Hario Switch Upgraded: Hacks, Techniques & Recipes

[@montgomeryharr30]

THANK YOU! I broke my switch glass and have been using one with a chipped top because I didn't want to buy a whole new glass. Glad this fits!

[@Martin_Edmondson]

On the Hario website you can order spare parts (at least in Japan anyway.) Might be a bit cheaper than buying a glass V60 with base. Priced at ¥1100, which is about $7USD.

[@zhezpac]

Thanks for the great content! IMO The most underrated youtube coffee channels

[@coffeechronicler]

Thanks for the kind words

[@josealqueres]

Agreed!!

[@przemyslawtomkiewicz2914]

I use this recipe with my Hario Switch daily and it works great. Thanks!

[@alex-r-t]

Have you heard of the LilyDrip LOTOS? It's designed to work in a similar way to what you described with the 51mm puck screen: it allows you to use Kalita filters with V60 brewers by supporting the bottom of the paper. I'd be curious to hear if you prefer one or the other and if there are any interesting effects on the final cup. Thanks for the knowledge and inspiration Asser!

[@ThisAintIt435]

I appreciate your efforts brother, I just got a switch and your videos are helping me get the best out of it.

[@S2580ss]

I’ve been using the ceramic mugen with my switch and love it. Do you use the same recipe as your normal switch for the mugen one?

[@braxtonjens7839]

Nice. I still haven’t gotten a switch. But I’m a big fan of my clever. Consistency and ease of use.

[@thomasmotley5449]

@@braxtonjens7839 I have a Clever and have found a whole new world since I got the Switch, which I don't even really understand. But for whatever reason, it's much less redundant with a Clever than you'd think.

[@razzor8970]

Hey Mr. Chronicler, I have been using your switch recipe with beans from my local roasters, it's been simple, tasty, and a perfect balance of clarity and body compared to other recipes I have tried. I am a beginner to all this and it really helped get me started. My question is, can you tell me what little adjustments I can make with the recipe and how each would affect flavor, so I can experiment a little more? Kind of like how you said a shorter drawdown time on the first pour would lead to a sweeter end result. Like would water temp have a big effect with this recipe? I also have been experimenting with decaf using it but it seems like everything drains very fast, should I grind finer? Thanks!

[@LHJC292]

Thank you for the update! I've been using the 03 switch and I'll definitely try your updated recipe.

[@matchankh]

Please share your recipe with the mugen top!

[@jamesbrightman3997]

Do you coarsen the grind on mugen with switch compared to your original recipe? I'm assuming less bypass would benefit from coarser but would be great to hear more on your exact Mugen switch approach.

[@coffeechronicler]

I mostly use the Mugen for very small brews in testing, and for those it works okay with the same grind setting. I'd grind coarser for brews of 15 grams and up.

[@ericbrady]

Thanks! Informative video! I’m completely in the rabbit hole, even have a TDS meter. No regrets but I would’ve saved a lot of money just buying a 1Zpresso hand grinder and a V60 since that’s my go to method 90% of the time. Nitro cold brew is my latest obsession, lots of experimentation going on with this…

[@schmidtdedonno3948]

Great video! Just got a Switch after whet it feels like years of thinking about getting one. Are you preheating the glass? Read the returns on doing that are minimal any thoughts? Also are you using the ‚default‘ Hario ones or something like Cafec?

[@fokcuk]

Great tips! Can you please make a video on how you are dialling a grind size for a new coffee? Like your full workflow

[@vitorapollinario9335]

Mr. Asser how you doing? What recipe you use to combine switch and Hario Drip Assist? Find very interesting. Would appreciate if you share 😊

[@mprz8188]

PCT resin used to make the drip assist is safe up to 100°C (please refer to the manuals) while the Mugen is made from a different material which is said to be safe up to 90°C, according Hario. Regarding the recipe, for a medium roast, use medium fine grind and water 92°C (drip assist will cool down the water) Pour center 1/4 of the total water Proceed on the outer part of the drip assist and let it overflow to the center part Use a ratio of 1:12-1:13

[@ilkzode1822]

A very intetesting experiment that ive had few others try and agree. If you put a v60 or mugen on a stand and pour away with whatever pouring method, you can spoon the bottom pour as it drips, tasting the coffee in different stages. Just like tryin out a Salami espresso shot. We all agreed that the first tasting during the bloom phase was intense ( about a 3 to 1 ratio) so 15g coffee, bloom with 50g water. The next phase was the main pour of about 150g water. During that time we could spoon and taste the coffee throught out the pour process. I dont inderstand why anyone would go past a 13-14:1 ratio. The coffee is so watered down and weak towards the last , lets say 50g, pour. If you want flavor with some body cut it off at a lower ratio. Longer ratios diliute the flavor. In a world where we have now such unique fermentation, coffee should be appreciated at its most heightened state before it dies off in temperature. It tastes the same at room temp if given too much time

[@ilkzode1822]

@@kg-Whatthehelliseventhat hello caffienated friend. I think the higher ratio is of several reasons 1) you do have more volume to drink. If that serenity of coffee in the morning gets you going then pour more but theres a catch. Lets take your favorite steak for example. If its an 16oz vs a 32oz you would think wow double the pleasure. Well in reality theres a real thing called flavor fatigue. Your tongue and pallete do get overwhelmed. it tastes good for so long, but not orgasmic like that 1st bite. Same with coffee. Coffee is essentially liquid steak. We sip and enjoy but after a while our taste buds get a little bored. And when coffee or food temp decreases, so do the aromas. Its really a self taught science experiment. But the absolute one thing ive noticed on many youtube channels, is that no one does my described experiment. Why should anyone follow a LH recipe, a hoffman recipe, a tatsu devil recipe How about every single home coffee lover pour like the way i said, in whatever manner, (bloom no bloom, pulse pour vs one pour , swirl no swirl) and actually taste the coffee as it pours out like a Salami espresso. That way you can actually come up with a recipe for your liking. I personally dont give an arse to last year world champ winners. Lets finally be honest and humble with ourselves. Make coffee to your liking

[@ilkzode1822]

@@kg-Whatthehelliseventhat its good to hear a very common sense fellow coffee lover not get brainwashed. Def alot of crap put out for views n sponsors. Keep up with your brew. Salutes from usa

[@ilkzode1822]

@@kg-Whatthehelliseventhat it def is a commie state hahaha so much greasy salty food in the US gotta love it. Im in Pennsylvania. Boring state but lots of good raosters here. Havent home roasted yet. Thats a whole new rabbit hole im not ready yet to explore. Finally nailed espresso and pour over to my liking and ran away from all pretentious coffee hype. Maybe during the winter when less things to do ill fill up my house with flying chaffe hahaha

[@volodymyrikalyuk4583]

Check Mugen instruction - only up 90C. It's acrylic, it's not safe to pour hotter water. I think Hario creates it's only for dark roast coffee.

[@thomasmotley5449]

I wonder if they're being excessively cautious in that recommendations. I doubt Asser only uses them for darker roasts. Whether he uses water hotter than 90C, well.... Asser?

[@photone96]

My plastic Mugen got a ton of tiny cracks on it after using it with light roast and around 95C water. Got the Ceramic one and that one is great. But it does flow slower.

[@thomasmotley5449]

@@photone96 Any idea why it flows slower?

[@tidalkingv]

those hacks are really neat, not very costly, but adding so many options.

[@VinegarAndSaltedFries]

Hario Switch is amazing. Love this. Great coffee for all.

[@jlagarde]

Does the coffee come into contact with the silicone base at all?

[@angelowalton334]

Great video! Been thinking about getting the switch for iced coffee - what would you recommend for technique if doing Japanese style iced coffee? On my regular V60 I've been doing ~1/3 of total brew volume in ice, but curious about the timing of when to close the switch and reopen. Thanks in advance!

[@JPC326]

I had a switch for two years and changed it to the Swork design brewer simpler and adjustable flow i also use my pulsar top shower and it fit perfectly on top

[@coffeechronicler]

I have seen more people talk about that dripper lately. Unfortunately, Swork stuff seems to be hard to get outside the US.

[@xenodrake4008]

it's kinda weird tho. I like the adjustable flow on pulsar a bit more personally (dont have to turn the whole brewer)

[@thomasmotley5449]

@@coffeechroniclerThis is the first time I've heard of the Swork. Looks nifty, maybe perfect for travel as well as home, but it ain't cheap.

[@iggywow]

06:20 April is releasing their own "switch" style brewer this week. It's essentially a switch style base with their glass brewer attached. However you can't swap it out since it's a design specific to that brewer.

[@thomasmotley5449]

@@iggywow April?

[@Danielfaa]

@@thomasmotley5449April is a Copenhagen based coffee shop.

[@christopherspinzor3268]

Yesss! Was just thinking about your channel - source of most my favorite coffee recipes!

[@coffeechronicler]

Thanks, that's awesome to hear :)

[@hagedchan8541]

Thanks for the awesome update to your amazing initial switch video Asser! It is still my all time fav recipe. But I swapped to a plastic v60 simply because pre-heating was annoying with the glass switch. Do you think pre-heating it is 100% necessary? Using my kettles custom water for pre-heat seems wasteful, and it takes my sink tap like 2 min to get hot (and only gets to like 50deg C).

[@iggywow]

Is it 100% necessary for you? Try things, see if you think it's better or not.

[@Jahloveipraise]

Definitely would love to see your original recipe tweaked for mugen. I just made one with your OG switch recipe but with the mugen (even used K max lol) draw down was significantly longer which is to be expected. Great acidity just pretty astringent. I will mess around but it was a great starting point. Thanks for sharing! Could be the water chemistry too. I used 40/40. Would also love to hear your preferred water.

[@coffeechronicler]

I mainly use it for

[@Jahloveipraise]

@@coffeechronicler thanks for the quick reply! I’ll give it a shot. Thanks again, love your content man I appreciate it a lot.

[@seenstee]

How do you feel about agitation? I really enjoy using the Hario switch and agitating the beans

[@coffeechronicler]

Agitation video coming soon! But yes, I think in a 2 pour recipe agitation needs to be considered.

[@CleanEdgeProductions]

Any options for plastic for the size 03? The Hario Mugen appears to only come in a size 02

[@kevintanaka4351]

I first came across the Mugen/Switch hack from Vincent at Tales Coffee, but found that the "ball" interferes with the bottom tip of 3:07 the cone. Thanks for sharing your hack by using the flat bottomed filter and disc. Love your videos!

[@animeanytime]

The ball touches the bottom tip of the cone, but that doesn’t stop you from brewing with a conical filter. The main issue I have with the Mugen and conical filter is that filter placement and folding really matter, as inconsistencies in filter placement can lead to significant bypass and inconsistency in drawdown time.

[@VivaLaKnox]

I was also wondering that. The Mugen kind of seems a little 'deeper' than the glass v60, so that the ball smashes the paper filter more. I wonder if that limits the flow rate. Never made a direct comparison.

[@michaelculshaw-maurer1596]

I've had the same experience, with the ball seeming to significantly impact the drawdown time from blocking a good part of the cone. I've been experimenting with folding the cone tip to get a small flattened area, but I'm also tempted to try swapping out the ball bearing for a slightly smaller one. I'm curious whether there are any other options, since I really love the idea of a no-bypass Switch.

[@VivaLaKnox]

What knobs would you turn to maximize acidity and minimize sweetness, aside from a longer first pour?

[@coffeechronicler]

Grind coarser and brew at a shorter ratio. But not sure why you'd do that :)

[@VivaLaKnox]

@@coffeechronicler I like the flavor profile. It just can't get acidic enough for me 😅 If I grind coarser I'm simply extracting less. I'd like to extract *different* flavor aspects at different stages of the brewing process. E.g. Kasuya's idea of a high temp initial percolation and low temp immersion -> get the fast extracting acidic compounds in the first part, and complete it with the low temp second part, with less of the slower extracting chocolaty/bitter/earthy flavors that typically extract later in the brew. Have you experimented with such modifications? It's hard to find any science about it and I haven't done much side-by-side testing. Hmm that would be a case for the triple mugen-switch comparison, hahha

[@berniesiao]

What is that carafe you’re using? Looking to switch to Mugen so it’s more travel friendly

[@coffeechronicler]

Cafec Tritan Beaker Server

[@thomasmotley5449]

I had the same question as the last commenter re: a Mugen/Switch hybrid... hybrid(?) recipe. I wonder whether it's worth getting if you don't test coffee equipment. Finally, do you actually follow the Hario guideline re: max temp of 90C? I wonder why they didn't use PCT resin or some other more temperature-resistant plastic.

[@coffeechronicler]

The regular Switch is already great, so if you're happy there's no reason to change it. This is just a fun option if you like no bypass or would find a plastic cone convenient. I sometimes brew at 93/94 c, and it seems to handle that fine so far.

[@thomasmotley5449]

@@coffeechronicler I'm interested because it's plastic and fits the Switch. Another possible reason for me is that I bought the Switch 03, which doesn't fit the Drip Assist, though I wonder how much benefit it provides for immersion or hybrid methods. It's cheap enough to buy for the hell of it. Does your simple Switch hybrid method work well with the Mugen? (If not, that might be an idea to touch on in a future video.) Another thing I heard about the Mugen is that it's brittle and cracks easily, which makes it less travel-friendly. (This is something I should write under a different video and I may, but I'm curious what you think, if anything, about the Hario Zebrang, which can be packed flat like the Tetra, which I know you love.)

[@thomasmotley5449]

@@coffeechroniclerActually the Mugen seems quite travel-friendly. I have the (large) Clever Dripper and the Switch 03, so the Mugen looked tiny and more travel-friendly than I expected when I finally got one. But I wonder if I can get close enough to the V60 Switch/pourover taste with the Mugen. If not maybe I'll get a plastic V60 and a Hario Air Kettle? I'm obsessed with finding a good travel option, not just for "travel" (though I'll be going to Paris in November), but for work because the location is constantly changing. I thought I'd use the my AE, but I apparently need some percolation to be satisfied (it's amazing how different and superior even a hybrid brew is to immersion imo. Actually, I just read about using the AE without a plunger (no-press) as a pourover dripper. Ever tried that? I guess it would be very slow, maybe too slow. I also wonder about doing a more traditional pourover with a Mugen, but I guess it might be too slow as well.

[@nickr9784]

How would you approach a large batch like 38g / 600g?

[@Soopahmahn]

I have the same question. I have a size 02 Switch and tend to get a rather bitter cup with that ratio. My overall brew time is simply longer. I’m wondering if faster flow paper would be of benefit.

[@Legolad]

Will the drip assist work with both 02 and 03 sizes?

[@coffeechronicler]

It's an awkward fit on 03 and 01. 02 is the ideal one.

[@brianbrinegar6086]

Great video. Please repeat with a Clever Dripper!!

[@DanielBlomqvist]

What about the water first approach?

[@Cucukulcan]

Do you have a link to the tritan server?

[@coffeechronicler]

It's called Cafec Tritan Beaker Server

[@צביקיהירש]

What is you recipe for vey small doses? Thanks!

[@coffeechronicler]

8 g / 130 ml. Standard pattern, but close Switch at 20-25 seconds, open at 2:00

[@צביקיהירש]

Thanks for that! I heard that low doses are very hard to brew with V60 because of increased channeling. Do you have a different experience?

[@mprz8188]

​@@צביקיהירשI think he referred to the Mugen for very small batches. V60 won't do that well...

[@jatinthebox8574]

What size Kalita papers do you use with the size 02 and size 03 v60s?

[@coffeechronicler]

185 size fits 02 Hario Cone. Size 03 I only brew with Hario Filters, but you might find some batch brew wave paper that could fit.

[@jatinthebox8574]

@@coffeechronicler thanks

[@giovani5586]

I've abandoned every other immersion and pour over method I have since i got the switch last December.

[@coffeechronicler]

Pure pour over will always have my heart, but the Switch wins every time for convenience!

[@gww-y3y]

Love my switch!

[@coffeechronicler]

Great to hear, there are many of us out there!

[@ericbaluya361]

Great content and hacks. I have done it all and works perfectly fine.

[@krazyolie]

I got a mugen for one of my switches after my cat knocked the glass one on the floor. That one now lives in the office

[@bocrux]

The flat bottom mod seems like a flawed idea with water pooling at the bottom not brewing coffee.

[@coffeechronicler]

Assuming you pour in a regular fashion, it shouldn't be bypass water but rather brewed coffee. Whether it hangs out in the carafe or in the area below the screen doesn't really matter in this scenario.

[@phpn99]

I use a metal mesh, and I will never go back to paper filters.

[@mikepanton]

I wish they sold the switch with a plastic (or even tritan) V60, so I wouldn't have to buy them both...

[@rulindachatt]

Hated the marble/lever stopper on the switch. Garbage design for the cost of it.

[@animeanytime]

What did you dislike about it?

[@CBstoffer]

Why? I find it works great.