Posted Sat May 26, 2012, 5:33pm Subject: Kalita Wave - Methods
I now have a 155 and 185 dropper in my office. I use the V60 at home but wanted a dropper that was more forgiving to use at work. I've watched all the videos and read the reviews for the Kalita. I am looking for some experiences from the CG community.
I am starting with my 155 to get a method down. Getting the small 155 filters rinsed was a bit tricky for the first two times using it. Their ridges seem to lose some shape even with a slow gentle fill with pouring straight into the bottom. Using 26g with a 360ml target yield, I bloomed with 45-50ml and then pulse poured 360ml.
I am wondering about the timing. I have seen 3-330 for the end of the drainage, but am not sure what size that pertains to. I will likely be making 8 and 12 oz cups in the 155 and 16+oz cups in the 185. Any other Kalita users out there?
I've seen that video and really enjoyed it. I am using the smaller 155 Wave. There doesn't seem to be much out there on the little guy. I use it in my office to make a mug in the afternoon and just made one using a 24g/360ml brew. 30 second bloom with 50ml, followed by pulse pours to achieve a flat grounds bed. The pouring finished right around 2:15 and the brew was done draining by 2:30. It doesn't smell/taste terribly over-extracted (still hot), but we will see what comes out of it as the cup cools. This ratio gives me a nice 10oz mug of coffee and brews at near capacity of the 155. I can't imagine brewing over 400ml in it.
I know that with larger amounts of water, the goal is to get into the 3-3:30 range for brew time. How about with the smaller 155? Should I be aiming to finish pouring around 2 minutes and allow it to drain until 2:30?
I did purchase the bigger Kalita as well, but want to practice with the small one, so that I am not burning through too much coffee on the 185.
Personally, I like everything about the Kalita, but just need to get a method down. I'm an everyday V60/Woodneck user and could make a great brew on those with my eyes closed. The Kalita seems much more forgiving, but requires a completely different approach.
I will give lower doses a try, but the strength seems to be right where I like it. Always up for experimenting thought!
I ended up with both the 155 and 185, as I like brewing near capacity with brewers. Brewing at 24g in the 155 puts the brew slurry right up near the top and allows for very gentle pours with minimal space from kettle to grounds. I have a V60-01 as well that I use to brew 18g/275 and 28g/416ml cups and the 12oz cup goes right up to the very top of the brewer. I could submerge my kettle in the grounds if I wanted - the resulting grounds bed is very low as well, so there is minimal high and dry brewing at near capacity where a slow pour is key.
There's no accounting for taste, but I find that a lot of folks who up-dose significantly also under-extract, resulting in an average-strength brew heavy in aromatics and weak in everything else (body, sweetness, bitters, etc).
There's no accounting for taste, but I find that a lot of folks who up-dose significantly also under-extract, resulting in an average-strength brew heavy in aromatics and weak in everything else (body, sweetness, bitters, etc).
I too have seen this and experienced it myself when I first began brewing with higher doses. When dialing in a grind for a brew method, I often push a grind right up to the edge of over extraction and then back off a little. If my cup is too bright or strong, I back off the dose by a gram and try again next time. With my V60, I followed Barismo's recommendations closely and use a rather fine drip grind to achieve a good extraction. If the cup lacks sweetness, or seems a bit two dimensional, I push the grind finer. I am finding that the Kalita performs much better at lower doses as well and am assuming that this has to do with the efficiency of the brewer compared to the faster brewing V60.
Your post is an important one though. Starting off, I was absolutely under extracting my cups in my V60 using higher doses and too coarse a grind. It took time to get it right and I really enjoy the bigger bodied strong cups. At the same time, the 24/360ml ratio is lower than usual and I might take it down even lower to see what the result is. I really appreciate that post!
*edit* I just made a really sweet full bodied cup at 24/360. I may try dropping the dose to 22 for the next brew and see what I can get out of it. I am finding that a 30 second bloom, pulse pours until 2min, and 30 seconds of drip time is a great timing structure for the 155. I'm not sure how the timing and same dose would perform in the 185 due to size differences, but this little (sooo small) 155 does handle this brew size quite well. At absolute most, I could see 30g fitting in this for a 500ml brew, but that would be teetering on the edge of overflowing. Pulse pouring is a must because of the lack of room in the dripper itself. This dripper is growing on me with each cup.
Damn me for bringing this back from the dead but I just got myself a 155. Wondering what you found out since May.. I'm getting a bit of an under-extracted cup with 16g/8oz. It might be my grind though. I did grind a bit finer for my second cup and still the same thing. What are your grind settings on your Preciso? I have a Maestro and tried 28 and 25.
edit: I'm also done pouring by 2:30-40 and done at 3. Dunno. Tips?
Damn me for bringing this back from the dead but I just got myself a 155. Wondering what you found out since May.. I'm getting a bit of an under-extracted cup with 16g/8oz. It might be my grind though. I did grind a bit finer for my second cup and still the same thing. What are your grind settings on your Preciso? I have a Maestro and tried 28 and 25.
edit: I'm also done pouring by 2:30-40 and done at 3. Dunno. Tips?
Since May, the Kalita has made it near impossible to make a bad cup. For 240ml/16g, I aim for a pour that ends at about 2:30 with the brew ending at 3min. I pour in slow circles pausing each time. About halfway through, I wash the grounds off the sides of the filter. The grind is from my OE Lido at work, but the grind is halfway between 1.25 and 1.5 on that grinder. That puts it at the end of the drip range and the very beginning of a fine coarse grind. That said, try going finer with your grind. You could also try stretching your brew time out to 3:15 with the pour endin at 2:45.
In looking at some notes I scribbled at work, I really found success with drawing the time out to 3:30. 30 second bloom, pour going from 0:30-3:00, and drawdown ending around 3:30. This may be tough, but between a longer brewing time and playing with the grind, you should be able to find the sweet spot. Once you find it, the Kalita becomes a piece of cake.
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