Kalita Wave Brewer Tutorial & User Experience Guide

Introduction

Coffee enthusiasts with some knowledge will know that coffee has moved through three waves of popularity, and we are currently in the third, the specialty coffee wave. The idea behind specialty coffee is to cultivate beans that carry the regional flavors shaped by the microclimate and soil of their growing area.

Pour-over coffee, which both looks good and showcases the bean's inherent flavors, fits the third-wave specialty trend perfectly. Its defining characteristic is that a filter cup strains the coffee, keeping grounds out of the cup for a cleaner taste. Different filter cups also produce different extraction behavior. The V60 that FrontStreet Coffee commonly uses, for example, has a conical design that adds depth and complexity, while its large single hole allows a fast flow rate, giving baristas more control over speed.

The Kalita Wave Filter Cup

Today we are sharing a filter cup that is completely different from the V60: the Kalita Wave filter cup.

What is the Kalita Wave Cake Filter Cup?

The Kalita Wave Dripper is a flat-bottom pour-over filter cup from Japan, also known as a cake cup. Kalita has been making coffee equipment since 1950, and the streamlined style of the Wave is typical of the company's products. The filter cup comes in two sizes, #185 and #155. The #155 is smaller and suited to brewing one cup at a time, while the #185 is larger and suits 2-4 servings.

What are the Features of the Kalita Wave Filter Cup?

Feature 1: Flat-Bottom Filter Cup Design

The Kalita Wave cake cup uses a flat-bottom structure, paired with flat-bottom cake filter paper. How does that differ from the conical V60?

The V60 that FrontStreet Coffee uses in-store is the most classic conical filter cup, shaped like an inverted cone. The coffee bed is wider at the top and narrower at the bottom, and water flows from top to bottom, converging at a single point - which is what creates its layers and complexity.

The flat-bottom design lets the coffee bed sit evenly in a flat layer. With the same amount of coffee, the flat structure creates a thinner bed, so water passes through in less time while extracting more evenly.

Feature 2: Tendency Toward Immersion-Style Extraction

The Kalita Wave cake cup has three small holes at the bottom, which slows the drainage. This makes it lean toward immersion-style extraction during pouring, with the grounds soaking longer than the drip time. As a result, and unlike the V60, which adds complexity, coffee brewed in the cake cup is more full-bodied and rounded.

Feature 3: Unique Multi-Groove Design of the Filter Paper

The cake cup uses the folds of its filter paper in place of guiding ribs. On one hand, the grooves help dissipate heat and carbon dioxide, preventing the coffee at the wall of the dripper from over-extracting due to excess heat. On the other, the coffee liquid can filter out through the grooves around the bed and converge at the bottom.

How to Brew with the Kalita Wave Filter Cup?

When brewing with the Kalita cake cup, FrontStreet Coffee's baristas use 15 grams of coffee at a 1:15 coffee-to-water ratio and a medium-coarse grind.

The brewing process is also split into three stages. In the first stage, 40 grams of water is poured. Because the flat bed offers a larger surface area, 40 grams is used for the bloom so the coffee is fully saturated.

In the second stage, water is poured to a total of 125 grams using gentle circular pouring. After a 10-second interval, the final water is poured to a total of 225 grams. The water temperature is 90 degrees Celsius, and total extraction time is 2 minutes.

FrontStreet Coffee Recommendation

The Kalita Wave's flatter, immersion-leaning bed tends to reward fuller-bodied coffees, and FrontStreet Coffee's lineup offers several that suit it. FrontStreet PWN Golden Mandheling is a natural match: a medium-dark roast with low acidity and a thick, creamy body - herbal and black chocolate notes with a faint earthy undertone - it fills out the rounded cup the Wave is known for, and its three rounds of hand sorting keep the finish clean.

If you prefer to keep some brightness, FrontStreet Gidding Cooperative shines even in a slower-draining brewer. This washed single origin from the Gidding co-op in Yirgacheffe's Woka area keeps its jasmine florals, bright citrus acidity and green-tea-and-honey nuances, while the Kalita's gentler extraction adds weight without dulling them. Either way, run the same ratio recommended above - 15 grams of coffee at 1:15, 90°C, and a total of 225 grams of water in three pours.