Mad House Roast V60 Recipe: The Dial-In Pour-Over

Spotted: a Brazilian Yellow Bourbon sitting on your counter, looking calm and forgiving, quietly waiting to teach you everything about extraction. Class is in session, darling.

Short answer: Brew 18g of The Mad House Roast with 300g of water at 93°C in a V60. Bloom with 50g for 45 seconds, pour in three stages, and aim for a total brew time of 3:00 to 3:30.

• Coffee: 18g The Mad House Roast (Brazil, natural Yellow Bourbon)
• Water: 300g
• Temperature: 93°C
• Brewer: V60 or a similar conical dripper
• Total time: 3:00 to 3:30

Steps

1. Bloom with 50g of water. Wait 45 seconds. This is your baseline.
2. Pour in slow circles to 150g by 1:15. Keep the stream steady and gentle.
3. Pour to 225g by 2:00. Watch the bed. It should be settling evenly.
4. Finish the pour to 300g by 2:45. Let it draw down completely.
5. Taste. The cup should be sweet and balanced, with chocolate and caramel leading the way.

Why this works

The Mad House Roast is forgiving, balanced and rich, which makes it the right coffee to practise on. Its flavour changes are easy to detect, so when you move one thing, you taste the difference. The chocolate, caramel and nutty notes show up clearly when the brew lands in that 3:00 to 3:30 window. You will know when you nail it. And when you do not, you will know exactly why.

If it tastes off

• Sour or thin: Your grind is too coarse. Go finer. If the total brew time runs under three minutes, slow down your pour.
• Bitter or dry: Your grind is too fine. Go coarser. If the total brew time runs well past 3:30, speed up your pour or coarsen the grind.

Quick answers

What grind should I start with?

Start where you normally brew pour-over, then let the taste and the drawdown time tell you which way to move.

How many things should I change at once?

One. Change one variable at a time, brew again, and taste the difference. That is how you learn what each change does to the cup.

Do I need a V60?

No. A V60 or any similar conical dripper works. Keep the dose, water and timings the same and adjust the grind until you hit 3:00 to 3:30.

Practise on the coffee that forgives you: The Mad House Roast. If the cup still misbehaves, read how to fix sour or bitter coffee.

Read next: Orea O2 Recipe for The Mad House Roast · Mad House Roast Cold Brew Recipe (100g to 800g) · Why Is My Coffee Sour or Bitter? Extraction, Explained

You know you love it.
xoxo, The Angry Roaster