Kalita Wave Troubleshooting

Coffee preparation techniques besides espresso like pourover.
malcolmjoel
Posts: 1
Joined: 9 years ago

#1: Post by malcolmjoel »

Admittedly, I created an account on HB for the sole purpose of pulling from the almighty resource that is Home-Barista, and it's fanatic users that truly understand the inner-workings of coffee.
For me, Kalita Wave is a mystery, both in technicality and of product it yields.
From what I know:
Kalita Wave 185 is best used with the parameters of a 1-16 coffee to water ratio,
24 g of coffee to 400 ml water,
bloom with about 50 g of water, wait 30 seconds, and pour in 50 g pulses, waiting 10 seconds between each pour until the 400 ml is reached.

It should take 2:40 seconds... Should..
But, sometimes it pours more quickly than that, and sometimes it pours more slowly.


Could it be because of my technique? (probably)
Could it have anything to do with, sometimes, the holes on the bottom only appear to have 1 that is pouring out a constant flow of water?

Advice would be appreciated, and perhaps even some new recipes!

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cygnusx1
Posts: 182
Joined: 11 years ago

#2: Post by cygnusx1 »

The Kalita Wave is my go to in the morning; I love it.

You are pretty much at the same parameters I'm at. The only difference is I try to finish up at around 3:15 to 3:30. And yes sometimes it doesn't work out that way. Freshness of the coffee and grind size make the difference here in brew timing.

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SlowRain
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#3: Post by SlowRain »

The fresher the coffee is, the slower it brews. You also have to have a decent enough kettle to allow for a consistent pour.

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Riceman42
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#4: Post by Riceman42 »

If you are not brewing on a level surface, gravity will have an influence causing the water to flow down and out of the hole or two that are closest to earth, thus perhaps leaving you with a somewhat uneven extraction of the coffee bed.

In regards to pouring water over the bed of coffee, I have followed a suggestion that I originally found from Kickapoo Coffee: whether or not you use a lot of pulse pours, aim to maintain a layer of water above the grounds at all times during the brew process until you have reached the total weight of water that you desire and thus you are ready to let the water completely drain through. I am led to believe that this is advantageous because the extra layer of water on top of the grounds acts like a buffer and prevents the water that is being poured from the kettle from over-agitating the bed of grounds in the slurry. In order to achieve this, my first pour (not including bloom) is generally 75-100g, then I usually follow up with a few pulse pours, with the aim of always maintaining the surface of the water above the surface of the coffee grounds. I have always been content with a 1:15 ratio on the 185. Kickapoo's brew guide: http://news.kickapoocoffee.com/145/

Instead of focusing on rigid pulse pouring weights and how much time you pause in between pours, perhaps focus more on the flow of water coming out of your gooseneck kettle (if you don't have one, get one.. you won't regret it), try to maintain an even flow rate of water throughout the brew process. Practice over and over carefully pouring lightly and quickly, but not too aggressively. Also aim to keep the tip of your spout near to the slurry while pouring. And always preheat your wave with hot water before every brew; this will help maintain optimal brewing temperatures in the slurry (arguably 195-205 F).

I have never made too much of a fuss about total brew time. With the Wave, I have tasted delicious coffee from brew times as short as 2 mins 20 seconds to well over 4 mins. I am willing to bet that the more you practice the more consistency you will notice in regards to total brew time. I know this was a lot of information, but hopefully there was a nugget in there for you! :wink:

Carmd1281
Posts: 99
Joined: 10 years ago

#5: Post by Carmd1281 »

Love my kalita! I suggest a longer bloom stage. I pour for blooming 2 or 3 times to release all of the CO2 wich seams to make the rest of the process more consistent. Each pour equaling the coffee weight, approx. I also have settled on a 13:1 ratio. 500:38 typically. Love the results.
Carm
New York, NY

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yakster
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#6: Post by yakster »

This video may be worthy of a review.
-Chris

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