EricBNC wrote:Do you aim for a ~4min extraction without regard for the amount of water and coffee grounds used? I get brew times in this ~4min ballpark (usually faster) with 16g coffee and 240g water - a 15:1 ratio.

I finally had a chance to do some pour-overs this morning and took a photo of my grounds. I think you are right about the macro as my photo looks similar to yours. Maybe a bit finer. I adjust my grind to give me ~3:30-4min total extraction time. I find that different coffees require adjustments to the grind. This happens to be some Panama Aristar. (The last of my stash from last year.) Yumm!!!!!



As for my extraction, I use 22g of coffee and pour to get ~340g of brewed coffee in the cup. I make an assumption of about ~15g of water lost to the coffee bed absorbsion (I could be off here as I have not actually measured the loss.) That is how I get my 16.5:1 brew ratio.

My process is:
1. I wet the filter with the just off-boil water.
2. Add the coffee to the filter.
3. Pour initial water to top of V60.
4. Give it a gentle stir to break down the crust and evenly wet the grounds.
5. Add some more water to top of V60.
6. I let this drain almost all the way down to set the coffee bed. (I am usually ~1-1:30 min in at this time)
7. I then gently add water to the top of V60 and let it drain down just to the top of the coffee bed, and then gently add more water.
8. I continue this process until the brewed beverage weight is ~340g. (Ending drips are between 3:30 and 4min)

I have been really happy with this process. As long as I watch my water temp (I target ~204 in the kettle) and keep my later water pours slow and even, I get some really nice cups with good definition.

I tried using the swiss gold as well, and ended up with the same results as you. It just let too many fines through into the cup. I had to go really coarse to reduce the fines, and then the extraction was too thin.That drove me back to using the paper filters. I have also been playing with the Tiamo dripper lately (Kalita Wave style), and I like the resulsts. It has a flat bottom with 3 holes that control the flow rate. I think this combined with the larger filter surface area of the pleats help even the extraction a bit.

Dave