If you love pour overs and want to decide between the Hario V60 vs. the Kalita Wave, we’re here to help. By the end of this article, you’ll get a good idea of which one suits your brew style.
The Kalita Wave is designed with consistency in mind. Because of its construction, the water takes a bit longer to go through the coffee. This produces a heavy / full-bodied cup for pour over standards.
On the flip side, the Hario V60 is able to draw out the subtlest of notes, clear flavors, and aromas in the coffee. It’s why it has been the choice of many specialty coffee shops and homebrewers.
Both are not pour-and-wait methods like the French Press or Aeropress. Rather, they’re quite hands-on and require a bit of attention throughout the brew process.
Let’s take a closer look at both of their features:
The Kalita Wave
Known for a balanced taste and producing a heavier cup compared to the V60, the appeal of the Kalita Wave lies in its flat-bed design with three holes at the bottom.
The flat-bed design allows consistency in your brews. This is because the coffee grounds are spread out evenly. Thus, also making it easier for the water to evenly go through all the coffee.
The slow flow rate of the Kalita Wave can be a bit limiting if you want to experiment with your brews. Most of the time, you’ll have adjust your pouring style or grind size to compensate for it taking a while to drain . Despite this, it is still easier to consistently produce the same coffee compared to the V60.
It is highly recommended for commercial use or for those individuals who make many cups at a time to serve.
If you want a portable brewer, the Kalita Wave is a good choice. It’s available in ceramic, stainless, copper, and glass. However, the Kalita Waves behave differently depending on the material.
The Hario V60
The Hario V60 is a coffee brewer with a wide range of coffee options. The very recognizable V-shape with angles of 60 degrees isn’t just for aesthetics. Its interior ridges are designed to help with airflow during the brewing process.
You insert filter paper into the V-shape and place coffee grounds within the filter paper. Water passes through the raised grooves and spirals down on the inside of the cone. As it does so, coffee rapidly draws down. The speed of extraction is what emphasizes the acidity to create a brighter cup.
The cone shape can make it a bit of a challenge to get a balanced extraction. This is because the layer on top is not the same surface area as the layer on the bottom. The difference in how the coffee grounds are distributed is what also makes brews with a V60 lighter compared to the Kalita Wave.
Coffee, water, brew time, coffee grind size, water temperature are among the factors that affect your extraction. These factors are more sensitive to adjustments with the V60 compared to the Kalita. It’s for this reason that it’s commonly utilized in the Compulsory Rounds of brewing competitions to test a barista’s skill in managing every variable. Brews made using the V60 also frequently top in the World Brewer’s Cup.
The Brewdown
All factors equal, this is how we think the two brewers match up.
| Factor | Kalita Wave | Hario V60 |
| Ease of Use | ✓ | |
| Versatility | ✓ | |
| Consistency of Material | ✓ | |
| Price | ✓ | |
| Taste | ✓ | ✓ |
| Overall | 2 | 4 |
Ease of Use
The V60 comes in four different materials. You’ll need to take into account its material when you’re preheating to get the most out of your brew. The plastic model is the best option in retaining the heat of your brew than the other editions (stainless steel, ceramic, copper, or glass editions).
If you’ve heard of “user-friendly,” the V60 is “expert-friendly.” It’s unforgiving. The V60 offers a little more control with all the variables. But at the cost of reflecting any mistakes made in the brew.
Don’t worry though. Once you’ve got your technique down pat, it’ll be perfect for those laid-back Sundays and for those days when creativity strikes.
Now let’s talk about Kalita. In a nutshell, the Wave is a predictable and easy-to-use coffee maker that requires little fuss to produce a tasty cup.
The Kalita Wave comes in three different models. Besides the stainless steel, it also comes in glass, ceramic, and copper. Additionally, there are two different size options to choose from: the Kalita Wave 155 and the Kalita Wave 185.
Of course, more experienced hands could take advantage of the Kalita. But even an amateur will be on the way to enjoying delicious coffee with just a bit of patience and practice.
One thing to watch out for Kalita is proper filter storage. Without proper storage, the filters are prone to lose their shape. This shouldn’t be a problem if you store them upright or in the actual Wave cone.
Round One: Kalita Wave
Both brewing options offer a great cup of coffee. But the Hario V60 is not an easy tool to master. It requires patience and know-how. The Kalita Wave, on the other hand, is a great option for new users and requires little fuss.
Versatility
Between the two drippers, the Kalita Wave is more limited in terms of how you pour and the kind of grind size used. Flat-bottom drippers naturally take a little longer to fully drip through compared to cone drippers. This gets exaggerated though with the Kalita Wave, especially with the stainless steel version.
Because of this you’ll most likely have to rely on a coarser grind size to speed up brew. However, this might mean you not being able to maximize your extraction. Thus, not being able to get the most out of your brew since you can’t extract more by grinding much finer.
If not through grind size, you’ll have to compensate for the Kalita Wave’s slow flow rate with your pouring technique. In most cases, this means doing one long and steady pour after the bloom to keep a consistent flow of water throughout the brew. While this pouring technique is safe and produces good balance, you have less room to highlight different flavor aspects (acidity, sweetness, body).
With the V60, you don’t get these restrictions. You can still grind fairly coarse and still get a proper extraction by dividing your pour into multiple stages. Because the V60 is more sensitive to adjustments with your brew, you can really tailor your cup to how you want it to taste.
Round Two: Hario V60
Consistency of Material
The Hario V60 has editions to suit your lifestyle. If you’re constantly on the go, the plastic and metal cones are pretty lightweight and sturdy. With the plastic, you are guaranteed that the dripper you own is more sturdy than the other editions.
As much as the ceramic and glass Hario V60 dripper appeals to the aesthetic, it is too inconvenient to carry around. The thought of carrying it around the city, on the plane, or even the campgrounds is harrowing.
Apart from heat retention, the V60 basically behaves the same across all types of material. This is an important factor to consider when we’re talking about brew recipes. Because, at least with the V60, it doesn’t matter if you’re using a the ceramic, glass, or other materials. It will behave exactly the way you’ll expect it to. Meaning, it will have the same flow rate and you can expect your brew to taste the same, regardless of material.
The Kalita Wave also has different editions to suit your lifestyle. But the different constructions do not behave the same way from one another.
If you are used to brewing with the stainless steel version of the Kalita and then brew on the ceramic or glass version, you won’t be guaranteed the same results. The different materials of the Kalita Wave come with different flow rates – with the glass and ceramic versions actually having quite fast flow rates.
This means that while you can get consistency with the Kalita for your individual brews, it’s much more difficult to communicate brew recipes using the Kalita since you’ll have to adjust for 4 different types of material.
Round Three: Hario V60
Versatility and consistency of brewing material are factors that go hand-in-hand. You need to be sure you’ll get the same kind of brew despite differences in build to get the most out of your brewer’s versatility. In that regard, the Hario takes both points.
Price
The Hario V60 is cheaper than the Kalita Wave. Although you’d need to spend on paper filters now and then, it’s not going to feel like a hole in your wallet. You can even circumvent the whole issue of filter paper purchase (and disposal) by getting a reusable cone.
The plastic dripper comes in red, white, and clear. It is the least expensive out of all the options and is arguably the most durable.
Meanwhile, the Kalita Wave is more expensive compared to the V60. The Kalita Wave Dripper requires its brand of filters that are also more expensive than V60 filters.
Round Four: Hario V60
Taste
The coffee world knows the Hario V60, for delivering bright and complex brews. Practice makes perfect with the V60, but hard work pays.
When done right, and depending on the coffee used, the brew will often be light and nuanced. Almost all bitterness would also be suppressed by the rapid drawdown. This makes a great pairing with naturally fruity coffees. That being said, it won’t be as full-bodied as a coffee brewed with the Kalita Wave. Yet, it something still has much to offer with a clean taste where each note is recognizable.
When talking about the Kalita Wave, its edge is that it allows you to brew consistently tasty coffee without much fuss. The predictability requires much less focus and you don’t have to stress out so much if you make mistakes with your brew since the Kalita will be more forgiving.
Round Five: Tie
It’s hard to pick an absolute winner in this category since both drippers can brew great coffee. Even to us, this boils down to preference and the coffee being used. There are some coffees that just work better with the Kalita and some with the V60.
If you buy your coffees from a specialty coffee shop, see which dripper they use. This will normally give a good starting point for calibrating your brew to the dripper.
Our Recommendations
We are more partial to the V60. But not all of our factors are of equal importance to everybody. Ease of use or other factors might be a make-or-break for you to prefer the Kalita Wave over the V60.
In reality, both drippers are solid contenders when it comes to home brewing.
Here’s a quick gist to help when choosing between the two:
Get the Hario V60 if You:
- Are price-sensitive
- Are willing to learn the technique
- Want to experiment with how you brew.
- Want a lighter/more vibrant cup of coffee
The V60 is best for someone who has the experience, patience, and desire to learn. It’ll be worth it when you get the technique right. The final cup will be clean, flavorful, and fully expresses the complexity of the bean.
Get the Kalita Wave if You:
- Don’t want to think too hard about brewing
- Want to produce the same coffee consistently
- Are looking for a heavier, more balanced, cup of coffee
The Kalita Wave is a great pour-over coffee maker that works well for almost all levels of expertise. It doesn’t need a lot of practice to perfect.
The final cup is more concentrated and full-bodied, while the brewing experience is more relaxed compared to the V60.
To end, both the Hario V60 and Kalita Wave can deliver an excellent cup of coffee with investment.
About the Author
Project Barista Team
All Project Barista content is fact-checked and verified by our network of baristas.