What is the Kalita Wave?
The Kalita Wave is a flat-bottomed pour-over dripper from Japanese maker Kalita. Unlike cone-shaped brewers such as the V60, it has three small holes in a flat base. That slows and evens out the flow of water through the coffee bed, so small changes in your pouring matter less.
Wave filter papers are crimped into waves, which holds the paper away from much of the dripper wall.
It makes a clean cup with good clarity. The Wave works particularly well with light to medium roasts and copes with darker coffees too.
How to brew with a Kalita Wave
There are two recipes: one for a single cup and a larger one for two. Both use the same pouring pattern, scaled to the amount of coffee and water.
Hold your kettle low and steady as you pour. A good starting point is just below the height where the stream starts to splatter, so the water lands as a steady stream and stirs the coffee bed more deeply than a splashy pour.
Single cup
15g coffee, medium filter grind
Kalita Wave 155
250g water at 93°C
Total brew time: 2:30 to 3:00
- Place a Wave 155 filter paper in the dripper and rinse it thoroughly with hot water. This removes any papery taste and warms the dripper and your mug or server. Discard the rinse water.
- Put the Wave on your scale over a pre-warmed mug or server and tare. Add 15g of medium-ground coffee and gently shake the dripper to level the coffee bed.
- Start your timer and pour 50g of water evenly over the coffee, using a gentle circular motion to wet all the grounds. Leave it to bloom until 0:30.
- At 0:30, pour another 100g of water: about 50g in gentle circles across the coffee bed, then a 50g pour into the centre. The total is now 150g.
- At 1:10, pour the remaining 100g in the same way, around 50g in gentle circles followed by 50g through the centre. The total is now 250g.
- Let the coffee drain fully, aiming for a total brew time of 2:30 to 3:00. Once the dripping has slowed to a stop, remove the dripper and serve.
Brew for two
30g coffee, medium filter grind
Kalita Wave 185
500g water at 93°C
Total brew time: 3:30 to 4:00
- Place a Wave 185 filter paper in the dripper and rinse it thoroughly with hot water. This removes any papery taste and warms the dripper and server. Discard the rinse water.
- Put the Wave on your scale over a pre-warmed server and tare. Add 30g of medium-ground coffee and gently shake the dripper to level the coffee bed.
- Start your timer and pour 100g of water evenly over the coffee, using a gentle circular motion to wet all the grounds. Leave it to bloom until 0:30.
- At 0:30, pour another 200g of water: about 100g in gentle circles across the coffee bed, then a 100g pour into the centre. The total is now 300g.
- At 1:30, pour the remaining 200g in the same way, around 100g in gentle circles followed by 100g through the centre. The total is now 500g.
- Let the coffee drain fully, aiming for a total brew time of 3:30 to 4:00. Once the dripping has slowed to a stop, remove the dripper and serve.
Which Kalita Wave size should I use?
The Wave 155 suits single brews of around 200 to 250ml. The larger 185 suits brews of around 400 to 500ml or more. You can use the 185 for a 200 to 250ml brew, but its larger brewing area makes the coffee bed wider and shallower, so you may need to adjust your grind or recipe.
If you mostly brew one cup for yourself, go for the 155. If you regularly brew for two, or simply like a bigger mug, the 185 is the better fit.
Can I use this method with other flat-bottom brewers?
Yes. The recipes were developed for the Kalita Wave, but the same approach is a good starting point for other flat-bottom and Wave-style brewers.
The Orea, Origami and Graycano can all take flat-bottom or Wave-style filters. The Graycano needs an adapter to turn its large bottom hole into a flat base. Each has its own design, flow and quirks, so you may need to adjust your grind size, pouring style or brew time to suit the brewer and filter you're using.
How to fix your Kalita Wave brew
First things first: a brew that takes longer or less time than expected can still taste great. Some coffees naturally flow through the brewer more quickly, while others take their time, and both can make a delicious cup. Rather than chasing a particular brew time, taste your coffee and see what you think. If it's tasting great, you're probably onto a winner. If it tastes a little off, or you'd like to bring out more sweetness and balance, a few small tweaks can help.
Start with your grind size, then experiment with your pouring pattern and the number of pours. Change one thing at a time so you can taste what difference it makes.
Adjust your grind size
Grind size is the easiest place to start. It affects how quickly water flows through the coffee and how much flavour it extracts.
If the brew is taking too long, try grinding coarser. This should help water flow through the coffee more quickly and reduce extraction. If it's flowing too quickly, try grinding finer to slow the flow and increase extraction.
Taste works the same way. Sour or under-extracted coffee needs a finer grind to draw out more sweetness and flavour. Bitter, dry or overly extracted coffee needs a coarser grind to reduce extraction.
These are starting points. A longer brew can still taste balanced and a faster one can taste sweet, so let taste guide you and use brew time as another clue.
Change your pouring pattern
Our recipes split each main pour roughly 50/50 between gentle circles across the coffee bed and a pour into the centre. Changing that balance can help you adjust the flow rate.
To speed things up, put more of your water into the centre of the brewer, with fewer circular pours. This can help encourage a faster flow. To slow things down, stick to gentle circular pours and avoid pouring directly into the centre. This can help keep the flow slower and more controlled.
Keep your pours gentle and even. You're aiming to wet the coffee consistently and keep the bed settled.
Adjust your pour height
How high you hold your kettle changes how much the stream agitates the coffee, which makes it another way to adjust extraction. More agitation tends to increase extraction and less tends to decrease it.
The stream stays smooth for a short distance below the spout, then breaks into droplets. Jonathan Gagné, author of The Physics of Filter Coffee, suggests pouring from just below the height where you first hear the stream start to splatter. Hot water breaks up sooner than the room-temperature water he tested with, so listen for the splatter rather than aiming for a set height.
To increase extraction, raise the kettle a little, up to just below that splatter point. To decrease it, lower the kettle. Go in small steps and hold the kettle steady so the stream lands vertically. Strong agitation can also push fine particles to the bottom of the bed and slow the brew, so if a coffee is already draining slowly, try a lower pour.
Try more, smaller pours
Some coffees naturally drain much faster than others, even when your grind size is sensible. If you've tried grinding finer and your brew is still racing through, changing the structure of your pours is another useful trick.
Instead of making three larger pours, try splitting the same total amount of water into four or five smaller pours. Smaller additions keep the depth and weight of water sitting above the coffee bed lower, which can help slow the flow.
For example, for a 250g single-cup brew, try five 50g pours:
- 0:00: Pour 50g of water to begin the bloom.
- 0:30: Pour another 50g.
- 1:00: Pour another 50g.
- 1:30: Pour another 50g.
- 2:00: Pour the final 50g, bringing the total to 250g.
For this approach, use gentle circular pours and avoid pouring into the centre. Keep the coffee bed evenly wet, and allow the brew to drain fully before removing the dripper. Your total brew time will likely be longer than with the original recipe, which is fine if the cup tastes better.
Make one change at a time
When you're dialling in a coffee, start with the grind and taste the result. Then experiment with your pouring technique or number of pours if needed. Different coffees behave differently, so treat the recipe as a starting point.
Frequently asked questions
What's the difference between the Kalita Wave 155 and 185?
The numbers are the approximate width in millimetres of the dripper and its matching filter paper. The 155 suits single brews of around 200 to 250ml. The 185 suits brews of around 400 to 500ml or more. You can brew a smaller cup in the 185, but the wider, shallower coffee bed may need a grind adjustment.
What grind size should I use?
Start with a medium filter grind, similar to what you'd use for a Clever Dripper and a little coarser than a V60. Let taste guide you. If the coffee tastes sour or under-extracted, grind finer. If it tastes bitter, dry or heavy, grind coarser. Brew time can confirm the change, but it isn't a rigid target.
Do I need to use Kalita Wave filter papers?
Yes. Wave brewers are designed for Wave filter papers, whose crimped shape suits the flat-bottomed dripper. Use 155 filters with a 155 dripper and 185 filters with a 185 dripper. We stock Kalita Wave filter papers in both sizes.
How does the Kalita Wave compare to a V60?
The V60 has a conical shape and a single large drainage hole, which gives you more control over flow and makes it more sensitive to pouring technique. The Wave has a flat coffee bed and a three-hole base, which makes it more forgiving and consistent. Choose the Wave for a straightforward pour-over with less technique to worry about.
Which Kalita Wave should I buy?
Choose the 155 if you mainly brew single cups. Choose the 185 if you regularly brew 400 to 500ml or make coffee for two. The 185 can brew smaller cups too, though the wider bed may need a grind tweak. Whichever you pick, buy the matching Wave filters.
What coffee works best in a Kalita Wave?
Light to medium roasts work particularly well, especially coffees with bright, fruity or floral flavours, where the Wave's clarity shows them off. Medium and darker roasts make balanced, sweet cups too. Browse our full coffee range to find something to try.
Should I wait for the water to drain between pours?
No. For this recipe, follow the timings rather than waiting for the coffee bed to drain between pours. The Wave's flow is slow enough that there's usually still water above the coffee when the next pour is due.
