Kalita Wave

How to use the Kalita Wave

About the Kalita Wave

Kalita is a Japanese coffee equipment brand that's been around since the 1950s, and the Wave has become a favorite with home brewers. I use the all metal Kalita Wave 185. Its flat bottom and wavy filter keep the water moving evenly through the coffee, and it drips out through three small holes at the base, so you get a steady, consistent flow.

You know those mornings when a pour over tastes amazing one day and thin the next? That's where the Wave shines. It's really forgiving, so you get great clarity with a little more body than a classic V60. To me it sits right between a Chemex, which gives a super clean cup, and a French press, which gives a fuller one. With the light to medium light coffees we roast, that means a sweet, balanced cup where the tasting notes on the bag actually show up.

Brew steps

1. Get your essentials: a Kalita Wave 185, Kalita Wave 185 filters, a server or your favorite mug, a scale with a timer, a gooseneck kettle (ideally with temperature control) and Syzygy coffee. I use a 1 to 16 ratio, so 20 g of coffee for 320 g of water.
2. Grind the coffee. Go for a medium grind, a step finer than you'd use for a Chemex. Start with 20 g of coffee.
3. Heat the water. Heat your water to 90°C (194°F). That's the temperature I've found works best. No temperature control? Bring the water to a boil, open the lid and wait a couple of minutes.
4. Set up the dripper. Put a dry filter in the Kalita Wave and set it on your server or mug. Skip the rinse. Kalita filters don't leave a papery taste, so the filter goes straight in dry.
5. Add the coffee. Add your 20 g of ground coffee to the filter, set everything on the scale and tare it to zero.
6. Bloom. Start your timer and pour 60 g of water, three times the coffee weight, all within the first 10 seconds. This lets the coffee release its gas so the water flows evenly through the grounds.
7. Pour in rounds. At 0:30, pour to 125 g. At 1:00, pour to 190 g. At 1:30, pour to 255 g. Each pour is 65 g, and I try to finish each one within about 10 seconds. Start near the sides and work your way in toward the center.
8. Final pour. At 2:00, make your last pour to 320 g. Then just let it drip through. The drip gets slower and slower until it stops, usually around 3 to 4 minutes after your first pour.
9. Serve and enjoy. Lift off the dripper, toss the filter and pour. Look at that clear cup with no residue, then enjoy!
10. Dial it in. If your cup tastes a little watery, grind a little finer. If it tastes harsh or bitter, grind a little coarser. It might take a few brews, but once you dial it in you'll get a delicious, balanced cup.

Brewing for more than one

Making coffee for two? Here's how I'd scale up the same recipe, keeping the 1 to 16 ratio, a bloom of three times the coffee weight and a pour every 30 seconds. These are scale up starting points from the 20 g recipe, so taste and adjust the grind if the drip runs slow.

• 25 g of coffee to 400 g of water: bloom to 75 g, then pour to 156 g, 238 g, 319 g and 400 g.
• 30 g of coffee to 480 g of water: bloom to 90 g, then pour to 188 g, 285 g, 383 g and 480 g. Keep in mind the Kalita Wave glass server holds 500 ml.