Four to Six: Pour Over Coffee Method
I had found the 4:6 method that Tetsu Kasuya invented going back a few years and adopted it for my morning ritual, but over the years my adherence to the process had veered further and further away. Last night as the YouTube algorithm started chucking coffee videos at me, I went back and rewatched it.
This morning, I made the coffee with as much precision as I could and the results were spectacular. If you have a V60, Chemex or other pour over that lends well to this method, you owe it to yourself to try it.
My measurements for this morning’s brew of YES PLZ Mix 265 was as follows:
| Grind | Coffee | Temp | Water | Timing |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Coarse | 50g | 199°F (93°C) | 750ml | 45 sec |
The grind setting on my Fellow Ode Grinder was between 6 and 7. The ratio of coffee to water is 1:15 so adjust accordingly for how many coffee cups you’re making. The start times of each pour is roughly around 45 second intervals. And then to namesake of the pour itself.
Four
The first 40% (300ml in my case) determines the sweetness or brightness[1] of the coffee. You split this pour up into two and the go shorter first pour for sweeter and longer first pour for brighter. I went with 80ml, then 220ml.
Six
The last 60% (450ml in my case) can be completed in one, two or three pours and depending on the number of pours will go from lighter to stronger. I opted for strong and completed in three equally split (150ml) pours.
And there you have a sweet, strong cup of coffee ☕.
There’s plenty of other instructions of this method you can find if you google 4:6 method like this one and a built in calculator one here.
- I’ll admit I’ve yet to capture what brightness in this context means ↩︎