Bad Bean Brews: Kalita Wave #155 Dripper
A year ago I became interested in pour over coffee brewing and started exploring the area with the Hario V60. Over the past several months the V60 has taken a back seat and the Kalita Wave has stepped up as my preferred dripper.
The first feature that stands out is the flat bottom style of the dripper. The flat bottom consists of three holes arranged in a circular pattern around the bed. The geometry of the Kalita Wave encourages some to describe the brew process as a mixture between a traditional pour over and immersion brew, similar to the French Press. In my experience, I'd classify it as a pure pour over coffee brewer as it doesn't exhibit the body of something like a French Press.
The flat bottom geometry of the dripper provides for a more even extraction and is more forgiving than traditional cone shaped coffee drippers. The unique geometry also reduces the flow rate and with it the turbulence that can introduce excess agitation and rob the process of an even extraction. This means the Kalita Wave can accommodate a variety of pour over styles like the pulse pour.
The filters are interesting and look similar to cupcake baking cups. The shape of the filter creates a gap between the grounds and the dripper wall. While this does provide some additional insulation, it also creates a void where water can flow if not poured carefully.
The following is my preferred technique when brewing with the Kalita Wave.
I generally prefer a medium roast, somewhere around City+ to Full City. As with most pour overs, they tend to highlight the brighter notes in coffee, so I try to avoid anything too dark.
Brew ratio: 15-1, 300ml water, 20g of coffee
Grid size: medium-fine (5 ticks on the Breville Smart Grinder)
Brew time: 0:30 second bloom, 2:30 minute pour, 3:00 total
Ground 20g of coffee medium-fine.
Pour grounds into filter and shake to settle, presenting an even coffee bed for the brew.
Pour 40ml of 195F water (2x coffee amount) over the center of the ground coffee.
Let the coffee bloom for 0:30 seconds.
With the spout of the kettle close the brew bed, beginning pouring slowly in the center and work outward to the edge of the filter and repeat.
Stop the pour when the scale reads 300g. In the end a total of 300ml of water was poured over 3:00 minutes.
Let the water flow through the filter for an additional 0:30 seconds.
The final bed of ground coffee should be flat.
Notice I used a 15-1 brew ratio. Again, through hundreds of experiments using many different drippers, I've found that 15-1 is a good balance for pour over coffee.
As for the grind size, some suggest using something similar to a Chemex grind, but I've found that to be too coarse. I've played with the grid size between a Chemex and a V60 and have found that closer to a V60 produces what I enjoy in a cup of coffee.
Due to the small size of the #155 and shape of the filter, I cannot pre wet the filter before adding the ground coffee. I've tried it numerous times before and found online that it isn't just me or my technique. As soon as water hits the filter it begins to warp. Even if the water is poured directly into the center of the filter, because of the small size of the dripper in relation to the size of the filter, the warping cannot be avoided. This doesn't seem to be a problem with the #185 sized dripper and could possibly be avoided if Kalita made an even smaller filter for the #155.
I've elected to use the pulse pour technique rather than a steady pour because I don't own a flow restrictor and it helps to draw out the brew time. The pulse pour produces fantastic results and is easy to manage. The downside is frequent agitation induced by the stream of water with each pulse. One way I've found to reduce the effect of the agitation is to begin each pour cycle with at least 0.5-1.0cm of water over the brew bed to absorb the energy of the pour.
As with most pour overs, avoid washing the grounds off the sides of the filter. It's extremely tempting using the Kalita because of the shape of the filter. But don't be fooled. If water is poured between the filter and the dripper wall it will go right into the cup and dilute the final brew.
