The Kalita Wave is the pour-over for people who don't want to learn pour-over. Where the V60 demands a perfect spiral and a steady hand, the Kalita's flat-bottom design and three precision-drilled holes do most of the work for you. You can be a little sloppy with the pour and still get a clean, sweet, well-extracted cup. Caffeine up, friends.

This is a 1:16 ratio recipe designed for a single mug or small carafe, with a steady pulse-pour technique that keeps extraction even. Five pours, four minutes, one great cup.

What you'll need

• A Kalita Wave dripper (this recipe is for the 185 size, but the 155 works with adjusted ratios)
• A Kalita 185 paper filter
• 25 grams of fresh coffee, ground slightly finer than coarse sea salt
• 400 grams of filtered water at ~200°F
• A gooseneck kettle (any kettle works, but a gooseneck gives you better control)
• A timer
• A digital scale (highly recommended for hitting the right pour weights)
• A mug or carafe to brew into

Made for the Kalita Wave

Ethiopia Shantawene

Blackberry · Honey · Floral · Chocolate

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How to make it

Step 1 — Filter

Use a Kalita 185 paper filter (the corrugated wave-shaped one). The folds keep the filter off the walls of the dripper, which is part of what makes this brewer so even.

Step 2 — Preheat and rinse

Place the filter in the dripper and rinse with hot water. This warms the Kalita and washes any papery taste out of the filter. Empty the rinse water from your mug before dosing.

Step 3 — Grind

Grind 25 grams of coffee slightly finer than coarse sea salt. Think medium grind, somewhere between drip and French press. 

Step 4 — Bloom

Add the grounds to the filter, give the dripper a gentle shake to level the bed, then place on your scale and tare. Start your timer and pour 75g of 200°F water evenly over the grounds. Let it bloom for 30 to 45 seconds. 

Step 5 — First pour

Starting in the center and spiraling outward, slowly pour another 75g of water. Rinse the outer edge at the end of the pour to wash any grounds back down into the bed.

Step 6 — Pulse

Let the slurry drain for 15 seconds before beginning the next pour. This is the rhythm of pulse-pour brewing: pour, wait for the bed to settle, pour again. The pauses keep extraction even and prevent the bed from getting too deep at any one moment.

Step 7 — Additional pours

Repeat the pour + pulse cycle two more times, each at 75g. You'll have completed four pours total at the end of this step. Total water at this point: 300g.

Step 8 — Last pour

Add the final 100g of water in your fifth and final pour. Total water: 400g.

Step 9 — Drawdown

Let the Kalita drain fully. When it's done, the walls of the filter should be free of grinds.

Step 10 — Serve

Total brew time should land between 3:30 and 3:45. Remove the dripper, give your cup a swirl to even out the strength from top to bottom, and serve.

The variables that actually matter

The Kalita gives you fewer ways to mess up than other pour-overs, but two things still matter:

1. Grind size. Medium, slightly finer than coarse sea salt. The Kalita's three-hole flat-bottom design is more forgiving than a V60, but grind is still your biggest lever on brew time and flavor.
2. Coffee freshness. Pour-over methods showcase whatever you put in them. Beans roasted recently taste meaningfully better than anything older, which is why we roast-to-order and ship within 48 hours.

What to brew

The Kalita Wave shines brightest with lighter roasts. The clean paper filtration and even extraction pull out the delicate, fruit-forward, complex flavors that lighter coffees are known for. Single origins are where it really sings.

If you're craving something darker, our French press guide might be more your speed.

Our Ethiopia Shantawene Natural is a great place to start. It's a lighter roast with bright blackberry, honey, dark chocolate, and floral notes that the Kalita's clean extraction showcases beautifully. We'd also recommend our Costa Rica Las Lajas Double Diamond, a 2026 Good Food Awards Finalist with blackberry, cocoa, and wine-toned notes.