Kalita Wave Brew Guide
The Kalita Wave is one of our favourite brew methods here at Foundation Coffee Roasters.
The end cup is clean, bright and highlights best some of the complex flavour notes of our single origins.
Although brewing in a Kalita Wave does take a little practice and a couple of extra pieces of equipment are recommended, once you have gained a little practice you’ll be loving the ritual of your morning Kalita Wave.
Without any hesitation, checkout our Kalita Wave Brew method.
How to brew Kalita wave
For our method we are using a Kalita Wave 155 dripper. If you are using the 185 dripper see the water volume and coffee dose in brackets.
Equipment:
Kalita Wave Coffee Dripper
Kalita Wave Filters
Gooseneck Kettle (Filled with hot water ~94C)
Mug or Server
Coffee Scale
Timer
Method:
Place the paper filter inside the dripper and on top of your mug or server. Rinse the filter using hot water from the kettle. This gets rid of the papery taste in the filter and also preheats your server.
Grind 16 grams of coffee (24 grams for 185). You are looking for a medium grind here. Something along the lines of raw sugar or ground rock salt (coffee grind size is notoriously hard to describe, so go with your gut to start off with and then you can tweak the grind size for the next brew).
Make sure the water used to rinse the filter is emptied out of the server, then tip your coffee grounds onto the pre soaked filter.
Tare your scales and start your timer. Now pour over double the weight of your coffee grounds in water e.g. 32g (or 48g) making sure all of the coffee grounds are soaked. This is called blooming and essentially helps the trapped, sour tasting CO2 escape from the coffee grounds. Let the coffee bloom for 30 seconds.
Now, gently does it. Gradually pour over the rest of your brew water. In total the scales should read 260g (or 390g).
You are aiming for a total time of 2:40 (or 3:20).
Notes: If your brew time is less than the time above grind your coffee finer next time, if it takes longer grind the coffee coarser.
Tips: Be patient and bear in mind that even when you think you have nailed the recipe, each coffee can produce different results depending on the origin, coffee processing method, roast type or age. So you may have to tinker with the brew method every time you open a new bag of coffee.
If you haven’t invested in a kettle with a thermometer, this will really take your Kalita Wave to the next level as the wrong water temperature can easily ruin a brew.
FAQs
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A Kalita wave is fairly easy to use but hard to master. Take a look at our Kalita Wave recipe above which outlines the basics of brewing. Once you have brewed using this recipe a few times you will start to get a feel for the method and can easily adjust variables when needed
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You can buy a Kalita Wave from the Foundation Online Shop. Alternatively you can pop down in person to our coffee roastery and pick up your new brew method in person.
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The Kalita Wave does not come with filters. However, fear not we also stock Kalita wave filters for 155 so you can start brewing delicious pour over coffee straight away.
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We recommend blooming your Kalita wave for around 30 seconds. The general rule of thumb with blooming is to wait until all of the CO2 has been released. You can see the CO2 escaping from the grounds (the little bubbles that appear). If you feel that 30 seconds isn’t enough, push the bloom out until you feel the bubbles have stopped.
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Although both of these brew methods would fall under the pour over umbrella they are 2 different brew methods. Firstly they are manufactured originally by 2 different brands: Kalitta and Hario. Secondly the shape of the dripper is different, while the Kalita Wave has a flat bottom the V60 is in the shape of a cone. This not only requires different shape filters but also brews different style filter coffee.
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You should ideally use water that has been heated to 94C. However many people don’t have a kettle that regulates the temperature. The best thing to to in this case is to boil the kettle and then let the water cool for around 30 seconds. Pouring boiling water onto the coffee grounds will certainly impair the delicate flavour profile of the coffee.
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You are faced with a few different options when it comes to a Kalita Wave. Firstly the size of the dripper. If you are just brewing coffee for yourself and you are a moderate coffee drinker then a Kalita Wave 155 should suffice. If you want to share your precious brew however or you like to drink copious amounts of coffee then maybe a Kalita Wave 185 is a better choice.
Secondly you need to decide which material for your Kalita Wave. I prefer ceramic drippers as they hold the heat, however if you plan to travel or transport your Kalita wave then a stainless steel one is maybe a better option.