Brewing Guide — July 2026

Brewing Guide
V60, Chemex & Kalita Wave

Three at-home Geisha recipes with exact parameters — no guesswork, no "adjust to taste" hedging. Each method below uses the same starting ratio and water-target principles; pick the brewer you own. Coffee is roasted to order, so the only variable that matters is what you do in your kitchen.

V60 Pour-Over Chemex Kalita Wave

All three recipes below use a 1:16.7 ratio for V60 and Chemex, and a slightly tighter 1:15 for Kalita Wave (the flat-bed brewer concentrates extraction differently). Use freshly roasted, freshly ground beans — Geisha's defining florals degrade within hours of grinding. Filtered water at the temperatures listed is essential; chlorinated or hard tap water will mute the aromatics no matter how precise your technique.

V60 Pour-Over

01 V60 Pour-Over
Dose
15g
Coffee, freshly ground
Water
90–93°C
195°F / 45s off boil
Ratio
1:16.7
15g : 250g water
Grind Size
Medium-fine
Table salt texture
Total time
2:30–3:00
From first pour
0:00

Rinse filter, preheat dripper

Run hot water through the paper filter. Discard. This removes paper taste and brings the dripper to temperature — cold ceramic kills heat faster than you'd think.

0:00

Bloom — pour 30g, wait 45 seconds

Saturate evenly, covering all grounds. Start your timer. Geisha from a recent roast will bloom aggressively — CO2 bubbling up through the bed is a sign of freshness. Wait the full 45 seconds.

0:45

Pour in two phases to 250g

From 0:45, pour in slow concentric spirals from center outward. Hit 130g at 1:05, then continue to 250g at 1:45. Maintain a steady stream — don't pulse.

2:30–3:00

Drawdown complete — flat bed

The bed should be flat and damp when done, not pooled or cracked. If drawdown finishes before 2:30, grind finer next time. If it runs past 3:30, grind coarser.

Chemex

02 Chemex
Dose
30g
Coffee, freshly ground
Water
93–94°C
199–201°F
Ratio
1:16.7
30g : 500g water
Grind Size
Medium-coarse
Sea salt, coarser than V60
Total time
3:30–4:30
From first pour
0:00

Rinse the thick paper filter with hot water, discard

Chemex uses a bonded paper filter 3–4× thicker than a V60. Rinsing is not optional — skipping it leaves paper taste in the cup. Discard the rinse water from the carafe.

0:00

Bloom — pour 60g, wait 45 seconds

Saturate evenly across the bed. Start the timer. Fresh Geisha will bloom vigorously — let the CO2 fully release before continuing.

0:45

Pour in two phases to 500g

From 0:45, pour in slow concentric spirals from center outward. Hit 260g at 1:15, then continue to 500g at 1:45. Keep the stream steady — don't pulse.

3:30–4:30

Drawdown complete

The bed should drain fully between 3:30 and 4:30. Faster than 3:30 means grind too coarse; slower than 5:00 means grind too fine. The thicker filter naturally takes longer than V60.

Kalita Wave

03 Kalita Wave
Dose
20g
Coffee, freshly ground
Water
90–92°C
195–198°F
Ratio
1:15
20g : 300g water
Grind Size
Medium-fine
Table salt, finer than V60
Total time
2:30–3:30
From first pour
0:00

Rinse filter, preheat dripper and server

Run hot water through the Kalita Wave paper filter. Discard. Preheat the dripper sitting on top of your server — the flat bottom retains heat differently than a V60 cone.

0:00

Bloom — pour 40g, wait 30 seconds

Saturate evenly across the bed. Start your timer. The flat bed blooms faster than V60 — 30s is enough.

0:30

Pour in three slow concentric pulses to 300g

Pulse pours — slow, deliberate circles from center outward. The Kalita loves steady contact; don't rush the bed. Reach 300g total by 2:00–2:15.

2:30–3:30

Drawdown complete — flat bed, not pooled

The bed should drain flat — the Kalita's defining trait versus V60. Pooling on top indicates the bed channeled; bump grind finer next time.

"Pick the brewer you already own. The variables that matter — fresh grind, filtered water, correct dose and temperature — are the same across all three methods. Done well, each produces a different but equally good Geisha cup."

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