Kalita Wave Brew Guide
Kalita Brew Guide
The Kalita Wave brewer was invented in 2010 by a Japan-based company called Kalita Co. It is a Japanese family business established in Nihonbashi, Tokyo 1958. The company has been manufacturing coffee equipment for 65 years. The Kalita “Wave” derives its name from its paper filter featuring 20 waves. Its popularity with Baristas is due to its flat bottom surface with three holes leading to more even extraction, minimising water channelling. The waves in the filter also help prevent water bypass, so almost all the water flows through the coffee bed.
What I like about the Kalita, is that it is more forgiving than many other drip brewers regarding grind size. It tends to be more consistent cup after cup and produces a bright, rich-in-flavour cup of coffee. Due to its size and stainless-steel construction, it is small and durable enough to throw in my bag when travelling.
WHAT YOU'LL NEED
Kalita Wave Dripper 155 /185
Kalita Wave paper filters 155/185
Cup or pitcher
Kettle
Grinder
Fresh Coffee beans
Filtered/bottled water
Digital scale
Timer
Kalita 155
Grind size: Medium
Dose: 16g
Water: 250ml
Water temperature: 92-96°C
Brew time: 2:30 – 3:00min
Kalita 185
Grind size: Medium
Dose: 32g
Water: 500ml
Water temperature: 90-94°C
Brew time: 3:30 – 4:00min
Tip: If your coffee bed runs dry too quickly in the total brew time, you know your beans are ground to course. The same goes for if it runs too slowly- consider grinding your beans courser.
Tip: If you like a stronger cup of coffee than suggested above, simply increase the amount of ground coffee. The opposite goes if you prefer less strong coffee. Make sure to record your results in order to duplicate them in the future.
Coffee is always about what tastes best for you. This includes the grams of ground coffee-to-water ratio as well as grind size. Be creative and build your home barista skills.
STEP 1:
Boil water in the kettle of your choice, then allow it to cool to approximately 96°C, just below boiling point. We prefer using a gooseneck kettle for Kalita.
STEP 2:
Grind coffee to a medium
grind size. For this example, we use 16g of coffee with 250g of water at a starting temperature of approximately 96 °C just off the boil.
STEP 3
Place a filter in the Kalita dripper. Pre-wet your filter paper and pitcher with hot water. This removes the papery taste from the filter and preheats the pitcher. Once done, decant the water. Place on a scale.
STEP 4:
Place the dripper and pitcher on a scale and zero out. Add 16g of ground coffee to the filter and gently tap to even out the coffee to prepare the coffee bed for even extraction. Zero the scale again after the ground coffee weight has been verified. Set the timer to zero.
STEP 5
Pour 50ml of water and allow to bloom. Begin each pour in the centre, moving outwards in concentric circles and back in again, repeating the process. Be careful when coming to the outer edge for bypass. This is when coffee flows behind the coffee through the filter paper down the glass side without passing through the coffee. Give a quick stir to ensure all grinds are completely saturated. Allow to bloom for 30 seconds.
STEP 6
For the second and third pours, use 100ml water for each. Pour in the same way, starting at the centre, moving outwards in concentric circles and back in again, repeating the process. After the second pour, allow the coffee bed to drain completely till you don’t see water on the surface of the coffee bed.
Pour one more pour in the same fashion to end with a total brew time of around
2:30 – 3:00min.
STEP 7
Pour and enjoy. Perhaps you feel like some "me time", or share it with friends.
Tip: If your brew tastes sour, check your water temperature, because it might be too cold. It should be in the range of 92-96 °C. Also,
Sour coffee means your coffee is under-extracted. Consider grinding finer.
Bitter coffee means your coffee is over-extracted. Consider grinding coarser.