When the US Department of Justice released its latest tranche of Jeffrey Epstein documents, part of the Epstein files, a release running to more than 3.5 million documents, images, and videos, most of the attention focused on the names, travel logs, and previously unseen exchanges, including emails, financial records, and personal correspondence. Tucked inside that same cache was something far more mundane: a detailed step-by-step pour-over coffee manual.The email, forwarded in July 2013 to Karyna Shuliak, his longtime-girlfriend, whom the files say he intended to marry and who, according to his will, is set to inherit over $100 million of whatever remains of his estate, outlines a highly specific V60 coffee brewing method. Epstein offered to show her in person and provided detailed instructions so she could try it herself. Since resurfacing online, influencers and coffee enthusiasts have begun recreating what social media now calls the “Jeffrey Epstein coffee.”The method centres on a V60, a Japanese cone-shaped manual coffee dripper that uses paper filters. Popular in specialty coffee circles, it’s prized for its clean extraction and precise control over brewing.The instructions specify precise steps down to seconds, weights, and volumes, reading less like a casual kitchen note and more like a lab protocol, surprisingly detailed for someone who must have been very busy, suggesting he had plenty of time to perfect the process.
- 24 grams of coffee — that’s the weight of the ground beans.
- 360 grams of water — measured by weight, not volume, which is standard in speciality brewing.
- A 1:15 ratio of coffee to water (24g to 360g), considered balanced and fairly strong.
- 202°F water, which converts to roughly 94°C, just below boiling.
- A grinder setting marked “-7K”, likely referring to a relatively fine grind suited to pour-over extraction.
Before brewing, he instructs the recipient to rinse the paper filter with hot water (to remove paper taste), add the ground coffee, shake it flat, and press a small indentation in the centre with a thumb. That indentation helps water flow evenly through the grounds.
How Epstein makes his coffee, DOJ files reveal full step-by-step guide/ Image: DOJ
Then comes the timed pouring sequence, measured down to the second:
- 00:00 — pour water until the total weight reaches 60 grams. This is the “bloom” stage, where hot water hits the grounds and releases trapped gas.
- 00:30 — continue pouring until the scale reads 200 grams, spiralling from the centre outward.
- 01:10 — pour up to 300 grams, same spiralling motion.
- 01:45 — pour up to 360 grams.
- 03:00 — brewing should be complete; remove the dripper.
He also includes adjustments: If the coffee tastes sour, it is under-extracted: Grind finer. If it tastes bitter, it is over-extracted: Grind coarser. If it feels watery: Increase the coffee dose.In the same thread, Epstein mentions a Tonx coffee subscription, a high-end roast-to-order service founded by Tony Konecny, later acquired by Blue Bottle Coffee in 2014 and now operating as YESPLZ Coffee. Tony shared in a social media reel that, according to the DOJ files, credit card statements and receipts show Epstein had ordered the coffee for at least a couple of months. He said it was wild that Epstein, of all people, was one of his many high-profile clients when he was selling beans online in 2013, for which he now even has an email as proof, showing Epstein personally vouching for his coffee. The email to Epstein’s girlfriend also included recommendations for another coffee brand and numerous Amazon and other links to assemble a complete starter brewing kit, showing how specific and meticulous he was in curating his coffee setup.He may have been a coffee connoisseur among his elite circles, meticulously curating beans, brewing techniques, and starter kits, a surprisingly precise taste for someone with so many other claims on his time. But all of that doesn’t even begin to obscure the broader reality: Epstein was arrested in 2019 on federal charges related to sex trafficking of minors and died later that year in a New York jail cell. The ongoing document releases continue to shed light on his activities, associates, and sprawling estate, revealing many names, shocking details, and other dark and disturbing aspects of Epstein’s life. But what stands out here is the contrast. In between emails about logistics and travel, there is a meticulous breakdown of pour timings, gram weights and water temperature. Online, some have found dark irony in the precision. Others are simply treating it as a technically sound V60 guide and brewing it at home.Strip away the name, and it is a standard specialty coffee method: measured dose, controlled spiral pours, three-minute total extraction. It is not revolutionary, nor amateur, but the precision hints at just how particular his taste and meticulous habits must have been.
