the filter and you get a weaker cup.
The Mugen’s design is effective at preventing both of those problems. You can’t completely avoid them, but they’re far easier to mitigate with the Mugen and it’s a more forgiving brewer.
You can also see a big difference in the way the final coffee bed is shaped.
The original V60’s coffee bed is a little uneven with at least some coffee stuck to the sides of the filter.
The Mugen’s coffee bed ends up dome-shaped because of the way water flows through it.
A good Hario Mugen recipe to try
- Grind 15 grams of coffee beans to a fine-medium consistency. Since the Mugen produces a more flavorful brew, you can even grind a little coarser if you find the coffee too strong. Fine-medium is a good place to start, and you can always go a couple of clicks coarser if you need to.
- Place a Hario paper filter in the V60 Mugen and wet it. This helps the paper stick to the sides of the brewer.
- Add coffee grounds and give the brewer a little shake to even out the grounds.
- Pour 50 grams of water(200 degrees F, 90-95 degrees C) evenly over the bed of coffee grounds. Make sure to wet all the grounds evenly. Let it bloom for 20 to 30 seconds.
- Pour 175 grams of water evenly over the bed of coffee grounds. This should bring the water level right up to the lip of the funnel. If you think it’s going to overflow, pause for a few seconds to let some water drip down, then continue pouring. The scale should now read 225 grams.
- Use a spoon to give the slurry a good stir. Agitate the grounds well.
- Let all the water drip through.
- Enjoy!
Conclusion
Hario has done a really great job with the V60 Mugen. It’s not a replacement for original V60 lovers, but it’s definitely a really good complement. It brews well, produces a great cup of coffee, and has some very convenient design features which make it a must-have for a pour-over lover’s collection.
