The Pulsar was my main brewer for all of 2025 and most of 2024, but for the past few months, I’ve been getting back into the Orea.
I originally got this two brewer years ago, after heaving a lot of praise online for the v3. Orea is always doing something annoying innovative by constantly introducing new brewer revisions, mine is the v4—but I only use the fast bottom (Orea does have several neat and well designed products, their marketing just drives me insane). Anyway, that’s neither here nor there because after an initial period of learning the brewer, (which is always a pain, making you question everything you thought you knew) I put the Orea down and haven’t touched it much since.
The Pulsar was so consistent that I didn’t really feel the need to mess with that, but the bigger reason was that the Orea (with negotiated filters) would often stall. I needed to be very particular about my kettle agitation to get a consistent brew. A stalled, muted, over extracted cup is one of the worst brewing outcomes, and I’ve lost many doses to that tragedy.
Fast forward to 2026 and I got the itch the change up my routine, one new piece of gear made returning to the Orea possible; the MHW-3Bomber Rain Splitter.
It’s basically a melodrip; it acts as a hat shower screen and disperses water into tiny droplets, removing the variable of kettle agitation. This has worked wonders with the Orea, brews have been consistent and delicious! I enjoy taste profile of a flat bottom plus low bypass combo, it’s been similar but different enough to my Pulsar brews to be enjoyable. There is still some setup faff compared to a V60 because I’m negotiating filters, but way less than the Pulsar (can you ever get that thing truly clean…).
It’s been fun refining my recipe; I’m a more experienced brewer than I was in 2024, so modifying the parameters to fit my taste requires a lot less friction. Not a full review or anything, but I wanted to share the recipe that’s worked well for me with Ultralight coffees from a variety of roasters.
Recipe
Specs
- Orea V4 (fast bottom)
- Negotiated Cafec Abaca V60 papers (with a little origami they fit well)
- Third Wave Water Light Roast Diluted to 1/3 Strength at 92C/198F
- 1:16 to 1:17 ratio depending on roast, funk, and flavor profile
- Dose: 10 to 15 grams
- 525 microns +-10 using the SSP 64mm Brew Burrs on the Zerno (For my usual 15g of coffee. Grind finer when using a smaller dose)
Pour Structure
Divide your total water into four equal pours.
- Pour 1/Bloom: Gentle pour, low to the bed, in a spiral pattern to evenly wet all the coffee
- Wait 30 to 45 seconds depending on freshness and how wheatgrass your coffee is (If 45s tastes muted go down to 30s)
- While you wait, place the Rain Splitter on the Orea and tare the scale (Note: You need to remember the target weight, it will be three times your pour volume)
- For the final three pours: fill the rain splitter as fast as your kettle allows (I leave the Rain Splitter around one turn lower than its highest position)
- Start subsequent pours when the water is around 1cm above the coffee bed (flow rate will vary bean to bean)
Total brew time varies based on the coffee and a wide time range can taste good, but my brews generally fall between 2:05 and 2:45 with a 30 second bloom.
Builds
- If the coffee is too weak, extend the bloom or grind finer
- If it’s muted, grind coarser or use a 30s bloom
- If you want a punchier cup, lower the ratio (use less water)
Let me know if you try out the recipe; this post is basically a prelude for one I want to write about how much I hate kettle agitation, but I need to give the V60 another shot before I collect my thoughts on that topic.
