The same recipe can work on all of our V4 bottoms as they are all fast, consistent, and performant. However, we normally recommend to grind a little finer on the FAST bottom, a little coarser on the CLASSIC bottom and to introduce more central pouring on the OPEN and APEX bottoms.  

Different coffees behave differently. A consistent brewer is not one that brews every coffee in the same time, but rather one that extracts well for any coffee. This means that a dense washed coffee will take 20-45 seconds longer to brew than a more processed coffee, but that is good and okay - as we are extracting both well and one is just a little tougher. Some devices give the illusion of consistency where the consistent brew times through all types of coffees come from very inconsistent bypass and drainage.

USABLE: 10 grams to 28 grams
BEST RANGE: 12 grams to 24 grams

Unless otherwise specified, we use a pouring flow rate of around 5 G/S. This is a medium flow rate, not too slow, not too fast. We try to keep our recipe portions simple, so for example, a 50G pour should be made within 10 seconds (this is precisely 5 Grams/Second).  

We display grind size advice in Comandante C40 Clicks (as it is our preferred hand grinder) but we also refer to grind size ranges like FINE, MEDIUM-FINE, MEDIUM, MEDIUM-COARSE, COARSE. We recommend you take our base recipe (Easy does it) and dial your grinder in based on our time guides and on your taste. Every grinder will produce a different profile and will interact differently with the paper filter.

There are a lot of paper filters that can work with our V4 - especially if you are using a Negotiator Tool. In fact, by utilising the negotiator, you can fit just about any filter into the flat bottoms of the V4. In our recipes, we specify the filter used. If you are using other branded filters, like Kalita, V60, or Cafec, your experience will be quite different. While these paper filters can work, they may not be the best fit and may give you challenges to dialling in. We recommend to start by using our papers.

Our recipes are designed around light (or even often very light) roast levels. If you are brewing more developed medium or dark roasts, please note that you should adjust parameters. In general the darker you go, we would recommend to decrease grind size gradually and lower water temperature - adjust to taste. We have not tested with dark roasts too much as of yet, and may prepare a guide section specifically for this later on. Just keep in mind that we designed and tested this device more around light roast coffee.

All of our recipes start with a room temp device and this is fine. The plastic wall will act as an insulator, you really don't need to waste the energy or your time. Pre-wet your paper with cold water, or run it under the tap (in countries where this is possible). If you are pre-heating your device please note that the outcome in the cup may be different from what our recipe may suggest.

In this configuration, we recommend using the V4 Negotiator with an APEX tip, to fold the paper to a semi-conical shape. If you want to use other papers, please use a negotiator to fit the paper to the wall of the brewer. If the paper is not fully fitted to the wall, it may slide out of the brewer. You should not use Wave paper with the APEX bottom.

In this configuration, you can use conical filters like our own SIBARIST FAST CONICAL for V4 WIDE, or any V60 style paper. Please note that you should fold it to fit the brewer properly. You can do this with a Negotiator or by using a filter folding guide like we have on our Printables page.

Our recipes below are a starting point. This brewer is fast, consistent, reactive, and very flexible. Using our tools, you can adapt any paper or any recipe from your favourite YouTubers, Brewing Champions, or local baristas - have fun and share your findings with us!