Kalita Wave
The Kalita Wave is a favorite of ours—its flat bottom design promotes an even extraction and its stainless steel construction means it’s lightweight and durable enough for years of use. We brew all of our single-cup coffee in our cafes using the Kalita Wave, and this is our preferred method. This recipe makes one twelve ounce cup of coffee.
What you’ll need:
● Kalita Wave 185 brewer
● Kalita Wave filter
● Grinder
● 25 grams of coffee
● Water just off the boil, around 205of
● Scale
● Timer
● Something heatproof to brew into—carafe, mason jar, etc.
● Mug
Step 1: Weigh and grind your coffee
Use your scale to weigh out your 25 grams of coffee (if you don’t have a scale, a level tablespoon holds around 5 grams of coffee). Grind your coffee until it’s about the size of table salt—likely somewhere around the middle of your grinder’s settings range.
Step 2: Rinse your filter and preheat your vessel
Place the filter in the Kalita Wave dripper, then place the dripper on the brewing vessel and pour enough water over the filter to get the whole thing wet. Once it drips through, you can discard the rinse water. If you’d like to preheat your cup with more warm water, go ahead and do that now.
Step 3: Begin brewing
Place your brewer and vessel on the scale, add your coffee, and tare the scale to zero. Start your timer, then, using a spiral motion, pour 50g of water over the grounds to saturate them—this initial pour should happen within the first 10 seconds. At this point, allow the coffee to “bloom” until the 45 second mark. During the bloom, fresh coffee is releasing stored gases from the roasting process, so the grounds should rise up and bubble a bit.
Step 4: Continue pouring
At the 45 second mark, begin pouring water in 50 gram increments, continuing the spiral motion, allowing water to drip through between each pour. The goal should be to finish the final pour and reach the target total water mass of 415g at 3:00.
Step 5: Drip through and serve
Once you’ve reached your 415g water mass, allow the remaining water in the brewer to drip through. If your coffee is ground correctly, this should take about 30 seconds, with your total brew time coming to 3:30. Once all of the water has made its way through the coffee, remove the brewer from the brewing vessel, stir your coffee, pour it into your favorite mug, and enjoy!
Buy a Kalita WaveChemex
The Chemex brewer is perfect for brewing coffee for two. Its unique paper filter makes for a brew with unparalleled clarity, allowing all of a coffee’s complexity to shine. This recipe will yield two ten ounce cups.
What you’ll need:
● 8-cup Chemex brewer
● Chemex filter
● Grinder
● 40 grams of coffee
● Water just off the boil, around 205of
● Scale
● Timer
● Mug
Step 1: Weigh and grind your coffee
Use your scale to weigh out your 40 grams of coffee (if you don’t have a scale, a level tablespoon holds around 5 grams of coffee). Grind your coffee until it’s about the size of coarse salt—somewhere near the coarsest setting of most home grinders.
Step 2: Prep your filter and preheat your vessel
The Chemex filter is folded so that one side has a single layer of paper, and the other has a double layer. Place the filter in the Chemex so that the double-layered side of the filter is against the brewer’s pour spout—this keeps the filter from collapsing into the empty space and creating a seal, which will keep water from dripping through the filter. Pour enough water over the filter to get the whole thing wet. Once it drips through, you can discard the rinse water by pouring it out of the spout while holding the filter in place. If you’d like to preheat your cup with more warm water, go ahead and do that now.
Step 3: Begin brewing
Place your brewer and vessel on the scale, add your coffee, and tare the scale to zero. Start your timer, then, using a spiral motion, pour 150g of water over the grounds to saturate them—this
initial pour should happen within the first 20 seconds. At this point, stir the grounds with a wooden spoon or paddle, then allow the coffee to “bloom” until the 45 second mark. During the bloom, fresh coffee is releasing stored gases from the roasting process, so the grounds should rise up and bubble a bit.
Step 4: Continue pouring
At the 45 second mark, begin pouring in a spiral motion, and continue to pour until you reach 450g. Allow this pour to drip through until 1:45, at which point you should have room to pour the remaining water, stopping at 680g.
Step 5: Drip through and serve
Once you’ve reached your 680g water mass, allow the remaining water in the brewer to drip through. If your coffee is ground correctly, it should finish dripping through with a total brew time of 4:30-5:00 (if it’s faster or slower, adjust your grind accordingly before your next brew). Once all of the water has made its way through the coffee, remove the filter from the Chemex, give it a swirl to mix, and serve!
Buy a ChemexClever
We used the Clever Dripper in our cafes for years and it’s still the go-to home brewing method for many of our staff. Our recipe requires only a minute of hands-on time, and might be the simplest, most consistent way to make a great cup of coffee at home.
What you’ll need:
● Clever Dripper
● Filter—we prefer the Kalita 103(LINK) but any #4 filter will do
● Grinder
● 25 grams of coffee
● Water just off the boil, around 205of
● Scale
● Timer
● Something heatproof to brew into—carafe, mason jar, etc.
● Mug
Step 1: Weigh and grind your coffee
Use your scale to weigh out your 25 grams of coffee (if you don’t have a scale, a level tablespoon holds around 5 grams of coffee). Grind your coffee until it’s about the size of table salt—likely somewhere around the middle of your grinder’s settings range.
Step 2: Prep your filter and preheat your vessel
The #4 filter has a seam on one side and on the bottom. Fold these two seams over on the same side of the filter (see image). This will allow the filter to hold its shape and fit correctly into the brewer. Pour enough water into the dripper to get the whole filter wet, then place the brewer on the carafe and let the water drip out. Pour the water out of your carafe and sit it to the side.
Step 3: Pour water
Place your brewer on the scale, add your coffee, and tare the scale to zero. Start your timer, then, using a spiral motion, pour 100g of water over the grounds to saturate them—this initial pour should happen within the first 15 seconds. At this point, stir the grounds with a spoon or paddle, then immediately continue pouring in a spiral, adjusting your pour speed so that you hit the 415g mark as the timer hits 1:00. Stir again, then place the lid on the Clever.
Step 4: Steep
From 1:00 to 2:00, allow the coffee to steep in the brewer.
Step 5: Drip through and serve
When the timer hits 2:00, lift the Clever dripper and place it onto your carafe. The weight of the brewer will cause the drain at the bottom of the dripper to open up, allowing your coffee to drip through the paper filter and into the carafe. Let this process run its course until the 4:00 mark, at which point there should be very little, if any, liquid left in the brewer. Lift the dripper off the carafe and set it aside. Give your brew a stir and serve!
Buy a Clever BrewerFrench Press
For many of us, the French Press was an introduction into the world of manually brewing coffee. While paper-filtered pour-over methods may be more e n vogue at the moment, the French Press still holds a spot in our hearts due to its unparalleled ability to produce heavy-bodied, flavorful brews with minimal effort. This recipe is for a single 12oz cup of coffee. There are many sizes of French Press out there, so adjust your coffee and water mass accordingly to fit your specific needs, keeping the brew ratio (1:17) the same. This recipe is for a single 12oz cup of coffee.
What you’ll need:
● French Press
● Grinder
● 25 grams of coffee
● Water just off the boil, around 205of
● Scale
● Timer
● Mug
Step 1: Weigh and grind your coffee
Use your scale to weigh out your 25 grams of coffee (if you don’t have a scale, a level tablespoon holds around 5 grams of coffee). Grind your coffee until it’s about the size of coarse sea salt—likely close to the coarsest setting on your grinder.
Step 2: Initial pour and bloom
Place your French Press on the scale. Add your coffee and tare the scale to zero. Start your timer, then pour 100g of water over the grounds to saturate them. At this point, stir the grounds with a spoon or paddle, then allow the coffee to rest and “bloom” until the timer reaches 45 seconds.
Step 3: Second pour and steep
At the 45 second mark, pour the rest of your water, so that the total water mass reaches 415g. Stiragain.ThenplacethelidontheFrenchPress,butd onot pushtheplungerdown.Allowthe coffee to steep until the timer reaches 3:30.
Step 4: Plunge and serve
When the timer hits 3:30, gently push the plunger all the way down. This ensures that all of the coffee grounds will be held behind the filter when you pour the coffee out. Pour the coffee into your mug of choice and enjoy!
Buy a French Press