The Hikaru V60 from Hiroia delivers the most precise temperature consistency we've ever measured in a filter coffee machine. Still, we don't recommend it due to conceptual weaknesses in water distribution and a price of 700 to 800 CHF that bears no relation to its performance.
Why we conducted this test
We systematically test filter coffee machines. The Hikaru is the most expensive consumer machine in this series. Our testing protocol includes temperature measurement, brew profile analysis, and sensory evaluation. We worked with both the included Hario V60 and alternative brewers.
Technical specifications
The Hikaru operates with a boiler system (700 ml, 830 W) and offers an adjustable temperature range of 80 to 96 degrees Celsius. The flow rate can be adjusted in 10 steps from 1 to 10 ml per second. There are 9 presets, divided into three sizes (S/M/L) and three roast levels (Light/Medium/Dark Roast). Control is via an app (iOS 13+, Android 10+) or three buttons on the device. The shower has 5 holes on a diameter of about 2.5 cm, which corresponds to a 1-Euro coin. The warm-up time on cold start is approximately 4 minutes.
Temperature measurement: best-in-class
We measured three brews at different temperature settings. Profile 2 at 92 degrees, Profile 3 at 85 degrees, and Profile 4 at 96 degrees. The machine maintains the set temperature throughout the entire brew with a maximum deviation of 1 degree. That's extraordinary. For comparison: even high-quality consumer machines show 3 to 5 degree temperature fluctuations.
The three temperature curves run almost horizontally. At 85 degrees, the machine stays between 84.1 and 85.5 degrees. At 96 degrees between 95.2 and 96.0 degrees. At 92 degrees between 91.4 and 93.1 degrees.
The technical explanation: The boiler is fully heated before brewing. There's no flow-through heating effect that would reach its performance limit at higher flow rates. This results in consistent temperature.
Water distribution: the core problem
The shower has five holes on a diameter of about 2.5 cm. The water hits the coffee bed centrally. With a conical filter like the Hario V60, this means: the center is strongly agitated, the edges are less affected by agitation, leading to underextraction.
We brewed 18 g of coffee with profile S (290 ml, 5 pulses). The water barely reaches the outer coffee particles. They get wet, but aren't agitated. The extraction is uneven. You can taste it: the coffee has little body, and a slightly dry note remains in the aftertaste.
With manual pour-overs, we control water distribution through the movement of the kettle or spiral pouring patterns. The Hikaru shower is fixed. It can't compensate for this.
Solution attempt: Orea and Melodrip
We repeated the brew with an Orea flat-bed filter. We also placed a Melodrip between the machine and filter. The Melodrip has its own shower that redistributes the water and reduces impact speed.
Our recipe: 16 g coffee, 250 ml water, 5 pulses of 50 ml each, 93 degrees (Light Roast).
The result: The coffee, a Rwandan Natural called Shyira, is juicy, balanced, full-bodied. The dryness is gone. The extraction is noticeably more even.
The setup works, but it requires two additional components (Orea, Melodrip) that aren't included and whose existence most buyers won't know about. An 800-CHF machine should brew good coffee without such workarounds.
Our video on the Orea dripper.
App and operation
The app, called Hikaru Brew, is functional. We can freely adjust flow rate (1 to 10 ml/s), temperature (80 to 96 degrees), pulse sequences, and pause times. There's a recipe library with proven profiles from professionals. QR-code sharing works. The Bluetooth 5.2 connection is stable.
Our criticism: The preset profiles (S/M/L) can't be edited directly. We have to copy them into our own profiles. That's cumbersome. The app announces an update that will add this function, but it wasn't available at the time of testing.
The machine has no rinse function. We can't pre-rinse the paper without creating a separate profile for it. That's a detail, but it shows: the software isn't fully thought through.
Operation without the app: Three buttons (S/M/L) on the device. That's sufficient for everyday use. We only need the app for individual recipes.
Boiler versus flow-through heater: Why a boiler makes sense here
We wondered why Hiroia installed a boiler. The 4-minute warm-up time is longer than with a flow-through heater, for example the Melitta Epos with about 1.5 minutes.
The physical limits: A flow-through heater can't maintain target temperature at high flow rates (for example, 10 ml/s). We've measured this in other tests: at 6 to 7 ml/s, the temperature drops by 3 to 5 degrees. The Hikaru brews at up to 10 ml/s, which only works with a boiler or a flow-through heater with high energy input.
The trade-off: We accept the 4-minute warm-up time if the machine then delivers. With the Hikaru, it does, but only in a very specific setup, see Orea solution.
Comparison: Sage Smart Brewer, Melitta Epos
Both cost about a quarter, so 200 to 250 CHF. Both have similar material construction, a plastic-metal mix. The Melitta Epos has a larger shower with a better distribution pattern. The Sage has a shower head with a radial design. Both brew better coffee than the Hikaru in standard setup without workarounds.
Temperature consistency: The Epos fluctuates by 2 to 3 degrees, the Sage by 3 to 4 degrees. That's worse than the Hikaru, but in practice less relevant if water distribution is right. Even extraction at 91 degrees is better than uneven extraction at exactly 93 degrees.
Price justification: The Hikaru costs four times as much. For that you get: more precise temperature, more settings, LED light show during brewing. That doesn't justify the premium.
Who should buy this machine?
The target audience according to the manufacturer: coffee professionals and enthusiasts who want reproducible brews.
The real target audience from our perspective: people who, first, already own an Orea or similar flat-bed filter, second, are willing to experiment with Melodrip or similar adapters, third, prioritize temperature consistency above all else, and fourth, have 800 CHF to spare and don't want to take the path of least resistance.
Not suitable for: Anyone expecting a plug-and-play solution.
Design and build quality
The machine looks like it was built for Instagram. Textured surface, LED ring, rounded shapes. In practice, the LED blinking after 20 minutes is annoying. It can't be turned off, only the alert tone.
Build quality: Solid. Plastic (Tritan, BPA-free), stainless steel shower, glass carafe. Nothing rattles, nothing feels fragile. But nothing justifies 800 CHF either.
Conclusion
The Hikaru V60 is a technical demonstration unit for temperature consistency. If you need temperature curves for research purposes, you'll find the best tool on the consumer market here. If you just want to drink good coffee, go with the Melitta Epos, save 600 CHF, and enjoy better cups.
Our recommendation: If Hiroia builds a version with an optimized shower, larger diameter, more holes, possibly rotating, we're happy to test again. Until then: pass.
