How To Brew The Kalita Wave - A Coffee Lovers Brew Guide
Вставка
- Опубліковано 23 гру 2017
- The Kalita Wave is one of my favorite brewing methods. In this video I take you through my step by step brew guide for getting the most out of you Kalita Wave. Learn all my best tips and tricks for brewing perfect coffee with this pour over filter method.
You may enjoy this article on Brewing Light Roasted Coffee: www.extractedmagazine.com/how...
Get you own Kalita Wave + Kettle:
Kalita Wave Dripper: amzn.to/2qQOiei
Kalita Wave Server: amzn.to/2rvdtFH
Fellow Kettle: amzn.to/2Ajwayb
Acaia Scale: amzn.to/2rvneUv
Baratza Encore Grinder: amzn.to/2rbBm5o
Great brewing tips on the Kalita Wave. I really enjoy Coffee Lovers TV, great info for us Coffee Lovers.
Thanks Orrin! Glad you are enjoying
Thanks for sharing the info about the filter (not needing to rinse it). It's good to know the reason behind everything and not just being told to do or not do thing.
Well I'm researching again this idea. When I originally made this video, I did extensively test and my conclusion was no rinse. I've had several people suggest there is a difference now. So I'm both retesting and reaching out to Kalita to see if they've made any changes to their filter. Will make a video update either way when I come to a conclusion.
You seem like a cool dude to kick back and talk about coffee with
Thanks! you might enjoy the Coffee Lovers Radio podcast I do with my friend who runs Conduit Coffee Roasters - www.coffeeloversradio.com
Great tip on how to deal with the coffee accumulation you get in the "waves". I'll try it next time!
I've actually started doing this less, out of laziness. I more focus on making sure there's no bubbles coming up after my initial big pour (bubbles indicating air pockets, so not all coffee extracting evenly). Still playing around with the best way to do this, but the 'spin' to get the grounds out of the crevices can help.
great kalita tutorial!
thanks!
Great video!
great video!! thanks a lot...
Nice and very interesting video for me as I didn't really know the specificities of the Kalita Wave. I have an Aeropress (my everyday brew method), a V60 and a Chemex, but now I want to try the Kalita Wave ! In another style, I regularly drink coffee made with a Moka Pot.
You can never have too many brew methods :P
I've received my Kalita Wave this morning! I'll try it after my lunch.
Thanks for this video! I use both the Kalita wave and V60 and I make pretty good cups with both of them, I however think that the Hario is less forgiving of one’s mistakes in terms of pouring technique...speed...etc compared to the wave. I use a baratza Virtuoso and I set it to around 18-23 for the kalita. I’ve recently also gotten a Kalita thin spout kettle 0.7ml, and I find that it gives me great control over the pour and as a result I’ve been very satisfied with the coffee I make lately.
Oh nice, that's a nifty looking kettle. i'm sure I'm repeating what i said in the video, but absolutely agree on the forgivingness of kalita wave - I prefer that first thing in the morning for sure.
"Rao spin" (from Scott Rao's V60 video) FTW. I do that with the V60 all the time, makes the coffee bed super flat. Nice to know that it just works the same effect with the Kalita.
I'm not sure it's actually necessary with the kalita. I just do it out of habit at this point. I'll have to do some side by side comparisons of different pouring styles at some point i guess.
Agree on the rinse comment. I feel its a statement everybody feels like saying because thats what everyone says. But little to no difference as official paper filters are practically tasteless already. But pre wetting does heat the carafe and flattens the filter for those who are very granular in their method. But at the end of the day, trust your taste and adjust accordingly. Great video!
Yea for sure. Although I'm currently thinking that the filter flattening during prewet actually is a detriment to brewing on the Kalita. But I need more comparison brews to figure this out (we're probably going to tackle this one on Coffee Lovers Radio at some point)
@@Coffeeloversmag Thanks for the insight! I use V60 for over a year now and watched this as I'm looking to buy a Kalita for office use. The cupcake style filter does interest me and I believe you are correct that retention of its shape seems to be essential for this kind of brewing method. I'd love to go catch a listen at Coffee Lovers Radio. Just subscribed to your station in Spotify!
Man, the coffee on the side of filter always bothers me when I use kalita, thank you for the your advice, will do that from now
the spin technique also seems to be a good way to help saturate coffee at the beginning. Fun to play around with :)
Please rinse your filter paper. It’s not just about taste, the water having to break through the paper will effect your brew. Also, I would do a much finer grind from what it looks like he did. 45 second bloom is the sweet spot I’ve found.
I even rinse the v60 original japanese paper which is made from a plant more neutral in taste than wood. You can taste the difference.
It would be interesting to hear your thoughts on the December Coffee Dripper. Maybe at some point you could do a review of one?
So i don't have extensive experience with it, but I have played around with it a little bit at a coffee show. My initial thoughts are that it seems like a fun tool for someone who really likes to tinker with their coffee, but also that it doesn't really give me anything I need or want.
I could see my point of view changing if I brewed with one for awhile though.
One thing I did note of concern is that the because you have two separate pieces joined which move about, there's appears to be quite a bit of opportunity for coffee oils to build up, which are really hard to clean out. That makes me concerned about it's long term use.
Nice video. You are the first one I saw who thinks rinsing the kalitta filter is not really necessary. Is the paper different from other filters?
How long do you let the coffe drip at the end? Till the last drop or do you stop it earlier?
Thank you! Yes the paper is quite different from other filters - it's custom-made specifically for the kalita, and aside from the shape the physical construction of the paper itself is different (though I don't know the specifics).
Not only is rinsing the filter not necessary to remove taste (which it doesn't appear to impart into the coffee), but rinsing your filter actually seems to reduce the effectiveness of the shape of the filter and it's other physical qualities. For example, if you rinse your kalita filter, you may discover it actually sticks to the bottom more, which restricts the flow, and you don't want that to happen of course.
As far as how long - I'm one of those oddball connoisseurs that doesn't time his brews :P At least, not usually. For every pour over method I let drip until the water goes below the surface of the grounds and that surface appears to start 'drying' (I might have to do a quick video of this happening to show what I mean). That is, assuming I'm in a rush. Often times after I do the last pour I'll walk away and do something else for a couple minutes.
@Coffee Lovers TV What do you think about giving a gentle shake to the Kalita Wave right in the beginning after you add your coffee, but before starting to pour the water to 'pack' the grounds more tightly/evenly? I noticed that you did not do that and just started pouring.
I tend to always do that to the brew basket in my drip coffee maker too and was wondering if that helps in any way.
Yea interesting question. I do both of these things interchangeably. I still haven't found a consistent 'effect' I can point to (so I can say "do this thing because X"). It makes logical sense that flattening the dry ground bed should lead to more even blooming and extraction...but the spin during the brew also does this. I think there's probably a 'benefit' but its so minimal it's not worth cluttering a guide with that step. It certainly doesn't hurt to flatten the bed. When it isn't flat, I tend to pour starting at the peak, so as to get more quickly an even bloom. I suppose I could do a Cup of Joe video sometime looking at this situation.
Do you like the white pearl? Can you see the timer and weight easily?
Thanks for the helpful video. You mentioned at 8:57 that "an extended bloom has yielded some interesting results". Can you elaborate?
Good question. Hard to detail in text here - but as a short explanation, I've found that extending the bloom time can add sweetness, or perhaps pull out a more sweet balance in a coffee. I've found that if I have an older coffee, extending the bloom time (up to a few minutes even) makes for a more enjoyable coffee to me. I don't have any better data than that.
This was a subject on an older Coffee Lovers Radio (podcast) - coffeeloversradio.libsyn.com/clr-e82-the-bloom-brewing-experiments -- also check out www.coffeeloversradio.com if you want to subscribe and all that
@@Coffeeloversmag Interesting. Thank you. I've learned a lot from your videos. I'm going to experiment with making cold brewed coffee, using light roast single origin fruity beans, in an Espro fruity tasting cup (and try it in a coca cup for contrast). I'm hoping this process will give me a very fruit forward cup of coffee.
I tend to drink smaller size cups so the 155 works for me. Kalita always seems like the strongest brew strength compared to AP or V60.
I only use my Chemex for batch brew and I notice "channeling" is easy to see with it.
"strength" is an interesting thing, because it's technically just a measurement of total dissolved solids in your coffee. Any properly brewed coffee with any method should fall in the same range. (you can read the exact details on the measuring guidelines here - www.scaa.org/PDF/resources/golden-cup-standard.pdf)
So a properly brewed kalita and v60 can have the same technical strength, but naturally taste completely different. I think there's a lot at play with perception of taste related to the idea of strength, and it would be safe to say the Kalita extracts (into your cup at least) a wider range of flavors - thus giving it the appearance of stronger taste sometimes. I think that also can depend on the coffee. Though I should say V60 can be hard to do exactly right, whereas the kalita is mostly just set up and pour, so that can also contribute.
I chose a 155 originally because of some opinions I read that it's easier to get the kettle close to the bed and thereby pour more gently. I get a nice 300g of coffee out of it (or at least pour 300 so get more like 270--which is a whole mug of coffee)
What setting do you use on your encore for the kalita wave also do you brew dark roast or medium thx
Well I tend to go from right smack in the middle to 1-2 marks finer. I'd start around there and see if you enjoy the result, and then adjust. Too sour/thin? Grind finer, Too bitter/clawing at the tongue? Grind coarser.
I tend to brew light to medium roasted coffees.
If you are going darker, you might lean towards coarser. Darker roasted coffees are more water soluble, so more will extract for the same grind size compared to a light roasted coffee.
When the water comes through the 3 holes, should it drip in 3 separate streams? I'm often seeing the 3 holes connect together and make one stream, it looks like the flux capacitor, and I suspect something is not quite right...Thanks!
I don't typically worry too much tbh. Often times I see not all three holes flowing, and maybe what's happening is what you describe. I haven't seen any significant effect to suggest it matters.
Great video. I'm having a really hard time making coffee taste good when using the wave and I don't know why. The wave gets praise for making a bright clean cup of coffee but for me it comes out bland no matter how I grind or how I pour the water.
I did a side by side test using my v60 with the same beans and same dose. The v60 cup came out bright, juicy and brought the subtle flavors in this coffee while the wave batch was completely lacking the subtle flavor of the beans. Overall it was just a flat cup of coffee.
Any tips for troubleshooting?
Interesting experience with the Kalita. It does - for lack of a more scientific explanation - 'extract more' into the cup than the V60. My Kalita cups tend to be 'richer' and 'fuller' compared to the V60 being 'crisper.' Though I haven't had such a dramatic difference as you are experiencing.
Can you tell me what the coffee is and how you are grinding it?
@@Coffeeloversmag my testing today was with light roast Ethiopian beans from Temple coffee roasters using a medium grind. 1:15 ratio - 20g beans to 300g water
@@Coffeeloversmag alright so after obsessing about this for a day and playing with some variables I think I've found where I was going wrong.
The Kalita really doesn't seem to work well with lightly roasted beans with fruity subtle notes. However after messing with some medium roast coffee with more earthy flavors I've found this is where the Kalita really shines. I can get my V60 to produce a cup similar to the Kalita using medium roast beans but the Kalita has more body and I'm starting to see that bold, rich flavor you were talking about. The Kalita also requires a lot less effort and tampering.
We recorded an episode of the podcast today (coffeeloversradio.com) where we got to talking about roast level and solubility. I brought up your challenges and Jesse (head roaster of Conduit Coffee) suggested that many of the roasters going light don't allow their coffees to develop enough as far as the sugars go. And it's reasonable to think in this case that it wouldn't brew well on the Kalita.
So my conclusion on your situation is that you're either dealing with an undeveloped light roast (which is surprisingly common), or there may be some issue with your water (quality or temperature).
You might also experiment with grinding a lot finer on the Kalita
@@fiendishshape my first idea was light roast without reading your comment. I just use them for cold brew or milk cold brew. Colombian light roast preferred. But i guess with ethiopian coffee you cant go wrong.^^
What size grind do you do on the Encore? I have the same grinder and just ordered a wave 185
I'd start with a few notches finer than dead center, and then adjust from there. Too sour? Go finer, too bitter/astringent? Go coarser
Hey man love ur work. Btw im from Indonesia. We also known paradise for coffee. We have best coffee to offer. Sumatra, Gayo, Flores, Java etc. But the problem is. We still lack of roasting technic. And that's why the coffee seems not at the best. So my question is. Have u bought any coffee from Indonesia? And what is the best way to make fine coffee that have highc acidity. Coz our coffee known to have medium to high acidity. Thanks anyway
The Indonesian coffees are long known for their deeper earthiness. My understanding is this has to do mostly with production practices, and the challenges of the environment in Indonesia. That is, it's very difficult to process and store coffee cleanly without imparting the earthy flavor. Because of this these coffees tend to be roasted darker.
Now I know that is a broad generalization, but historically i believe that's pretty accurate. I have had Sumatra coffees without any earthiness, that are bright, sweet, fruity...but they are very hard to find it seems.
To answer your question, if you are talking about the roasting process then you want to roast light to medium in order to keep those more delicate bright flavor and aroma compounds.
If you are talking brewing, then in order to highlight bright crispness in coffee I'd recommend brewing with a Chemex, or a V60 over a Kalita Wave (as the Kalita will bring in more deeper rounded richness than those two, typically).
@@Coffeeloversmag Thank u so much for the explanation. Salam kopi (it's our language for coffee lovers)
I was thinking of trying a Melowdrip with my Kalita, but after listening to what you said about the design of the Kalita, in that the flat bottom restricted flow creates a slight immersion situation, I wonder if using it would be superfluous. What do you think? Thanks for such a thoughtful review.
Yea I've taken a look at the melodrip and i'm not inspired to get one. I've talked to people who enjoy it with the Kalita, so there may be something to that - the Kalita I've observed can benefit from less agitation during the pour.
@@Coffeeloversmag Do you ever find dry spots in the coffee bed with the Kalita? I tend not to stir the bed like you from what I can see. I'd try the Melodrip if I had one given to me or if it was available in Europe, at least. I don't think it's worth the price with international shipping. I've tried a Gabi master A and although it's OK, I'm less than impressed. I've tried using just the nozzle part with the Kalita but it doesn't sit on it too well. I've reserved the Gabi for work where I have little time and no proper kettle or scale to make coffee with. Considering I can make a pour over that is acceptable at work in those conditions with the Gabi, I figure it has it's place and I appreciate it. But the effects of the shower nozzle on it are difficult to judge.
I actually almost made a video for the Gabi, but I really did not like that brewer. I couldn't say anything positive about the brewing experience or the result, so I tossed the video. I've never had dry spot issues with the Kalita. I think if you are having this issue, give more time to the bloom (sometimes I'll wait a few minutes even on the bloom)
@@Coffeeloversmag Thanks. No, I don't have issues that I'm aware of but was just asking generally as I don't see you stirring the slurry....I've stopped with no noticeable difference. I'm disappointed in the Gabi but should help at work.
Well i should say about the Gabi I've been told by others it's good. I just don't like it or the results I produced with it...some finagling could produce something good, but when I got to that point with it I decided the brewer was too convoluted to be worth the effort
In the blooming process do you include the grams of water
So the bloom is included in the total grams you use to brew the coffee. So if you're doing a 16:1 ratio, 400 grams of water, 25 grams of coffee, you might start off blooming with 50 grams of water, then when you finish off the brew you're going to end up pouring another 350.
👌🏼👌🏼🐐
Do you thing the glass is better than the stainless steel?
You should actually always rinse the filter because pouring hot water through the dripper preheats it so that it steals less heat from the slurry. More heat is always better in an open-topped Pourover because you have so much heat loss to the air already. Heat accelerates chemical reactions, like things going into solution which gets more flavor from the coffee.
That's a good thought. In my experimentations the heat exchange and preheating doesn't seem to play much of a factor - possibly this would be different if it were a ceramic situation. I have done some further side by side testing on the rinse vs no rinse with kalita wave and will be making an update video soon. I did this on the podcast recently if you want to listen there - www.coffeeloversradio.com/e169-kalita-v-kalita/
Grind setting on Baratza Encore?
I'd start right in the middle and go from there based on taste. Too thin? grind finer, too astringent/sharp/harsh? Grind coarser. Even if it seems ok, still experiment from brew to brew, going up and down a couple notches on the grind size. You might discover something you enjoy which you didn't see otherwise.
What Type of Coffee Drinker Are You? Take my fun quiz and find out - www.extractedmagazine.com/type-quiz
Is your 32 grams of coffee measured in beans or grounds?
doesn't matter, the outcome is the same since you're measuring the mass of your coffee. Sometimes when you measure whole bean and grind you end up with a little less in weight after because the grinder holds onto an amount. So usually I measure before grinding, then grind, then measure as I add to the brewer - usually it's the same ... sometimes there's a half a gram less, if the static is high, or maybe I need to clean my grinder.
You remind me of bill hader
Hard disagree on rinsing the Kalita filter. I find it very necessary to rinse first. I've been using them for a couple of years and they do impart that paper flavor. To test that, rinse the paper filter and take a sip of that water you just filtered through. Tell me if you want that flavor in your coffee. Its noticeable.
it's certainly possible they've changed the filter. I'll give that a look again and see how it is.
Every grinder is different even within the same model. Peoples definition of what is fine,medium-fine,medium etc. is different and also the definition of what is a light roast and dark roast.
George Howell calls a light roast what I call a medium roast. Light roast to me is roasted about 2min shorter than George Howell does.
So to make this good video even better and more helpful please show us up close the coarseness of your grind.
Well my point with the grind size is that you can start with a medium or medium-coarse on any grinder, and then adjust from there. It's far more instructive to get used to making those adjustments yourself from a general starting point than it is to try to match visually on a camera (which is far less easy to match to than just starting from 'medium' on any given grinder).
Also saying you can just pour in the center is 110% false. You need to pour evenly over the bed.
Not false. I don't do it personally, but it can certainly be done that way.
I'm into brewing pourover but damn, coffee people on youtube make a lot of stuff up and talk a lot of nonsense. How water poured at the side of the filter "doesn't actually do anything" and "doesn't go through the grounds" . does this wisdom come with the $200 scale?
there's a bundle with a coffee wisdom cap, you have to wear it while you brew
You were supposed to subtract the 32, not add.
oops :P
This guy went hard on costly gear: a brass fellow is completely unnecessary for home brewing, and the Acaia scale is notably a fashion accessory and not as useful as a simple hario drip scale. Get an M2 Burr upgrade for your encore to yield a more uniform grind, set grind to setting 20 on the encore, use any kind of lidded gooseneck kettle with water off boil for no more than 30-45 seconds (not 1-2mins as stated in the vid), rinse your filter all over briefly, not excessively, pour out the paper-tasting water, bloom at 2:1 ratio, let sit for 30-45 seconds (longer if coffee is fresher), then add water in consistent spirals flowing in and out from the center and not touching the sidewalls of the kalita wave brewer. Reach your total water weight by 2-2:30minutes on the timer, and let the water drain through. If you want to agitate by wiggling the brewer to help the grinds settle and be level, do so ONLY once. Brew should be finished by 3:30-4:00 minutes on timer. Keep your desired yield the same as you make adjustments to the grind setting and pour method/style until you achieve a cup that has right flavor. Done.
good video, but 20 minutes is too long for a "guide"
Would adding the word "Comprehensive" make 20 minutes okay? For me, the time was fine. Good info overall, and 20 minutes I'm glad I "spent".
guess that depends on what 'guide' means to you. I suppose a lot of roasters put out "brew guides" which are a single sheet followed by 4 steps. I prefer guides to have context and insight personally. There are plenty of other people doing simple step processes with no additional thoughts.
There is SO much wrong with this video... you don’t bloom 1/1... ever. Also you DO need to rinse these filters. Also, this grind is WAY to corse. Big yikes.
well. all i can say is you are wrong. actually give it a try before you denounce
@sean bartley When i rinse the Kalita, I get clogging, and when I have a medium fine to fine grind I also get clogging...Both of these issues lead to bitter coffee, perhaps you like extra bitter flavors? I personally am not a bitter fan, so I go coarser grind.
I’m guessing you’re using a metal Kalita. The metal one really likes to choke compared to the other ones. Try putting a little piece of mesh in the bottom under the filter while you brew to mitigate choking. If that’s not enough, they you can widen the holes in the bottom a little bit with a drill.