World Brewers Cup Champ Tetsu Kasuya’s winning method explained

BY JOSHUA DUSK-PEEBLES

SPECIAL TO BARISTA MAGAZINE

Tetsu Kasuya of Japan just won the 2016 World Brewers Cup with a method that was simultaneously time-honored and cutting-edge.

Hario v60. 15:1. Five pours. Classic.

But the thing is, each pour was swift and they were arranged so that the water drew down completely before the next one began. This novel approach allowed Tetsu to produce a very high extraction while grinding quite coarsely.

I’ve been brewing like this for two weeks now and have made some remarkable cups of coffee. But things really went up a level when I realized that using this recipe also gave me the ability to easily separate my brew stages.

WHY IS THAT VALUABLE?

1. Coffee extraction is mind-boggling. Each individual grind particle carries thousands of solubles. Every one of them influences the flavor of the final beverage and they all dissolve somewhat differently. Splitting your brew allows you a superior sense of which compounds are extracting sooner and which ones are showing up later.

2. Every coffee has distinct flavors. Using this method when you first brew a new batch will showcase those nuances. Once you have that information, you can adjust your recipe so that you highlight the flavors you want and minimize the ones you don’t.

3. Palate training! There is no better way to force yourself to pay attention to what you are tasting than to do it blind. Mixing up the cups, sipping, and placing them back in order a few times will burn those flavors into your brain. Brewing several different origins at the same time and properly identifying which stage 5 goes to which coffee is next level business.

WANT TO TRY IT?

Grab a v60 and 5 identical cups

Label the bottom of the cups: 1-2-3-4-5

Heat filtered water to 198F

Place a paper filter in the v60 and rinse it throughly

Grind 20g of coffee medium coarse ((start with what you would do for a Chemex and adjust from there)

Place the ground coffee in the v60 and gently level it

Place cup 1 under the brewer

Start a timer and pour 50g water in an even spiral for 5 seconds

Once all the water has drawn down, switch to cup 2 and tare your scale

At :45 pour 70g water in an even spiral for 5 seconds

Once all the water has drawn down, switch to cup 3 and tare your scale

At 1:30 pour 60g water in an even spiral for 5 seconds

Once all the water has drawn down, switch to cup 4 and tare your scale

At 2:15 pour 60g water in an even spiral for 5 seconds

Once all the water has drawn down, switch to cup 5 and tare your scale

At 3:00 pour 60g water in an even spiral for 5 seconds

At 3:30 remove the v60

After you have a sense of what is happening in each stage, get creative! Combine just two of them and taste that. Mix together all but one and note exactly how it varies from a full brew. Change the weight of your pours and see what happens. Change your grind and notice how it affects each stage. Change your water temperature. Your number of pours. The sky’s the limit. Tetsu has offered not only a brewing method but also a powerful educational tool. Let’s climb up on those shoulders and see what we can discover!



Editor’s note: Check back here soon to Barista Magazine’s blog for Joshua’s interview with the champ himself, Tetsu Kasuya, soon!