Updated October 2026 · Filter Recipe Series
Every recipe in the Filter Recipe Series gives a brew time, from 2:00 for the darkest roasts to 4:00 for the lightest. Treat it as a rough indication. It's less important than the dose, ratio, grind and temperature, and it's mainly there to tell you if your grind is too fine and the brew is stalling.
The brew time is a ballpark, not a target. If you go over, which is quite common with a 60-second bloom and several Melodrip pours, don't panic. Use it to spot a grind that's too fine and stalling, and aim for a nice flow of about 3 g/s.
Flow rate
What you're really looking for is a nice flow rate of approximately 3 g/s. A scale that shows flow rate, such as a Bookoo, makes this easy: you can see the rate live as you pour and as the bed drains.
The coffee is draining steadily at around 3 g/s. You're in the right zone, even if the clock says you're over.
The flow slows to a trickle and the bed stops draining. That's a stall, and it usually means you've ground too fine. Go a little coarser next time.
Keep your pours small and steady through the Melodrip, with the water just above the coffee bed, and the flow takes care of itself. Then taste: sour means extract more, bitter means extract less.
Running over
The brew time includes the 60-second bloom, so with a full bloom and several small pours through a Melodrip, running past it is common. If the flow was steady, the coffee is fine.
Don't rush the bloom or dump the water in to make up time. A proper bloom matters far more than the clock.
Swap out the cup when it reaches your yield. The last of the drawdown is the most bitter part, so you lose nothing.
The times
The brew time is the total from your first pour, including the 60-second bloom. It rises steadily with density, about a second per recipe: in general, lighter roasts need a longer contact time and darker roasts a shorter one. These are ballpark figures, not targets.
0.330 g/ml, the darkest roasts (Recipe 1)
0.390 g/ml, the middle (Recipe 61)
0.450 g/ml, the lightest roasts (Recipe 121)
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