I have been using a glass V60 for a year. I just got a plastic one to compare since I heard it held heat and kept the brew temperature higher and more consistent. I used a coffee with which I am familiar with the plastic one. It tasted exactly the same as the one brewed, with same parameters, the glass V60. Anyone taste tested the two? How do you find them in comparison to each other?

I have glass, plastic and ceramic. They all taste the same to me -- I can't see a reason they would not. Coffee only touches the filter. I don't think the water leaches flavors off the plastic, that would be bad.

At this point I only use the plastic ones. They are cheaper.

One thing I've noticed is that a 18g or under dose tends to be more even with the smaller V60 (1 cup). The majority of cones are the larger size.

They should theoretically taste different because plastic is a better insulator, which would do a better job of keeping the slurry temperature higher which would lead to higher extraction.

That is the assumption, and why I wanted to try one but I could tell no difference.

What kind of roasts are you brewing? I didn't notice a big difference on darker roasted coffees but did notice a difference on light roasted coffee between plastic and ceramic where the plastic was better extracted(by taste).

Ceramic vs plastic, as long as I can pour enough boiling water to heatup the ceramic dripper before brewing, the end result pretty much the same, I preferred the plastic ones just because it's cheaper and unbreakable...

We use ceramic because it's ceramic.

Acavia wrote:I have been using a glass V60 for a year. I just got a plastic one to compare since I heard it held heat and kept the brew temperature higher and more consistent. I used a coffee with which I am familiar with the plastic one. It tasted exactly the same as the one brewed, with same parameters, the glass V60. Anyone taste tested the two? How do you find them in comparison to each other?

the tastes differences are going to be based on the temperature stability but they are probably only nuanced differences and not dramatic. how have you been cupping them? with V60 brewers you have 4 choices, metal, ceramic, glass and plastic (I'm not aware of any others from hario but I have seen off brand stone and wood). I would brew a larger dose (20-30 grams of coffee) for each brewer you have (if you only have 2 than just do 2) and try and be as exact as possible. then I would divide the brew into 3 smaller portions for 3 different cupping sets and cup each set together blindly. so if you have 4 brewers your tests would be

1. a, d, c, b
2. b ,c ,a, d
3. c, d, b, a
(randomize to show blind cupping)

obviously, for fewer brewers, you compare less and more it would be greater. then out of each choose the best and the worst then choose the best and worst out of the remaining ones (second and second last) and repeat as necessary. If your results show (a) as the clear winner then it conclusively shows that whatever material (a) is then it is the better material. But if your results show seem random then it shows there really is no difference. It also may be somewhat mixed and may only be a clear loser but nothing else. If that's the case then it identifies the brewer that is the worse but the others are too little to know the difference. You could keep this up and repeat it over different coffees or as your coffee ages or simply just a different day or time of day. The more the results show consistency the more they identify a pattern and the more you cup the better you get at tasting the differences.

at the end of the day it may be so few differences that it really doesn't matter. coffee enthusiasts often will treat these sorts of details like a checkbox. plastic gives the best insulation so "check" they use a plastic brewer without really comparing the others or know what sort of impact they have. They will then parrot back whatever everyone else is saying "plastic is the best insulator, therefore, it makes the best coffee" and leave it at that. The logic is sound enough that the better you can control the temp the more consistent your brews can be and there isn't a felt need to really analyze it or question it further but it is useful to test these broad conclusions to see how they impact the cup as there are reasons why you wouldn't buy plastic too.

I don't have a glass V60 but recently did a round of comparisons between ceramic and plastic. I've bought into the whole plastic is better idea but only from a theoretical point of view. Starting to wonder if that's mostly a myth:

https://eightouncecoffee.ca/blogs/news/ ... comparison

Anyway, the temperature difference might be negligible but there is a difference in the size of the ribs. As a result the paper filter is sealing more to the side of the ceramic dripper, especially around the exit of the dripper, the leading to less bypass and slightly longer brew times.

FWIW I had a slight preference for the ceramic dripper, but it was a very subtle difference in flavor and not blinded.

I think they're similar enough that other aspects should be the deciding factor. I think it's a lot easier to keep ceramic and glass clean than plastic since they're not very susceptible to scratches. After switching I miss how light the plastic is and that some versions fit inside the decanter. The clear plastic version is rubbish all around because it cracks from heat.

Jonk wrote:.... The clear plastic version is rubbish all around because it cracks from heat.

The clear plastic V60 is only good up to 92C (different plastic than the coloured ones).

The clear one isn't rubbish - it is just that most of us can't read the warnings printed in Japanese.

Regardless, I pre-heat for light roasts ... something that I find unnecessary with plastic. I also don't use copper drippers for light roasts. However, whether there is a taste difference that one can discern between any of these is up to that individual's taste buds.