http://www.kalita.us.com/products/drippots/2990
Wave Style 185 Set



Does this brew a good cup or two of coffee? Would I be better off with something like a small Chemex? I'm looking for a pair of 10~12oz cups or a single 20oz travel mugs worth of good brew.

TIA,
Sid

I've used mine with up to 40 grams of coffee, but it's been a while.

In my opinion, for 20+ oz of coffee the Chemex is hard to beat.

The filters are also cheaper and easier to find!

From my (distant) experience brewing large batches on the Kalita 185, I recall it not being big enough and occasional "clogging" leading to lengthy (and frustrating) brew times.

Hope this helps!

*edit: the "3-cup" Chemex is sexy but tbh imo doesn't brew like the bigger ones, I would recommend getting the next size up and it will suit your needs perfectly.

Further reading:

Is there any advantage of the Kalita Wave Style Set over the Dripper/Server?

Kalita Wave 155 vs 185

Kalita Wave maximum brew volume

A small Chemex is probably the way to go. The Kalita Wave Style seems like it would be more accident prone than the Chemex, but I've managed to break 3+ Chemexes and still haven't broken my Style set. Several of the Chemexes were sourced second-hand which may be part of it. The Style has a separate filter holder and metal spacer while the Chemex carafe takes the filter directly.

Interestingly, the Kalita Wave Style Carafe with the Chemex glass lid keeps the coffee hotter longer because it seals to the sides of the decanter and forms a vacuum as the coffee cools while the Chemex has an air channel / pouring spout that prevents the lid from sealing and allows the heat to leave the carafe through the channel.

Riceman42 wrote:In my opinion, for 20+ oz of coffee the Chemex is hard to beat.

The filters are also cheaper and easier to find!

From my (distant) experience brewing large batches on the Kalita 185, I recall it not being big enough and occasional "clogging" leading to lengthy (and frustrating) brew times.

Hope this helps!

*edit: the "3-cup" Chemex is sexy but tbh imo doesn't brew like the bigger ones, I would recommend getting the next size up and it will suit your needs perfectly.

In terms of filter cost, both are basically the same cost where I live. Amazon shows a minor cost difference right now too.

Appreciate the tip on the Chemex sizing too!

yakster wrote:Further reading:

Is there any advantage of the Kalita Wave Style Set over the Dripper/Server?

I read this one previously and like the one that has the 155 brewing into ice in the 185 with ice in the carafe. That setup is tempting to me.

yakster wrote:Further reading:
Kalita Wave 155 vs 185

I read this one too. The comments on the dose size and the differences between plastic, stainless, glass, ceramic, etc. were helpful.

sidpost wrote:I read this one previously and like the one that has the 155 brewing into ice in the 185 with ice in the carafe. That setup is tempting to me.

Yeah, it's fun to watch the hot coffee trickling through the ice from the 155 on top through the 185 and into the ice below.

I think I did break my Kalita 155 dripper (I had it hung on a peg under my kitchen cabinets) so I'd have to use my December Dripper for the top part now.

I love my 185. I regularly do 36/600 so that's 2 decent cups of coffee of about 10oz each. Mine is over a year old which is longer than any chemex I've ever owned. And brewing is faster than a chemex. I've never gotten clogged up.

sidpost wrote:http://www.kalita.us.com/products/drippots/2990
Wave Style 185 Set

image

Does this brew a good cup or two of coffee? Would I be better off with something like a small Chemex? I'm looking for a pair of 10~12oz cups or a single 20oz travel mugs worth of good brew.

TIA,
Sid

Chemex accomodates larger brews because they have larger brewers but outside of that there is no reason why any other brewing method can't accompish the same thing. the Chemex, Hario style (ridged cone shape), wave style (flat bottom), and meltta style (clamshell) all produced nuanced cups and back to back will produce different profiles so it is up to personal taste to know which is right for you and outside of my examples there are of course more like various kickstarter brewers, fellow, tricolate, steep and release, etc....

The chemex is unique because it has smooth walls so the filter seals to these walls, it has a channel in the pouring spout that doubles as an air vent and it's important to keep this open to ensure brews don't stall. you can force it open by sticking a straw in it or covering the channel with a flexible food safe flat material like silcon to keep the channel protected and open. most other pourover brews have ridges, bumps in the brewer of the paper filter itselves is pleated (wave) to ensure they don't seal to the brewer walls. when the paper doesn't seal bypass occurs which is not nessarily bad but draw downs are generally faster and it's harder to stall brews.

commercial batch brewers are tyically flat bottom with pleated filters like the wave. they may have discovered something there and to "play it safe" perhaps sticking with a similar brewing method for larger batches is a better option such as with the 185 wave. the all in one glass body doesn't contribute to the brew so long as their is air flow. if it seals the brews will stall so you don't want it to seal. if you're concerned with losing heat use a vaccume seal thermal carafe not a chemex style brewer.