HOW WE BREW: KALITA 185 RECIPE
You asked, and we listened — our detailed coffee brew guides are officially coming back! Every other week, we’ll be sharing a new brewing recipe with some of our favorite coffee brewers. And updating some of our older recipes, which we’re always fine tuning.
In the world of single-cup pour overs, there are many options to choose from. From the V60, Kalita, Stagg [X] Pour-Over, and many others, it can be a tough decision for the coffee enthusiast. Here at Madcap, we’ve landed on the Kalita Wave. In our experience, the flat bottom with three holes yields a consistent cup, providing excellent extraction and a balanced product. In our cafes, this is the single-cup brewer of choice. Because of this, it seemed fitting to kick off the return of our brew guides with the coffee brewer we use in all our cafes.
WHAT YOU’LL NEED:
Coffee
Kalita 185 dripper
Kalita 185 filters
Decanter (optional) — you can always brew into your cup, just make sure it fits enough liquid
Gooseneck kettle
Scale
PREP:
Coffee Dose: 21g
Water: 355g @ 207F
Grind Size: medium
Brew Time: 3:00 - 4:00
KALITA BREWING RECIPE:
1. Put filter into Kalita
2. Rinse filter over decanter
3. Empty decanter of rinse water
4. Weigh out coffee
5. Grind
6. Pour grounds into the filter. Try to keep the grounds off the sides of the filter.
7. Shake to level
8. Tare off scale
9. Heads up, pouring should be in circles slowly working its way out from the middle
10. Start timer at the beginning of the first pour
11. The first pour is 50g of water
12. After a 15 second bloom pour another 50g water
13. Watch slurry. When the water level starts to drop below the grounds pour another 50g water (typically about every 25 seconds)
14. On the second to last pour (250g-300g), make one rotation over the ridges of the filter to knock down any grinds trapped there
15. The final pour is a 55g pour meaning the end brew weight is 355g
16. The final pour should finish around 2:30 and final drop out should be between 3:15-3:45
17. Throw out filter and spent grounds
18. Enjoy a perfectly brewed cup of coffee
If the final brew is too sour, grind the coffee finer
If the final brew is too bitter, grind the coffee coarser
HERE ARE A FEW TIPS WHEN MAKING A SINGLE CUP:
- Use filtered water. Water is the main ingredient in brewed coffee. The quality of your water will have a prominent impact on the flavor of your brewed coffee. If you are interested in tweaking the profile of your water, check out this article here from Barista Hustle.
- Grind right before use. A burr grinder will give you the most even results.
- Use your favorite drinkware. Your favorite cup can add a personal aspect to the hosting experience.
- Have fun! Brewing coffee is about what you like. Try tweaking the recipe a bit. Or brew two different coffees and try them both out side-by-side.
