Kalita 102 Wedge Dripper

The Kalita 102 is the classic Japanese wedge-shaped coffee dripper, and the one that defined what Kalita calls “Kalita-shiki”, the Kalita style of pour-over. It’s a trapezoid cone for 2 to 4 cups, with three holes in the bottom and ribs on the inner walls, used with 102 paper filters. Kalita’s own description is simple: its drippers have three holes, so they “drip only the deliciousness, before off-flavours come out”. Here’s how it works, the 102 range, and how to brew with it.

The short version

• A wedge (trapezoid) dripper for 2 to 4 cups.
• Three holes in the bottom, ribs on the walls.
• 102 paper filters; the 101 is the smaller size.
• Ceramic, porcelain, steel, copper or plastic.
• The basis of “Kalita style” pour-over, alongside the newer Wave.

What makes the Kalita 102 different?

Three holes. Kalita defines Kalita-shiki as brewing with its own three-hole dripper and a paper filter. On Kalita’s site, Mr Someya, owner of BlueDOOR Coffee in Yokohama explains why he uses the plastic 102-D: water falls evenly through the three holes, so bitterness “disappears” and the aftertaste is clean, and “the Kalita style extracts faster than a single hole”, for “a purer taste”. His family has used Kalita equipment since his father’s time.

Ribs. The ribs inside keep the paper from sticking to the walls and bottom, Japanese Taste explains, so the coffee extracts smoothly.

Wedge shape. Like the Melitta and the Bee House, the 102 is a trapezoid with a flat, narrow base, rather than a round cone like the V60.

Which Kalita 102 should I choose?

Kalita’s catalogue lists many 102s:

Model	Material
102-Roto	Ceramic (white, brown or black)
102-D	Plastic
SS 102	Stainless steel
Cu 102	Copper
HA 102	Hasami porcelain

The ceramic 102-Roto is 138 × 110 × 88 mm and weighs 370 g, for 2 to 4 people, according to Kalita. The same shapes come in 101 (smaller), 103 and 104 sizes.

How do you brew with a Kalita 102?

1. Fold the seams of a 102 filter and fit it in the dripper.
2. Add ground coffee for 2 to 4 cups and level it.
3. Bloom: pour a little water to wet the coffee and watch it swell. Someya adjusts his brew by watching how the coffee swells and the size of the bubbles on the first pour.
4. Pour in stages into the centre, keeping the water below the rim of the filter.
5. Remove the dripper when it has finished.

Kalita’s pages don’t give a fixed recipe. As a starting point, I’d use about 15 g of medium-ground coffee per 250 ml of water, and adjust from there. BlueDOOR Coffee also brews iced coffee straight onto ice in the server, relying on the 102’s quick flow to avoid a lingering bitterness.

Who makes it?

Kalita, founded in Nihonbashi, Tokyo, in October 1958 and incorporated as Kalita Co., Ltd. in July 1959, according to its company history. Kalita launched unbleached paper filters in 1991, and later the flat-bottomed Kalita Wave, which keeps the three holes but changes the shape and filter.

General guidance only. Take care with just-boiled water and a hot ceramic dripper.

Kalita 102 vs other methods

• Kalita Wave: Kalita’s flat-bottomed, three-hole dripper.
• Melitta pour-over: the original wedge dripper.
• Bee House dripper: another Japanese wedge, with two holes.
• Hario V60: the single-hole cone.

Explore every pour-over method in the pour-over chapter.