Japanese glassware manufacturer Hario introduced its V60 pour-over coffee dripper to the world in 2004. Not long after, at the 2010 World Brewers Cup, its winning appearance changed filter-brewed coffee forever. By affording greater control over the flow of water and rate of coffee extracted, the V60’s design has inspired countless other pour-over drippers. Hario itself has since been hard at work, experimenting with and releasing variations on its iconic V60. 

One such variation is the Hario Switch, which bridges the gap between percolation (pour-over) and immersion (steeping) brewing. By adding a ball-valve mechanism to a silicone base underneath the V60 dripper, the Switch allows you to experiment with longer contact times between your water and coffee. With this innovation, Hario made a big impact again, lowering the barrier to entry for home brewers and giving commercial settings day-to-day reproducibility. Traditional pour-over brewers rely heavily on user technique, how evenly the coffee bed is saturated, the precision of your pours, or how gently you agitate your slurry. Immersion brewing caters for greater consistency across brews as it uses a static steeping environment to fully saturate your ground coffee, and does not require the same constant attention as drippers like the V60.

This dripper is the Hario Mugen Switch, a coffee brewer which combines Hario’s one-pour Mugen dripper with the Switch silicone base. Japanese for ‘infinity,’ the name “Mugen” was chosen to reflect the brewer’s near-limitless capacity for an easily-replicable brew using one, continuous pour. Instead of careful recipes with various pouring stages and gentle agitations, all the Mugen needs is a V60 02-size filter and a mug or server. The standard Mugen replaces the V60’s spiral ribs with star-shaped ridges and slows the drawdown of your coffee with significantly less bypass than other pour-over drippers. This Switch version of the Mugen allows you to stop your coffee’s drawdown with a steep and release valve. Hario recommends using a coarser grind for an even extraction when brewing with the Mugen dripper.

About the Hario Mugen Switch

This Mugen x Switch dripper from Hario is effectively a hybrid brewer, allowing you to switch from percolation to immersion brewing. If you're interested in experimenting with your pour-over technique, leaving the dripper open, or removing the silicone base, allows the Mugen Switch to function as the standard Mugen drip coffee brewer. For immersion brewing, the Switch base allows you to halt the flow of water during the brew. When closed, your coffee grounds are immersed until the switch is toggled. This steep and release method, coupled with the Mugen’s one-pour approach, may enhance different flavour profiles when compared to standard pour-over drippers. The design of Hario’s Mugen Switch reduces the need for mastering precise pouring techniques, as the contact time between your water and coffee is determined by how you control the valve, rather than your pour technique. However, while beginners may find the Mugen Switch more approachable to use than classic percolation drippers like the V60, pour-over enthusiasts may find this hybrid dripper challenging, but ultimately satisfying to master.

Hario Mugen Switch Coffee Dripper features

• Conical-shape
• Compatible with V60-02 size paper filters
• Flat walls & star-shaped ridges promote even extraction
• Single-pour design
• Slower drawdown for a more forgiving pour-over
• Innovative design combines percolation & immersion brewing
• Unique ball-bearing switch mechanism for stopping flow
• Removable base

Hario Mugen Switch Coffee Dripper specifications

• Colour: Black (translucent)
• Size: W 116 × L 118 × H 133 mm
• Diameter: Φ 116 mm
• Capacity: 200ml (for a single pour)
• Weight (with packaging): ~ 250g
• Materials: 
• Dripper: acrylonitrile-styrene resin 
• Base: silicone rubber 
• Switch: PCT resin 
• Ball-bearing: stainless steel