One thing we've learned from brewing coffee at home and professionally is that there's no one precise way of pouring that perfect cup of coffee. There are so many variables from roast of the beans, grind size, dripper, kettle, flow rate, water... We see cafes and barista's have their own unique brew method to what works best for their conditions.

That's why we always love to continue educating ourselves and learning from the best - showcased in the 2016 World Brewers Cup which was held on June 23-24, in Dublin, Ireland. The champion was Japanese Tetsu Kasuya, a barista at Coffee Factory in Ibaraki, Japan.

In 2018 he released a dripper in collaboration with Hario: the Kasuya Model V60. This model has a customized ribs that hold coffee longer compared to the standard V60 model, which makes the extraction more stable and easier to control. 

Back to the topic at hand: we thought this would be a great opportunity to share the video and transcript of Tetsu san's presentation. Here you go:

 

Transcript

Hello judges. Welcome. I am Tetsu from the Coffee Factory in Ibaraki Japan. It's an honour to brew coffee for you today.I will be doing my best so, I hope you enjoy the 10 minutes as much as I do.

I'm not a farmer, and I'm not a roaster. I am just a barista and a brewer. So, my passion has been searching and learning the different brew method. And finally, I found the best brew method.The 4-6 method.

The board has the information of the coffee farm and the detail of the 4-6 method.
My thought for this new brew method began when I went to visit the coffee farm at Ninety Plus Coffee. At the farm, you could tell the pickers were not working just to be paid.

They were very passionate and very proud of their work. I could see this came from Joseph, the owner of Ninety Plus Coffee who always showed passion for coffee and affection to his workers. I was so impressed by the passion. So, right then on the farm, I saw the need to reflect that passion by finding the best brew method as a barista.

Now, today. I would like to show you the best brew cup by using the 4-6 method.

The 4-6 method begins by dividing the total water into 40% and 60%. 

You pour the first 40% in two pours, and then decide how many pours you want to make for the last 60%. The first 2 pours decide the balance of the acidity and sweetness. The remaining number of pours will decide the strength of the coffee.

That's it. It's so simple, isn't it?

Today, I'm using this very special coffee. This is natural process gesha from Ninety Plus Gesha Estates in Panama. The devotion to hand-picking and processing coffee gives this many colorful flavors. And today, I will make this coffee more excellent by brewing. My recipe is 20 grams of coffee to 300 grams of 92 degrees water.

The grind is a coarse grind to get a clean cup and the bright flavors of this coffee. The water is a pure water that is 0.33 ppm and the PH is 6.6. This makes the acidity bright, clean and juicy. And the mouth feel becomes smooth and juicy.

Since I am using 300 grams of water, so the first 2 pours will be 120 grams.

Now, judges, let's actually go onto the brewing.

Today, I use 50 grams in the first pour. The amount of the water in the first and second pour decides the acidity and sweetness of the final cup. If I use more water in the first pour, the acidity will be stronger. But, if I use less water in the first pour, the overall sweetness will be stronger.

Today, to get more sweetness out of this coffee I use less water in the first pour, 50 grams.

And now, second pour. I pour the remaining 70 grams. By pouring more water in the second pour, the sweetness stands out more.

In this method, I start each pour after all the liquids have dripped down into the decanter.

Why? Because this timing makes the extraction efficiency very high and also increase the brew strength for coarse grind coffee like this.

And now, third the pour.

From third pour and onward, the total number of pours will change the brew strength , if we want it higher, make more pours. And if we want it lower, make fewer.

If the grind is coarse like today, the coffee usually become weak. But today, I am aiming for 1.3 TDS, so I will make 3 more pours. 180 grams divided into 3 pours, so that's 60 grams each pour. And just continue to pour..that's all.

This brew method makes the coffee super clean, bright, sweet and powerful coffee.

The other side. Here, taste notes.

The aromas you can find: peach and a black cherry.

The flavors, you can find peach, and blackberry when it's hot.

And when it cools down, you can find strawberry and a pineapple.

The aftertaste, is very long and the very sweet..... it changes from strawberry to cacao.

I think a truly great coffee is the one that has lingering sweetness. This is that coffee.

The acidity is bright, clean, juicy, with fruity sweetness like strawberry and pineapple.

The body, is medium and juicy. It becomes smooth, as it cools down.

And it's so well balanced and round. Like a fruity sweetness gently enveloping a good acidity.

And overall, this is a super clean coffee with complex flavors, with unique quality improving as it cools down.

The balance of the acidity and the sweetness is perfect in this coffee.

Just a moment first, Ok. Here you go. Enjoy.

Judges, How did you like my coffee? I'm not a roaster, and I'm not a farmer. I am a barista and a brewer, so are I will continue to pour my passion into brewing. I am so happy and honored to brew coffee for you all today. I would like to say thank you to you the judges and everyone in the audience and of course everyone who has been supporting me.

Thank you very much.

Q&A

>> ANNOUNCER: Congratulations. This is your first year competing in brewer's cup?

>> KASUYA: No. In Japan it's a 3rd.

>> ANNOUNCER: 3rd year. But first time in world championship?

>> KASUYA: Ah no, it's a first time.

>> ANNOUNCER: First time.

>> KASUYA: Ah yes.

>> ANNOUNCER: First time and obviously in the final round, so how do you feel today?

>> KASUYA: Ahh.. exciting! Like in dream.

>> ANNOUNCER: Can i ask a question, like when you served the judges in the cups, you poured 1,2,3 and then a little bit more and then a little bit more. Why?

>> KASUYA: Because that coffee will be sweet when it cools down. So, I cool the coffee.

>> ANNOUNCER: You helped it cool down?

>> KASUYA: Yes, yes..

>> ANNOUNCER: And you talk about your brew method, we call it 4-6 method, can you explain it again?

>> KASUYA: Divide the total water into 40% to 60%. And the first 40% will decide the balance of the acidity and the sweetness. And last 60% will decide the brew strength. It's simple method but, perfect balance.

>> ANNOUNCER: Were you able to work with your roaster, and you have a different roast or did you just have one to choose from?

>> KASUYA: Uh, my boss roast my coffee and the coffee is from him, Joseph, the owner of Ninety Plus Coffee. Nice guy.

>> ANNOUNCER: Nice guy.

>> KASUYA: yeah.

>> ANNOUNCER: Anything you'd like to say to anyone here. Your supporters, people watching online ?

>> KASUYA: Uh..Nah, All of it first, Thank you very much, I really appreciate all of you. Thank you very much . It's really exciting

>> ANNOUNCER: It really is exciting to watch the presentation. It was great. Congratulations, well done!

>> KASUYA: Thank you very much.

>> ANNOUNCER: Brewers cup champion of Japan, Tetsu Kasuya!

So there you have it - here's the breakdown of  "4-6 method" and Tetsu san's recipe:

 

Using the customised Kasuya Hario V60 Model

Dripper
20g dry coffee (coarse grind) 
Natural processed Gesha from Gesha estate, Panama
92c water 300ml (0.3ppm, PH 6.6)

45sec blooming (50ml)
0:45 70ml pour
1:30 60ml pour
2:15 60ml pour
3:00 60ml pour
3:30 lift the dripper

We've tried the recipe for a few times on a Natural Ethiopia Yirgacheffe and it came out juicy with a right bit of acidity, but we felt that more experimentation is needed. That's always the fun of a new brewing method.

What do you think of the "4-6 method" by this years Brewers cup champion?

 

The Tetsu Kasuya V60 Model

In 2018 Tetsu Kasuya released a collaboration dripper with Hario. This model has a customized ribs that hold coffee longer compared to the standard V60 model, which makes the extraction more stable and easier to control. Use it to practice and perfect your 4-6 method!