Introduction
Hario might be a name that has never crossed your mind, but for most coffee lovers around the world, Hario is well known for its drippers and everything you can imagine when it comes to coffee, from coffee grinders to cupping spoons and scales. With over 100 years of experience making glasses and over 70 years making coffee utensils, Hario is a trusted brand and a pioneer in the coffee-making industry.
The company Hario Co. started in 1921 as a heatproof glass manufacturer in the middle district of Chiyoda, in Tokyo. They originally started making high-quality test tubes, flasks and other types of glassware for labs and then slowly moved into Japanese houses as part of their kitchenware.
Posters from 1940 promoting Hario top-line glasses (Image: Hario)
From lab tubes, the company also made glass parts for televisions, even headlights for cars, and in the middle of all those products they also started creating drippers for the growing coffee industry in Japan. In 1948 they created the first siphon coffee maker to be used at home and that was their first step into the coffee maker industry, something Hario is most known for nowadays.
Coffee always tastes the same, right?
To be completely honest, not really… Of course, if you’re happy with the coffee you get every day from Starbucks or Dunkin’ Donuts, just keep drinking it!
Coffee experts can be very particular about the way they make their coffee, how the bean is roasted, the best brewing method, the hardness of water… Yes, a lot of things can interfere with the taste of your coffee cup. But, can we achieve the same optimal flavor at home? The answer is a big YES!
Although a lot of things can affect the final taste of your coffee, technology has made things easier by releasing scales merged with timers - specially designed for brewing coffee - to control the extraction time, apps to track the whole process and dozens of tutorials and recipes online we can follow from people all over the world, trying different beans and brewing methods.
I know it seems really overwhelming if you’re not super particular about how your cup of coffee tastes, but trust me, you can tell the difference when it is brewed with precision, with a high-quality bean, in the right temperature and amount of water. You can always search for specialty coffee places near your house to check out if they bring you joy or not, there’s no right or wrong here.
Achieving the Best Coffee Flavor at Home
Taste is something very particular and in order to achieve what suits you the best, a few experiments might be needed to find the exact flavor you like and of course, enjoy.
Hario is the perfect home brewing brand for beginners, even though many professional baristas use their products as well because they make almost everything you need to start for a very reasonable price considering their quality. The only thing they don’t produce is coffee beans but that’s probably the easiest thing you can find near you.
Are you ready to start? You need a few tools but I promise the journey will be worth the effort.
Beginners Hand Drip Coffee Journey Set
There are so many different types of drippers out there, with various shapes and sizes. Kalita and Hario make the most popular ones in the market, but since we are talking about Hario today, let's go for their best-seller, the Hario V60 Dripper.
To be honest, you could just brew the coffee directly into the mug you're planning to use to save time and there’s absolutely nothing wrong with it. The goal here is to make the best of the best coffee possible and a server will help the airflow when you’re brewing, not leaving water moist from the steam on the side of your mug, it also helps to mix the coffee before you pour it into your mug, providing a smoother and more uniform taste.
Have you ever smelled freshly ground coffee beans before? If not, this might be the best part of the process for you. Roasted coffee beans themselves are already very aromatic, but when you grind them on the spot… It’s just something else. You can get a simple hand grinder for good prices, some of those can be very pricey as well depending on how they are made and their efficiency, but we’re not there yet. There are also electric ones, very convenient with a bigger price range and multiple options.
- Gooseneck Water Kettle
This is an item you probably never thought would be important until you try to use a regular kettle to hand-pour your coffee with precision. You don’t need to get an electric kettle with temperature control at the beginning, but a simple one will make a big difference when you brew your coffee at home. Again, Hario makes all the tools you need and some of their kettles are not even $30 and you can use them for other things as well.
Think about this coffee experiment being similar to baking a cake. You have a recipe, you follow the amount of ingredients and the time it has to stay inside the oven. The same for hand-pour coffee, you have to measure the beans and water and brew it for a certain amount of time to get the best results and that’s why you need a scale that not only weighs but also measures the time for the process to happen.
- Coffee Beans
To finish this journey, you only need to pick the coffee beans you like and start it! You can find recipes on the internet and on how to start pouring coffee. YouTube is a great tool as well if you need more visual and practical guidance.
Elevate your hand-pour coffee wherever you go with the visionary Hario Scale Mug
Hario Scale Mug released in 2021
If you’re a traveler or someone who can’t stand being without your delicious hand-brewed cup of coffee, the Hario Scale Mug is a must in your life! A mug with a scale attached to it? It’s just a brilliant idea and the coffee lovers out there can’t deny it.
Hario Mug Scale is vacuum insulated to keep your coffee nice and warm with a capacity of 300ml. The battery is rechargeable by USB, which means you don't need to keep buying disposable batteries and according to customer reviews online, you only have to charge it twice a year (yes, you heard it right, twice a year).
Its scale is very precise going from 0.1g to 2kg, perfect for brewing your coffee and also if you need to measure different things at home. Plus, it has a timer incorporated into it offering a more precise extraction when you’re brewing your coffee.
The only thing you will need to use is coffee grounds, a dripper and hot water, that’s it. Hario even produces compact filterless drippers in case you don’t want to carry those around with you and be as light as possible.
Hario is by far one of the best companies out there making tools for coffee lovers around the world, with over 100 years of experience making glassware, you can always expect great from their products with fair prices. Start building your coffee brewing set now with ZenPlus and even get products only available in Japan.
About The Writer
Amanda is a fashion graduate based in Osaka, passionate about the luxury industry and handcrafted goods. She worked for 3 years as a live seller and buyer, sharing her knowledge and passion for designer bags to customers in various locations around the globe. Loves specialty coffee, long talks, traveling and photography.
