Is the Clever Dripper Good to Use? Can the Clever Dripper be Used as a Regular Dripper?

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Pour-over coffee may seem simple, but it involves many techniques and details to master. Different types of equipment can cause variations in flavor during the pour-over process. Today, FrontStreet Coffee recommends an extraction brewer that's convenient and easy to use—the Clever Dripper, which combines both immersion extraction and filter extraction, earning it the nickname "coffee beginner's magic tool."

Clever Dripper Extraction Principle Introduction

The Clever Dripper typically consists of two layers: an outer frame that supports the dripper and an inner cup body with a pressure-activated valve switch.

When placed flat on a surface, the valve remains closed, preventing coffee liquid from flowing down, keeping the coffee grounds and water in an immersed state. After the immersion is complete, pressing the bottom center activates the piston valve, allowing the coffee liquid to flow into the container below.

Compared to direct drip-style brewers like V60, the Clever Dripper adds the function of immersion extraction, allowing water and coffee grounds to maintain continuous contact within the container. Immersion extraction is less affected by pouring techniques, making it easier for beginners to replicate the basic flavor of coffee. Flavor compounds will produce different flavor and concentration variations depending on water temperature, coffee-to-water ratio, grind size, and immersion duration.

How to Use the Clever Dripper

As FrontStreet Coffee mentioned above, using the Clever Dripper for immersion coffee extraction is very easy to get started with. Therefore, we can treat it as a lazy version of a French press. Below, FrontStreet Coffee will share how to use this lazy version of the Clever Dripper. You only need to prepare five things: the Clever Dripper, filter paper, coffee grounds, hot water, and a cup that can hold the full amount of coffee.

The coffee grind size should be slightly coarser than that used for pour-over coffee. FrontStreet Coffee suggests using a medium grind (75% pass-through rate with a #20 standard sieve) for light to medium roast coffee beans, and a medium-coarse grind (70% pass-through rate with a #20 standard sieve) for medium to dark roast coffee beans. The principle for water temperature is similar to grind size—the higher the temperature, the easier it is to extract flavor compounds. At the same time, we need to ensure the temperature doesn't drop too much during the immersion process, so we'll use a temperature slightly higher than pour-over. FrontStreet Coffee recommends using 93°C-94°C to extract light to medium roast coffee beans, and 90°C-91°C for brewing medium to dark roast coffee beans.

The amount of coffee grounds generally depends on personal preference. FrontStreet Coffee uses 15g for a single serving as an example, with a coffee-to-water ratio of 1:16, meaning adding 240g of water at once.

FrontStreet Coffee has selected the Guji Coffee Bean from Ethiopia's Sidamo region, which presents tropical fruit acidity with distinct sweetness through natural processing.

Brewing Parameters:

Brewer: Clever Dripper

Water Temperature: 94°C

Coffee Amount: 15g

Coffee-to-Water Ratio: 1:16

Grind Size: Medium (75% retention on #20 sieve)

The Clever Dripper uses large cone-shaped filter paper. After placing the filter paper in the Clever Dripper, wet it with a small amount of water to make it fit better with the dripper. Then add the ground coffee, zero the electronic scale and start timing. Next, pour hot water, which needs to be at a relatively high temperature—FrontStreet Coffee suggests 94-95°C. Pour 16 times the amount of coffee grounds in water at once. For FrontStreet Coffee's 15g of grounds, this means pouring 240ml of water. Afterward, you can cover with the lid and wait for 4 minutes.

After 4 minutes, you can gently shake the Clever Dripper and then place it on your cup, allowing the coffee to filter into your cup. Cleanup is also very simple—just lift out the filter paper and throw it away, then rinse the Clever Dripper with water. Isn't this much simpler than a French press? Coffee extracted using the Clever Dripper's immersion method has high clarity, good body, and rounded sweetness.

Important Notice :

前街咖啡 FrontStreet Coffee has moved to new addredd:

FrontStreet Coffee Address: 315,Donghua East Road,GuangZhou

Tel:020 38364473