Brewing | Kalita Wave | Bali Kintamani

We're back with another addition to our brewing series, this time we're sharing a Kalita Wave recipe for a favorite of ours every year, Bali Kintamani!

As always our inspiration behind this series is to help our community, either begin their journey into manual brewing methods, or act as a starting point for additional tweaking and calibration for those who are more seasoned.

Each post will include recipes for at least one of these three popular manual brewing devices (Chemex, V60, and Aeropress), and will include grind settings based on a Baratza Encore, a popular entry-level home burr grinder. We are excited to team up on this series with Alex Wallace (@wallacecoffee on Instagram), who will be contributing his personal recipes and findings with each coffee.

So without further ado, let's brew some of this new Bali!

BALI KINTAMANI

Region - Kintamani Highlands, Bali
Varietal - Bourbon, Typica
Process - Natural
Elevation - 1300 M
We Taste - Cantaloupe, Strawberry Liqueur, Wildberry Pop Tarts, Complex

Bali Kintamani Natural is a crop we look forward to every year because of how unique it truly is. Bali is a tiny island in Indonesia, and unlike most coffees from Indonesia, this coffee does not undergo the 'Wet Hull' process. Wet Hulling is a unique process that only Indonesia uses, that adds body, minimizes acidity, and tends to bring about earthy or woody type flavors.

Kintamani Natural is instead processed by the traditional dry (natural) process of sun-drying the coffee cherries on raise beds before the seeds are separated from the cherry. This is extremely rare for coffee coming out of this part of the world!

The end cup is complex. It is fruity, and rich, with a full-bodied, buttery mouthfeel that reminds you the coffee you're drinking is from Indonesia. The fruit notes that jump out to us are more of a fruit liqueur, or a sugary pastry-type sweetness. This coffee is a wild ride no matter which way you drink it, and is just too unusual of a coffee to pass up.

ALEX SAYS...

Atomic really killed it with this one! It’s really well balanced with a huge punchy sweetness. It’s creamy but jammy. It’s giving me a ton of rich fruit notes in the cup reminding me of cantaloupe, wildberry pop tarts (this note is crazy good and present) and something like a red wine sangria. It has a hint of lime-like acidity in the finish that I feel is what reminds me of the all around sangria vibe.

I think this coffee is going to be delicious anyway you brew it. Filter, ‘spro, or even a wild iced coffee!

KAILITA WAVE RECIPE

Quick Facts
Method: Kalita Wave
Ratio: 18g coffee / 288g water
Grind: 21 clicks on Baratza Encore (roughly 570 microns)
Water Temperature: 206F w/declining temp

Brew
0:00 - 54g swirl
0:35 - 132g
1:10 - 210g
1:50 - 288g
Total Brew Time: ~2:40

1. Boil - Start by filling up your kettle with water. If you have an electric kettle, set the temperature to 206F. If not, bring the water to a boil then let sit for a moment before brewing.

2. Grind - Weigh out 18g of coffee, and grind on your Baratza Encore at setting 21.

3. Pre-wet Filter - Place your Kalita Wave on top of the vessel you plan to brew into, and place a filter into the Kalita. Pour warm water over the filter, until you hit every spot. This avoids any papery tastes in your coffee. It also pre-warms the Kalita and your brewing vessel, to avoid coffee cooling upon contact. This is also a good chance to pour warm water in your mug as well. Make sure to dump this water out before brewing.

4. Begin Brewing - Place your Kalita Wave / brewing vessel on top of your scale. Add your coffee to the filter. Make sure your scale is zeroed, and start your timer. Add 54g of water, then lightly swirl the Kalita Wave to agitate the bloom. Wait until your timer says 35 seconds.

5. Continue Brewing - At 35 seconds, continue pouring water until you reach 132g. Wait until your timer says 1:10, then pour until you reach 210g. Wait until your timer says 1:50, then pour until you reach 288g.Your total brew time, the point where you can take your Kalita off the brewing vessel, should be about 2:40.

6. Enjoy! - Pour into your favorite pre-warmed mug, and enjoy!