Hario V60 Insulated Metal Server, 800ml, White

After 2.5 years of use this is one thing I wish I'd known when I first bought this carafe. It's not a knock on the product, just something I didn't know at the time and would have helped me.Make sure you consistently pour clean, hot water out of the carafe AFTER you use it. If you're like me you know how important it is to rinse coffee out of the inside to keep it clean, so you don't have to constantly use Cafiza to clean the stainless steel. But one thing I didn't know is that the valved pour lid will accumulate coffee inside it. And if you don't rinse that coffee it can dry out inside the lid channel.You can't see this dried coffee inside the lid chamber, but if you don't rinse it out on a consistent basis it will eventually dissolve loose from the inside of the lid and come out as flakes in your coffee.I had this happen a few times and I was blaming my filters because I thought I had grounds in my coffee. But then I realized it was flakes coming from inside the lid.So, just help yourself by regularly running hot, or off-boil water through the lid to rinse any coffee out of it. If you shake your lid and hear rattling, you can fill it through the valve and let hot water soak inside it then rinse and repeat.

I was a little concerned by some of the lukewarm reviews on this one, but I'm finding those to be basically non-issues for me. Actually, as one one other reviewer noted, for as many niche coffee products as there are, there aren't a lot of reasonably priced, temperature-holding carafes to compete with the Hario VHS-60B. At least for now, my review is 5 stars, which I break down as follows:HEAT RETENTION:Let's just get this one out of the way quickly with a point that should be obvious to anyone taking the time to use single origin beans, a gooseneck kettle, and specialized pour-over filtration - you aren't going to go through all that trouble to get great tasting coffee and then let it sit for 4 hours to get all stale and weird. The most that I would possibly need this to keep pour-over coffee warm is perhaps 2-3 hours. But more realistically, I just want it to stay at drinking temperature long enough to pour one or two cups, which is something the glass servers from Hario and other companies can't do. The heat retention of the VHS-60B seems perfectly acceptable to me. It's not special, and functionally no different than a $15 vacuum travel mug would provide. But, as I will discuss below, it gets the job done in a form factor catered to pour-over.BUILD QUALITY & FIT WITH HARIO V60:I use several pour-over devices, including Chemex and Kalita Wave, but the V60 is probably the most ubiquitous among pour-over coffee drinkers, and it's my go-to option for a variety of reasons (ease of use, consistency across different coffee types, filter cost, etc.). So the primary issue is finding a carafe that has both a pour spout and an opening that is the right size for a Hario V60 to sit on top with out tipping. (Note: I believe most Kalita Wave and Melllita devices would also work, as the part that rests on the carafe is similar in size and shape). Since the VHS-60B was designed just for this, it works great.It's also well built, and comes in a variety of colors. I liked the white, but opted for the matte black because I thought it would age better. The pour button seems sturdy enough, and I don't intend to tip it on its side or upside down, so I am not concerned if that would cause coffee to leak out the top or not.POURING PERFORMANCE:The number concern I had from the reviews was the issues people claimed to have pouring coffee from the carafe. Frankly, I don't see this as an issue at all. Yes, you do have to increase the angle to get all the coffee out as the carafe empties. Physics should largely explain why this is the case. (Note: The more detailed reason is that the carafe narrows at the top to allow for the vacuum seal, so some of the last bits of your coffee probably hang up on that. Again, no big deal). I believe the actual storage capacity is 550 mil, or 18.6 fl oz (they make a larger version, as well), and when you start pouring from a full carafe, the angle I used was more like 45 degrees, not 90 or 120 degrees as suggested.There's also pictures and complaints about drips running down the side. Again, I'm really not seeing it. Release the button while you still have the carafe tilted, and the coffee trapped in the spout and upper mechanism finishes pouring. If you just tilt it back quickly without shutting off the supply of coffee, then yes, you are likely to have some spill down the side! I'm not saying Hario couldn't have made the spout a little more scooped or otherwise improved the design, but if you've ever used a Chemex, a glass pour-over carafe, or even a friggin' measuring cup, it's pretty much just like that. Show me a better one in the same price range and I'd have bought that one, but I did not see it when I went to make the purchase.If I were to make one critique, I guess you could say it's a bit on the pricey side for what it does. This is basically no different than those Contigo vacuum travel mugs you'd buy at Target or would see on the (overpriced) shelves of a Starbucks. Those will keep your coffee warm just the same, but they aren't formatted to do pour-over coffee directly into them and serve with a pour spout afterwards. The Hario VHS-60B is meant for this, and in my view, it checks all the boxes reasonably well.

My office is going to a Hoteling situation which means I have to cart all my 💩 in and out when I'm on site. My current work coffee maker is a mini french press and it's glass. So I bought this just because it's unbreakable and it meets that requirement just fine.For heat retention, I've let it sit for 2-3 hours a few times and it is steaming hot when poured but after adding an ounce or two of cold milk it needs a few seconds in the nuker. I have other thermos branded products that stay piping hot for 6-8 hours, so this was a disappointment. Normally I don't wait that long between cups so it shouldn't be an issue for me, but if you're thinking this device would be a good way to keep coffee hot all day, look elsewhere. Due to it's small capacity and odd shape I don't think many people will be transporting this around or using it on an outdoor job site or anything. If you want to make a cup of coffee and have your refill still hot 30-60 min later this is for you!For some reason the red one was $10 cheaper than any other color when I ordered, it's 600ml which is about 27 ounces. I paired it with the stainless steel hario v2 and the hario brand unbleached cone filters. All in all they make a great tasting cup of coffee and I have no complaints about the combo of these hario products working together. If you need an unbreakable coffee setup for work or camping, this is the way to go imho.