# Melodrip



## the_partisan

Saw this recently: https://melodrip.co/

Looks like the Kalita Wave + Aeropress combo that has been doing the rounds here, with a fancier look.


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## Elcee

I'd totally get one.


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## the_partisan

Looks like they're finally launching on Kickstarter on Dec 12. I'll get one unless it's vastly overpriced!

https://www.instagram.com/melodripco/


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## GingerBen

Worth a look if cheap enough


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## igm45

Has anyone backed yet?

Looking to get into alternative brew methods.

Would this device mean that I could get away without getting a pouring kettle?


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## igm45

Here is the link btw:

https://www.kickstarter.com/project...d?ref=nav_search&result=project&term=Melodrip


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## the_partisan

Yes I think it should work without a pouring kettle, as long as you still can pour relatively gently.


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## GingerBen

Hmm, not sure to be honest. Looking at best part of £35-40 including postage for essentially a bit of plastic that I sort of already have (Aeropress base). Maybe I'm being cynical but don't think this is for me


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## igm45

the_partisan said:


> Yes I think it should work without a pouring kettle, as long as you still can pour relatively gently.


Thanks,

Have you backed? Or are you just going to wait and see, given its only ten dollar difference from rrp.


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## igm45

King of brews @MWJB what are your thoughts on this idea/implementation?


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## the_partisan

I've backed the copper version, yes. I already use an improvised version using an Aeropress cap + a chopstick and works very well for me with a Kalita Wave.


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## MWJB

igm45 said:


> King of brews @MWJB what are your thoughts on this idea/implementation?


Pfft, "king of brews", king pedantic note maker more like 

It's a good idea, especially for brews where you might get a lot of silt passing through the paper. Useful maybe for those who want a bit of leeway with pour technique? You still need to have a reasonable recipe. I have other ways of implementing the same idea, so I'm not really in the market for Melodrip.

The vast majority of my one mug brews I still pour normally with a Hario Buono/similar, or even a regular spouted kettle if post bloom brew water is going in the brewer in one go. Brewing coffee isn't like a driving test, anything that helps you get a good cup, makes the process easier/more enjoyable is a plus to me.


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## igm45

Thanks,

I've been umming and aahing about this. I'm happy with taking my time to learn good techniques habits and processes.

I'm looking to expand into alternative brew methods so that I can have coffee at work or when away from home for extended periods.

I'm not keen on the pouring spout kettles, if this solves the 'problem' and this means I won't need new kettle(s) then I think I'm in.


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## MWJB

igm45 said:


> Thanks,
> 
> I've been umming and aahing about this. I'm happy with taking my time to learn good techniques habits and processes.
> 
> I'm looking to expand into alternative brew methods so that I can have coffee at work or when away from home for extended periods.
> 
> I'm not keen on the pouring spout kettles, if this solves the 'problem' and this means I won't need new kettle(s) then I think I'm in.


I wouldn't know if this eliminates the need for a gooseneck kettle, I still use a gooseneck with alternatives to Melodrip & pulse pours. Where I use a regular kettle (some Melitta, Brewista Smart Steep & Kalita Wave brews), Melodrip offers no advantage because all the brew water is added in one go (10-15sec).


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## salty

GingerBen said:


> Hmm, not sure to be honest. Looking at best part of £35-40 including postage for essentially a bit of plastic that I sort of already have (Aeropress base). Maybe I'm being cynical but don't think this is for me


Well said that man


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## the_partisan

Anything that reduces variability is a plus, and for me the cap/Melodrip with Kalita makes quite a big difference, and I do a lot of hand pours so for me it's worth it.


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## fluffles

Did anyone plumb for a melodrip? I did (I'm a sucker for these little gadgets) - it arrived yesterday.

First brew this morning - I expected the lower agitation would decrease extraction, but it came out sky high at 1.6/23.4% with a 6:00 brew time. Tastes good, but only N=1 of course.


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## adz313

fluffles said:


> Did anyone plumb for a melodrip? I did (I'm a sucker for these little gadgets) - it arrived yesterday.
> 
> First brew this morning - I expected the lower agitation would decrease extraction, but it came out sky high at 1.6/23.4% with a 6:00 brew time. Tastes good, but only N=1 of course.


I didn't as was somewhat put off by the price by the time I found it (quite late in the KS process).

Interested to hear your ongoing thoughts though, as I'm similarly easily persuaded to buy little gadgets!


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## fluffles

Pretty surprised by this so far. When I previously tried the aeropress filter method I found my EY dropped off and I had to grind finer. Two brews into melodrip at my normal grind setting and the extractions are sky high. Latest brew of a Curve Kenyan was 1.73 / 25.64% in about 4:30 brew time. Doesn't taste over-extracted at all. Not saying this is a good thing or bad, I really don't know at this stage. I'll try and hit a more "normal" extraction and compare the taste.


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## the_partisan

Mine is stuck at the customs at the moment, hoping I get it next week..


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## the_partisan

What was the recipe you are using with the melodrip?


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## fluffles

Bloom X3 weight of coffee for 40s. Then gentle small sprinkles until brew weight reached. Sprinkle when water almost level with bed.

I've been doing 12g/200g in around 5 mins


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## the_partisan

That seems to go for a longer contact time than the typical recipe, so maybe hence the higher extraction?


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## fluffles

The instructions it comes with says aim for 4-5 minutes.

Today I ground coarser, at 6 o'clock on the EK dial which is way coarse for a single cup pour over. Extraction is down to 24%


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## the_partisan

How is the flavour? Are you using a flat bed or a cone brewer?


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## fluffles

the_partisan said:


> How is the flavour? Are you using a flat bed or a cone brewer?


I'm using a Kalita 185. The brews have been tasting good, certainly way better than I would expect given the numbers. I find with the EK that higher EY brews taste good, but once you go over a certain level (~21.5%) it continues to taste good but doesn't necessarily taste better. I'm sure this is partly down to roast, water, bean, etc.


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## the_partisan

fluffles said:


> I'm using a Kalita 185. The brews have been tasting good, certainly way better than I would expect given the numbers. I find with the EK that higher EY brews taste good, but once you go over a certain level (~21.5%) it continues to taste good but doesn't necessarily taste better. I'm sure this is partly down to roast, water, bean, etc.


You can try lowering the brew ratio to balance the brew perhaps.. i.e. 13.5g/250g


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## ejquin

I just got the melodrip and have enjoyed playing around with it. One thing you might want to try is changing your "recipe" a bit. One thing that is a little frustrating is that the recommended recipe is a bit different in multiple places all provided by Ray from melodrip.

The recipe on the box has a bloom using the kettle "bare" and also has longer intervals between pours (20s).

Here's one recipe form the website: https://melodrip.co/blogs/the-light-pour-myth/how-to-use-melodrip

This calls for using the melodrip for the bloom and then pours ~5 seconds apart

Here's a less detailed description of the recipe: https://melodrip.co/blogs/the-light-pour-myth/the-melodrip-method-a-beginner-s-guide-to-brewing-with-melodrip

This is a later blog post with a recipe: https://melodrip.co/blogs/the-light-pour-myth/why-so-complicated

This one advocates 2x the coffee weight for bloom (as opposed to 3x), then pouring 20g at a tme, and then pulse pouring bare kettle to finish

Here's a video which has some differences:






And finally, if you click "read more" you'll see a recipe from a barista at Onyx Coffee Labs that used the melodrip in competition: https://onyxcoffeelab.com/products/colombia-monteverde-natural-gesha-pre-order-only

Sorry to overload with links, but bottom line is it is probably best to just play around with some variable and see what effect it has


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## MWJB

ejquin said:


> And finally, if you click "read more" you'll see a recipe from a barista at Onyx Coffee Labs that used the melodrip in competition: https://onyxcoffeelab.com/products/colombia-monteverde-natural-gesha-pre-order-only
> 
> Sorry to overload with links, but bottom line is it is probably best to just play around with some variable and see what effect it has


I pressed "read more" and couldn't find this?

Yes, why is Melodrip brewing so complicated? https://melodrip.co/blogs/the-light-pour-myth/why-so-complicated

Hint - it's not, or shouldn't be if it was properly tested.


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## ejquin

Here is what it says:

Kalita 185 Wave Ceramic Dripper

Paper filter, prewet and allow to reach room temperature

15g coffee - grind setting 6.3 on EK43

250g Third Wave Water ['Lift' 205°F, Melodrip 210°F]

Melodrip 'Lift': Pours should start at the center of Melo dish, spiraling outward for a light rinse around the brew bed.

Melodrip: Pours can be done completely with Melodrip, be sure to fully saturate the brew bed with each pour.


Start Timer

35s

1:00s

1:20s

1:40s

2:00s

2:20s

~3:00 drain time



Bloom

2nd Pour

3rd Pour

4th Pour

5th Pour

6th Pour

Final Pour



50g

50g

25g

25g

25g

25g

50g



50g

100g

125g

150g

175g

200g

250g


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## the_partisan

I wouldn't bloom with 50g, I think it's best to bloom with as little water as possible? I typically use 20g for 14-15g of coffee. Otherwise it just channels between the grounds. Maybe less of an issue with Kalita than V60.


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## ejquin

Almost all recipe's I see, regardless of brew method, suggest 2x and often 3x the weight of the coffee in water for the bloom.

Scott Rao has an article on pourovers here: https://www.scottrao.com/blog/2016/10/8/some-observations-on-hand-pours

Where he says, "A good plan is to use a 3:1 ratio, by weight, of water to grounds during prewetting. Coffee grounds can absorb up to twice their weight in water, but inevitably some brewing liquid escapes the coffee bed during prewetting. Therefore, a 2:1 ratio will not completely saturate the coffee bed with liquid. I've found 3:1 to be a reasonable ratio to achieve full saturation."


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## MWJB

20-30g bloom works perfectly well for 13-15g dose.

If you bloom with a lot, then find you have 20g in the cup/server at bloom end, that 20g hasn't been saturating anything, it's just lazing about


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## the_partisan

Yes that's my experience too, you just end up with some liquid that's diluting your brew. Not sure why Rao recommends 3:1. Maybe it makes more sense if you have a deeper coffee bed such as 25-30g..


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## fluffles

ejquin said:


> I just got the melodrip and have enjoyed playing around with it. One thing you might want to try is changing your "recipe" a bit. One thing that is a little frustrating is that the recommended recipe is a bit different in multiple places all provided by Ray from melodrip.
> 
> The recipe on the box has a bloom using the kettle "bare" and also has longer intervals between pours (20s).
> 
> Here's one recipe form the website: https://melodrip.co/blogs/the-light-pour-myth/how-to-use-melodrip
> 
> This calls for using the melodrip for the bloom and then pours ~5 seconds apart
> 
> Here's a less detailed description of the recipe: https://melodrip.co/blogs/the-light-pour-myth/the-melodrip-method-a-beginner-s-guide-to-brewing-with-melodrip
> 
> This is a later blog post with a recipe: https://melodrip.co/blogs/the-light-pour-myth/why-so-complicated
> 
> This one advocates 2x the coffee weight for bloom (as opposed to 3x), then pouring 20g at a tme, and then pulse pouring bare kettle to finish
> 
> Here's a video which has some differences:


I wouldn't get too hung up on these things. Its an aid to sprinkling water gently over a pour over - at the end you will have hit a certain extraction that will taste good or not. There's no one pour regime that will trump all others. I would simply interpret the "melodrip method" to be: sprinkling small amounts of water gently over the bed, maintaining a shallow depth of water above the coffee bed which will inevitably lead to longer than usual brew times. Whether you sprinkle 20g or 30g is not the be all and end all, your grind size will remain the most important factor determining extraction.


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## MWJB

fluffles said:


> I would simply interpret the "melodrip method" to be: sprinkling small amounts of water gently over the bed, maintaining a shallow depth of water above the coffee bed which will inevitably lead to longer than usual brew times. Whether you sprinkle 20g or 30g is not the be all and end all, your grind size will remain the most important factor determining extraction.


I would stick to one or the other though, e.g. sure, either 30g/20s (~3:00 total time) or 20g/20s (~4:00 total time) will work, but each will need to tie in to its own grind setting.

Total brew time probably won't be much different to without the Melodrip (for that regime), but the grind setting may be.


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## fluffles

What I meant was: I hear people on here worry too much about how many pours / size of pours / etc as if that is the thing that will make or break their brew. Pick one, stick to it and adjust your grind is an easier way to go about things (in my opinion).


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## fluffles

Today is the first time I've managed to hit a "normal" extraction. Ground at 14.5 on the EK which is only 1.5 away from the maximum on my dial (!). TDS is 1.44 and EY 21.15%, Tim Wendelboe Finca Tamana. Tastes great.

I've been chopping and changing coffees a fair bit so its hard to offer any concrete comparison but I'm really pleased with the results so far. I'm definitely able to hit higher EYs even at coarse grind settings without the flavour being adversely affected. I wonder why this is? Current theories:

1. My grinder is broke (doesn't seem to be, still working fine for espresso)

2. My VST refractometer is broke (doesn't seem to be, still measuring as expected for espresso)

3. Extended brew time results in higher extraction

4. Sprinkling only small amounts of water keeps the slurry temperature higher. I expect with a standard pour over, the water loses temperature as it sits on top of the bed waiting to be drawn down. Haven't measured this, but I will do if I remember

5. It produces a more "even" extraction (more even => higher extraction)


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## fluffles

I also really like the glass rod, it is perfect for pushing down coffee that gets caught in the kalita wave folds


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## the_partisan

Is it 14.5 on the new EK43 S dial? that would certainly be very coarse? I measured #16 to be 60% > 1200 and #12 to be % >14%.

I would think temp would be lower in melodrip. Mine is sitting post office and I didn't have time to collect it. So hopefully soon I can provide some data as well.


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## the_partisan

Got my Melodrip now, it feels quite solid and heavier than I would expect, quite nice fit & finish.

Did my brew with V60, 15g to 260g and I just used my normal 6 pour recipe 35g every 20 sec or so, and the water drained very quickly, brew time of about 3:00

Very clean brew, and very sweet but kind of one dimensional and a bit flat without much acidity. I didn't get to measure EY but will do next time. Not sure whether to grind finer or change the pour regime to get more of the acidity out.


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## the_partisan

Second brew today, unfortunately last of these beans. I ground a little finer (#9,5 ~9 o'clock on EK43 S) and did a few more pours, around 15-20 every 10-15 sec, I didn't pay too much attention to time and weights, finishing around 3:00 this time. I also poured the last 15g without the melodrip as per the recipe, although I'm not quite sure what this accomplishes?

The brew was much nicer this time, probably one of the best I got from these beans, very clean, sweet but also lively and not flat. TDS was 1.4%, using 15 to 250g. I also get around 5-6g less water retained in the coffee bed compared to using just the kettle. It was around 21.5% EY so within the quite usual range for these beans (Kenyan). @fluffles I'm not seeing these very high extractions you have been getting, maybe your measurements are wrong or the grinder is calibrated differently? What setting are you at for espresso?


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## fluffles

the_partisan said:


> Second brew today, unfortunately last of these beans. I ground a little finer (#9,5 ~9 o'clock on EK43 S) and did a few more pours, around 15-20 every 10-15 sec, I didn't pay too much attention to time and weights, finishing around 3:00 this time. I also poured the last 15g without the melodrip as per the recipe, although I'm not quite sure what this accomplishes?
> 
> The brew was much nicer this time, probably one of the best I got from these beans, very clean, sweet but also lively and not flat. TDS was 1.4%, using 15 to 250g. I also get around 5-6g less water retained in the coffee bed compared to using just the kettle. It was around 21.5% EY so within the quite usual range for these beans (Kenyan). @fluffles I'm not seeing these very high extractions you have been getting, maybe your measurements are wrong or the grinder is calibrated differently? What setting are you at for espresso?


Your brews are much quicker, I don't think I could get it to drain that quickly if I tried. I'm blooming with bare kettle rather than melodrip

I'll do a video when I get time (which I rarely have)


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## the_partisan

My last brew time was I think around 3:15-3:20, but water does drain very quickly with V60. I bloomed up to 1:00 and then last pour was at 3:00. I would probably need to grind near 11-12 o'clock to hold back the brew for longer while keeping the same pours. I think with Kalita it might be easier to get longer brew times with the current grind size I'm using.


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## the_partisan

Next brew with a Kenyan from TW with a slightly finer grind ended up quite thin at 1.25% TDS/19% EY. I'm guessing that some parts of the coffee bed didn't get wetted properly and didn't contribute much to the final cup. I think this is what might be causing the "flatness". Should really try it with a flat bed brewer instead of a V60 or need to grind much finer.


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## fluffles

My unit must be magic or something. Out of interest what is your typical non-melodrip pour over setting on the EK43S dial?


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## the_partisan

It's around #9.5-#10. I got some Kalita papers now and will give it a try with that. At #9 I'm about 10-11% 1200um.


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## the_partisan

I did a Kalita brew this morning, using #9, but again it tasted kind of flat, and it hit 22% EY though.. Did another brew at #11 using Kalita again but not using the melodrip, and much prefer the latter one. I don't know if it has something to do with lower agitation that causes these flat tasting brews.


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## fluffles

I've had a couple of standard pour overs in the last couple of days to contrast against the melodrips. I definitely sense that the melodrip brews have a thinner/lighter body, even when the TDS reads higher (I know that sounds odd). I've also found that melodrip requires a slightly higher extraction compared with standard brew to taste its best, e.g. 21% standard brew tastes good, with melodrip I feel it is slightly under. Overall I'm enjoying the results.


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## MWJB

Makes sense about the body/mouthfeel. Dissolved solids have almost no mouthfeel, so the reduced non-dissolved solids with the Melodrip are likely to be thinner.


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## the_partisan

Which recipe did you settle on in the end?


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## fluffles

the_partisan said:


> Which recipe did you settle on in the end?


Kalita 185. 12g coffee, bloom 36g with bare kettle for 40 seconds. Stir with the glass rod and poke down in the waves of the filter paper. I then proceed with small sprinkles (~15-20g at a guess, I don't measure it really) until I hit 200g. I continue to poke down any coffee that gets lodged in the waves of the paper, but this is usually eradicated after the first few sprinkles. Some coffees drain slower than others, if I'm going to be pushing 5:00+ then I finish with a bare kettle pour for the last 30g or so. Otherwise, I just continue with the sprinkles. Brew time is usually between 4:00 and 5:00.

Today's coffee was a washed Guatemalan from James Gourmet. Ground at bang on 6 o'clock on the EK, brew was dead on 4:00. 1.43 TDS and 21.91% EY. Definitely tastes better than yesterday's standard V60 brew which was ground a fair bit finer and came out at 20.80%. Again, the melodrip has a higher TDS but feels thinner on the palate but the brew has more life and bounce to it.


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## ejquin

I think at one time you offered to post a video for your brew? If you ever got a chance to do that it would be appreciated. I'm liking the melodrip but my brews never take near 5 mins. Would love to see what yours looks like.


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## the_partisan

Tried a brew today at #12, so quite coarse and using Kalita + Melodrip, 30g pours every 20 sec or so after 45g bloom. It finished at 2:45 and was actually very nice and sweet. Didn't get to measure EY as it's so warm here that any readings are definitely off and I didn't have distilled water at hand for relicabration.


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## zacho

I'm also struggling with flat brews when using the melodrip. As such i've only used the melodrip for my final two pours of 50ml to reduce agitation at the very end.

My recipe with the V60 is 17.5g coffee : 240ml water. 40ml pour for a 30s bloom with stirring using the glass rod; 50ml pours every 30s until I hit 240ml.


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