Melitta recipe

The Melitta is the classic wedge-shaped dripper with a small hole. It drains slowly, so the coffee spends more time with the water and the cup comes out with more body.

Recipe

Melitta officialStumptown (Bee House)Classic

My own recipes (Hybrid and Two immersions) show up when you brew around 3,250 m, like in Huancayo: that’s where they’re calibrated.

Melitta Japan’s own method: about 8 g and 140 ml per cup, a short bloom, then all the water at once. The small hole does the rest. Source ↗

Roast

LightMediumDark

Light roast: 2 °C hotter, a slightly finer grind and about 10% more time. Dark roast: 5 °C cooler, a bit coarser and about 10% less.

Altitude

At sea level the recipe works as written.

Where you brew. It stays saved in this browser.

Grinder

Coffee

Water

280 g

Ratio 1:17.5

Grind: medium600–800 µm
Water temp: 90 °C
Total time: depends on how long it takes to drain

What you need

Melitta dripper and a #2 or #4 filter
Scale with a timer
Kettle
Grinder, medium

Tips

Don’t grind too fine; the small hole already slows it down.
Pour steadily and keep the bed covered.
Fold the filter seams so it sits flat against the walls.

Melitta

0:00

Bloom: pour 16 g, the same weight as the coffee

Next · Pour all the water at once, up to 280 g

Steps

0:00Bloom: pour 16 g, the same weight as the coffee
0:25Pour all the water at once, up to 280 g
drainedDone. Enjoy.

How did it taste?

Dialling in the cup

Sour or thin: Grind a bit finer, or give it more time. With cooler water, extraction drops.
Bitter or dry: Grind a bit coarser, or shorten the brew. Also check the water isn’t boiling hard.
Too strong: Use more water for the same coffee: from 1:15 to 1:16 or 1:17.
Weak or watery: Use less water: from 1:16 to 1:15. If it’s also sour, grind finer first.
The drain stalls: Grind coarser and pour more gently. Too many fines clog the filter.