18% of 240 verified Kalita Wave 185owners don't recommend it — based on real owner comments from Reddit, enthusiast forums, and YouTube.
For balance: 73% recommend it. This page collects the complaints so you know what you're signing up for — read the full owner report for both sides. How we score
“My stainless Kalita Wave 185 was clogging due to the filter collapsing onto the drainage holes. It seems to be a common problem in this model”— okfreedom on Reddit
“I then got a Kalita Wave 185. It was okay but I never had a coffee from it that I preferred to the same coffee brewed in a Chemex. The Kalita Wave coffee was always muddled and muted compared to the same coffee in Chemex.”— Acavia8 on Reddit
“And I gotta say this week of coffee has been some of the worst coffee I’ve ever brewed.”— Superrandy on Reddit
“I only use Kalita Wave 185 because of the size constraints of AP”— makspyat on Reddit
“Every time I go to use the Wave or V60 I get inconsistent results and I keep going back to the Switch.”— YellowBreakfast on Reddit
“1x Kalita Wave 185 - never use this anymore either”— TheNaughtyLemur on Reddit
“I struggle to achieve results I'm happy with from either my glass Kalita 155 or my stainless steel Tsubame Kalita 185. My desired normal dose/volume is 20g/300ml and that seems to be a no-mans land for the Wave drippers.”— jsteed on Reddit
“That's way too fast of an extraction on a kalita wave & especially for such a light roast”— @Wheresthesoul on YouTube
“I bought the stainless steel kalita wave 185 and ended up returning it because of clogging issues.”— PinkDucks on Reddit
“I never use the Kalita wave, just don't see a reason to use it over the stagg x.”— fifty849 on Reddit
“the generic ones with multiple holes work as well or better than my Kalita Wave 185 for consistent and even drawdown/predictable extraction.”— MuTangClan on Reddit
“I have lots of clogging problems with my Kalita Wave 185, even with a coarse grind size; I had switched to Chemex exclusively for this reason.”— cab- on Reddit
Not complaints — practical notes from owners that didn't affect the score.
“I use the Kalita wave 185 filters and prefer not using the negotiator.”— BradleyD1146 on Reddit
“I ended up buying the ceramic Kalita Wave 185. Its been interesting to compare the flavors to the v60 so far.”— Superrandy on Reddit
“Can confirm that the Kalita filter fits just fine. IMO, the BB filter is much better and not much more expensive than the Kalita filter.”— CoffeeNoob2 on Reddit
“Is it the stainless steel version? Those are prone to slow flow.”— North_Dog_5748 on Reddit
“I honestly found the small nuanced flavors got lost when I brewed with the origami”— beanislife on Reddit
“The brewer itself has some flaws that can lead to 'clogging' - I prefer the term 'choking', particularly with the old stainless steel models (not the Tsubame version, I have one and it has no issues).”— Rikki_Bigg on Reddit
“Was having a similar increase in drawdown when I first started using it, but minimal agitation (i.e. less pours and/or drip assist) should solve a lot of it”— busstopinhounslowatx on Reddit
“This may seem silly, but what device are you brewing into? My tsubame wave, if I put it directly on a mug, will stall out because there's nowhere for air to escape the mug.”— ORGrown on Reddit