Hario Mugen Switch: Do You Really Need It?

In this episode, I dive deep into the Hario V60 Mugen Switch and answer the burning question: do you actually need this brewer? I demonstrate a brew using this device and break down the honest truth about whether it's worth adding to your collection, especially if you already own a regular Hario V60 Switch. I compare the grooves, flow rates, and performance differences between the Mugen Switch, the regular V60 Switch, and even the Origami dripper to show you what really matters when it comes to brewing great coffee.

By listening to this episode, you'll learn why technique trumps equipment every single time, how to identify when you have enough gear, and why spending money on the latest brewing device might not improve your coffee as much as you think. I share my unfiltered perspective on specialty coffee culture, gear acquisition syndrome, and what it really takes to brew consistently delicious coffee. This is a reality check for anyone wondering if they should upgrade their brewing setup or if they should focus on mastering what they already have.

Chapters

• 0:00 Intro
• 1:01 The Recommendation Dilemma
• 2:05 Do You Really Need Another Brewer?
• 3:04 The Switch Mechanism Explained
• 4:16 Gear Acquisition Reality Check
• 5:08 Comparing Brewer Grooves and Airflow
• 6:18 Technique Over Equipment
• 7:42 When to Buy the Mugen Switch
• 8:59 Making Great Coffee with Any Device
• 10:05 My Honest Assessment Philosophy
• 11:23 Specialty Coffee Culture Commentary

Transcript

[00:00:11] If you can see that, as you saw or see or whatever you may be doing, I was brewing on the Hario V60 Mugen Switch. I'm kind of torn.

[00:00:28] I've been doing this whole series about things I recommend in coffee or things that I don't recommend in coffee. And I looked at the Mugen, and in this case, the Mugen Switch, and I was like, okay, do I recommend it or don't I?

[00:01:01] Because my whole idea or philosophy, pretty good, I need some water. Has changed on this whole brewer just because it's one of those things where it's like, what do we really need out here? Do you need an immersion brewer? Do you need a percolation or like a drip machine? Or just one of these?

[00:01:35] It works really well. There's no issue with it whatsoever. But a lot of times whenever I recommend things, I'm dealing with people who already have a Hario V60 or even a Hario V60 Switch. I have the OG, to me the Bonavita. I have them all, whatever. That's not the point. The point here is that, what about you?

[00:02:04] If you already have a Hario V60 Switch, you know, glass version, plastic. Same color and everything. Same mechanism inside to stop the brew to let the brew release. Do you need this? I would say no.

[00:02:35] If you already have a Hario V60, you don't need this. Same thing as I don't recommend a regular Mugen or Mugen in general, just because a Hario V60 does the exact same thing. As you saw, I did essentially a one pour. The beauty, the benefit of a Hario V60 Switch Mugen or the regular version is that you can stop the flow.

[00:03:05] So you can let the grounds really percolate together. I don't know how much I did as you saw. This is mostly for demonstration purposes. But I did about a 50 to 60 gram bloom for about 45 seconds to a minute, and then I let it drip through. And then I did one pour after that. Again, one pour dripper.

[00:03:33] They say it on here. They don't. No, I don't even know why I kept the box. But I kept the box. Cool box, right? Like all Hario boxes. The imagination.

[00:03:50] And again, I am not trying to bash on Hario. As you see, I have Hario products. I use them all the time. I have the ceramic. I have the regular. I have the version three. I have the version one. I have all these variations. I even have the Pegasus, which I don't recommend. It's somewhere in the cupboard.

[00:04:16] It's one of those things to the point where you're like, do you have enough? And I've answered this question many, many times. You do have enough. You have enough gear. You just have to have that curiosity for that bean. Because that's really what it's about. It's about that bean. What that bean does for you. What does that mean for you as you explore that coffee?

[00:04:47] And one of the reasons why to me I don't really recommend the Mugen if you already have this, is because the grooves are barely more protruding compared to a flat surface brewer.

[00:05:07] Now you may wonder, okay, that's the difference. That's the difference that's going to make my coffee that much better. And truth is, not. It's just a different variation of more or less the same thing. It's not enough. For instance, let me show you another demonstration.

[00:05:29] Here's the Origami. See those grooves? That's extremely exaggerated. I'm sure that's purposeful for many reasons. But you see how the grooves are protruding, how irregular they are? To me, this creates maximum airflow.

[00:05:52] So if you're using the exact same filter, you're going to get more. I want to say more extraction. You're going to get faster flows out of this brewer. Supposedly sweeter cups. But you can mimic any type of brewer that you want using a cone shape. This plays an easier part in doing that. You can still do it, of course, with these brewers right here. But I guess what I'm saying here is that you can do the same thing. You can do the exact same one pour on the original Hario Switch, V60 Switch.

[00:06:32] The exact same thing. I've done it many times. The bed looks gnarly, looks funky, but it produces essentially the exact same cup. These brewers, there's no real difference between them. This one's probably just newer because Hario decided to kind of go to the extreme and to make sure that this was completely flat. Because if it's completely flat on the other extreme, as this one presents, it does mimic a slower drawdown because the way that the actual filter fits around this rim, it just slows it down even more so compared to this one by a little bit. And of course, the Origami.

[00:07:24] What I've noticed, if you use the Hario or any brewers really for anything, is that you're going to have to go a lot finer. But what I've noticed with these brewers with this technique really, this really is a technique thing, is that you'll get a sweeter cup of coffee. You truly really will.

[00:07:54] But again, if you don't have a Hario V60 Switch and you want to get into the whole Switch game, you want to be different, get this. Same amount of money. Thirty two to thirty five bucks. I think this is about 40 bucks. You're dealing with a BPA free plastic brewer, which I love plastic brewers. There are some variations in taste, but not that much to kill yourself over.

[00:08:27] I guess really what I'm saying here is that, yes and no. Do I recommend this device? But if you already have something like this, if you're curious or whatever, you don't need this. They do the exact same thing. Hario knows this. They try to make it more than what it is. A lot of these companies do. You know, there's variations here and there. But at the end of the day, can I make a tasty cup out of any of these devices? The answer is yes.

[00:08:59] All day, every day. And if you master that just with one of these brewers, then you're going to be in a better place. Point blank. It's really that simple. So yes and no. Do I recommend this brewer? If you already have something similar to the Hario V60? No, not at all. The exact same thing.

[00:09:25] No real big difference. You can still use different papers. They probably fit a little better just because there's no grooves in it. Whatever. You can use a cone shape. You can use a flatbed brewer. For the most part, fast filters, whatever. But at the end of the day, they do the same thing. That's all you really need and want. And as they do the same thing, just pick one.

[00:10:01] Again, I have the luxury of just not giving a shit and just buying whatever and seeing what it's really all about. And I think that's really the beauty of my assessment. Me giving back to you is that I'm not going to bullshit you.

[00:10:18] Then again, this is $30. That's the thing about this whole coffee specialty thing. You can watch hours and minutes of somebody telling you, yes, I recommend. And no, I don't. They may put affiliate link on their thing to hope that you do buy it or whatnot. I don't care. I really don't care what you buy because this specialty coffee thing is just trippy. It's trippy. You know, it is trippy.

[00:10:51] People are out here spending 30, 40 bucks for a bag of coffee. Because I used to be the same. That's why I got into roasting, story for another day, right. But it doesn't matter. You can still get both of these devices. You'll probably be mesmerized how significantly or not significantly different it is compared to the Hario V60 that you already have.

[00:11:23] But then you realize that they kind of do the same thing. You're not going to really taste that much difference. Little variations here and there. And sometimes when we play around with the variations, they can get us in trouble really fast, mainly for our pocketbooks. But again, we're in a weird place. We're in specialty coffee, where money doesn't matter.

[00:11:47] So even if you do buy something like this, so what? Put it in a cupboard. Live another day. Wait for the next thing to come out. And then you're going to enjoy it. And you're going to keep going down that rabbit hole, right. So do what you need to do, what you want to. But I highly recommend that if you already have this, stay with it. You don't need this. If you don't have a switch version type of situation, get this.

[00:12:22] It does the exact same thing as the regular switch. I've done two, three, four pours. My bed looks the exact same as this one. So that's just me. Just giving you my honest opinion, assessment, reality check. Sometimes I wonder if this is more for me than you, but I love just helping and just letting you know that.

[00:12:53] Coffee imagination. That's really what it's about. It's about the coffee. It's not about this thing or that thing or the thing that I just showed. It's about this and how it makes me feel. And if I can produce that out of a sock, so be it. So I'll talk to you later. Bye.