The Hario Switch is a conical dripper with V60 geometry plus a small ball-valve at the base. The valve is controlled by a lever: lever up, the valve seals the drain (immersion mode); lever down, the valve opens (pour-over mode). This single mechanical change lets the Switch behave as either a V60 or a Clever Dripper — using the same bed, the same water, and the same paper filters.
How the Switch brews
In immersion mode, water and coffee sit together like a Clever Dripper, allowing full contact extraction. Flipping the lever releases the brew through the filter in pour-over style. Most published Switch recipes are hybrid: they start as immersion (for consistency) then transition to pour-over (for faster drawdown and clarity). This two-phase approach combines the forgiveness of immersion with the clarity of V60-style paper filtration.
The Switch accepts standard V60 paper filters (01 and 02 sizes), making it fully filter-compatible with existing V60 workflows. Build materials include heat-resistant glass and stainless steel; the glass version is the most common.
Sizes in this family
- Hario Switch 02 — standard size, 12-25 g dose, single to double cup. The most common.
- Hario Switch 03 — larger size, 20-40 g dose, for batch or sharing.
Both use standard V60 cone filters in their matching size. Filter cost and availability are identical to regular V60.
What Switch recipes in this collection share
Switch recipes follow two main patterns. The first is pure immersion (like a Clever). The second — and more common in competition use — is hybrid: a short immersion steep at the beginning, followed by opening the valve mid-brew to transition to pour-over drawdown. This hybrid pattern was popularised by Matt Winton's World Brewers Cup recipe and has since become the default Switch style. Typical parameter ranges:
- Ratio: 1:14 to 1:17
- Water temperature: 92 to 96 °C
- Grind: medium to medium-fine
- Total brew time: 2:30 to 4:30
Choose the Switch when you want a single brewer that can do both V60 and immersion with the same filters, when you're learning how immersion and pour-over affect the same bean, or when you want a V60-compatible upgrade without abandoning existing filter stocks.