Onyx Coffee Lab Kalita Wave 185

A four-pour flat-bed recipe for a single 250 g cup, designed as a repeatable everyday starting point for the Kalita Wave 185.

Tap any underlined number to read where it came from. Numbers marked estimated are ones the creator never gave, so we worked them out.

What you’ll need

16g

“we are going to be using 16 grams of coffee to 250 g of water”

the creator said this · transcript, 0:36–0:42

Coffee

250g

“we are going to be using 16 grams of coffee to 250 g of water”

the creator said this · transcript, 0:36–0:42

Water

1:15.6

Ratio

—

Temperature

—

Brew time

medium-fine

This is a flat bottomed brewer

we worked this out · recipe is built around flat-bed geometry; transfers to other flat-bed paper drippers

Grind (estimated)

Grind: medium fine, starting at about 540 microns

Designed on: Kalita Wave 185
“This is the 185 size”
the creator said this · transcript, 0:19

Brewing a different amount?

grams

Makes 250g

Water in the brewer over time, drawn from the recipe.

0:00

Weights are cumulative: what the scale reads when that pour finishes.

Filter: Kalita Wave paper filter
“we have our paper filter”
the creator said this · transcript, 0:19–0:21
Filter rinsed first: Yes
“we're just going to use a little bit of that to rinse our filter”
the creator said this · transcript, 0:25–0:29
Target drawdown: 2:30
“we recommend aiming for a drain time with this recipe of about 2 minutes and 10 seconds to about 2 minutes and 30 seconds”
the creator said this · transcript, 2:19–2:26; midpoint of 130–150 s range is 140 s; I have used 150 s (the upper end they call 'right on track')

Body: medium
This is a flat bottomed brewer that we really love and this recipe is a great starting point for a single cup of coffee
we worked this out · moderate ratio (1:15.6), four even pours with no aggressive agitation suggests a medium body
Strength: medium
we are going to be using 16 grams of coffee to 250 g of water
we worked this out · 1:15.6 ratio is standard filter strength, placing this in the medium band
Acidity: medium
our coffee today is ground to a medium fine, we recommend starting at about 540 microns
we worked this out · medium-fine grind at a moderate ratio with no stated temperature extreme suggests medium acidity
Sweetness: medium
aiming for that 210 to 230 should yield you a really good starting point
we worked this out · target drawdown in the 2–2.5 min range with a flat bed and even pours is consistent with medium sweetness development
Style: clarity
This is a flat bottomed brewer
we worked this out · flat-bed paper dripper with no agitation beyond pouring typically produces a clean, clear cup
Suits: light, medium roasts
this recipe is a great starting point for a single cup of coffee
we worked this out · no roast restriction stated; 540-micron medium-fine grind and moderate ratio suit light to medium roasts; no indication of dark-roast optimisation

Where the creator did not say how their coffee tastes, we have estimated it.

This recipe is Onyx Coffee Lab’s. We have written out the numbers and linked to where they published it.