Kalita Wave 185 Pour Over Guide for Beginners

A Kalita recipe specifically for those that are either new to pour over brewing, or just want a recipe that's as simple (and tasty) as possible. 

We've designed our Kalita Wave 185 recipe to be easy to follow no matter your skill and give you a great cup no matter the coffee you're using. The core of the recipe will give you one full 10oz cup, but once you're comfortable you can scale up (or down), so long as you're using around a 1 to 16 coffee to water ratio (1 gram of coffee to 16 mL of water). 

Author

Kaldi's Coffee

Prep Time

2 minutes

Cook Time

2.5-4 minutes

Servings

1

Category

Coffee Brewing

Ingredients

• Kalita Wave 185 dripper
• Kalita filter
• Gooseneck pouring kettle (we like the Fellow Stagg)
• Filtered water at optimal brewing temp of 195 - 210 degrees
• Decanter large enough to brew into
• Scale
• Timer

Directions

1. Weigh out 20 grams of coffee.
2. Place the filter in the Kalita Wave, and then place the Kalita Wave on top of the decanter.
3. Rinse the filter with a little bit of hot water, making sure the whole filter is wet. This eliminate paper taste and preheats the Kalita Wave and the decanter.
4. Discard hot water from the decanter, and discard any excess water from the Kalita that may be retained under the filter.
5. Heat up at least 500mL of filtered water to 195 - 205° F. You can get water to this temperature by bringing it to a boil, and then letting it sit for 30 seconds to a minute.
6. Grind your coffee using a medium grind setting. It's best to grind recently roasted whole bean coffee, and to do this right before you brew, as you'll be using the freshest coffee possible.
7. Again place the Kalita Wave on top of the decanter.
8. Pour the coffee grounds into the Kalita Wave's filter, and tap the Wave, or gently shake back and forth to flatten out the grounds. This helps to remove air pockets and create a flat surface to work with.
9. Place the Kalita Wave and your decanter on the scale, and tare it out (zero out the scale). This will allow you to measure how much water you use during the brewing process.
10. Start your timer and begin your "bloom" by pouring 40-60 mL of water evenly over the coffee grounds. All grounds should be evenly wet.
11. Watch the coffee bloom (bubbles) for about 30-45 seconds, after which the bubbles will stop forming. This is a great chance to take a sniff - it will smell wonderful.
12. After the bloom, slowly and continuously pour in small circles until you reach 320 grams on your scale. Make sure the color on the top of the coffee bed is consistent.
13. Extraction should be complete after 2:30 to 3:00. If it's a darker roast (like our French Roast) it should take shorter. If it's a light roast like our single origin coffees, you'll want it to go longer.If your coffee comes out weak or sour, your grind was likely too coarse. If it comes out intense, bitter, and drying, your grind was likely too fine. Adjust your settings and try again. (Don't be afraid to keep trying new and different variables, all coffees are different!).
14. Remove the Kalita Wave from the decanter, and swirl the decanter to ensure coffee integration.
15. Pour into your favorite mug and enjoy!
16. Discard or compost your used coffee grounds.