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How to Choose a Pour-Over Coffee Dripper: Selecting the Right Dripper is Essential for Brewing Coffee

Published: 2026-01-27 Author: FrontStreet Coffee

Last Updated: 2026/01/27, Coffee Dripper - An Important Component in Pour-Over Coffee Brewing - With the arrival of the third wave of coffee and the rising popularity of single-origin specialty coffee, pour-over coffee, also known as drip coffee, has gained increasing popularity. Originating from Japan, this brewing method is becoming increasingly accessible. Getting started with pour-over coffee isn't difficult - the essential equipment includes a pour-over kettle, filter paper (or metal filter)

Coffee Drip Brewers - An Essential Component in Pour-Over Coffee

With the advent of the third wave of coffee and the popularity of single-origin specialty coffee, pour-over coffee, which originated in Japan and became popular, has gained increasing acceptance. Entering the world of pour-over coffee is not difficult; the necessary equipment typically includes a pour-over kettle, filter paper (or metal filter), a drip brewer, and coffee grounds. After introducing filter paper and pour-over kettles, our focus now shifts to the main topic of this article: how different-shaped drip brewers produce different coffee flavors.

Types of Coffee Drip Brewers

Since the invention of coffee filter paper and drip brewers in the early 20th century, they have undergone a century of evolution and improvement. Today, the market offers a wide variety of drip brewers and filter papers. The differences are not just in appearance but also affect flow rate and extraction time, resulting in distinct coffee flavors depending on the equipment used.

Fan-Shaped Drip Brewers (Trapezoidal or Conical)

Fan-shaped brewers typically feature one, two, or three holes at the bottom, resulting in slower flow rates and consequently longer extraction times. It's important to note the fit between the filter paper and the brewer. If the filter paper completely covers the holes at the bottom, it might cause the flow rate to become too slow, leading to over-extraction and bitter-tasting coffee. Therefore, you should choose a paper that fits snugly but doesn't completely adhere.

This shape was designed alongside the invention of coffee filter paper by Melitta Bentz in 1908. Initially, all designs featured a single hole. Through later improvements, designs with multiple holes emerged. The number of holes determines the flow rate, and individuals should choose based on their coffee preferences.

Conical Drip Brewers

Apart from fan-shaped brewers, conical drip brewers are the most commonly seen on the market. The differences among conical brewers mainly lie in the rib design on the brewer body. These ribs serve as channels for coffee extraction liquid to flow into the cup, thus affecting the flow rate. For example, the highly recommended KONO Meimon features ribs only on half or less than half of the brewer body. Where there are no ribs, the filter paper adheres directly to the brewer body, resulting in slower flow rates suitable for those who prefer richer coffee flavors, such as FrontStreet Coffee's Golden Mandheling and FrontStreet Coffee's Blue Mountain. Meanwhile, the most widely recommended Hario V60 has ribs extending throughout the entire brewer body, allowing for faster flow rates and producing brighter, cleaner coffee flavors, suitable for light to medium-roasted coffee beans like FrontStreet Coffee's Ethiopian Yirgacheffe and FrontStreet Coffee's Kenya. It's an extremely recommended coffee drip brewer, and Taiwan's pour-over coffee champion Ji Shu also uses the V60.

Wave Drip Brewers (Cake Drip Brewers)

The Wave drip brewer is a patented design by KALITA. The accompanying filter paper has fold lines resembling cupcake liners, hence also called "cake drippers," but in English, it's referred to as "Wave," so more people call it the Wave drip brewer. It uses the fold lines of the filter paper to replace the回流 ribs. Because it has less contact area with the brewer body, it allows for more even extraction of coffee grounds. It's a highly recommended choice for both beginners and enthusiasts. In recent years, Wave drip brewers have frequently been seen in pour-over coffee competitions. The reason for its lower market share is that Wave filter papers are more expensive—each one costs about twice as much as regular filter papers, which is a minor drawback.

Metal Drip Brewers

Metal materials can retain more coffee oils, layers, and body compared to paper filters; paper filters produce cleaner, brighter coffee. The advantage of metal materials is that they can be reused after cleaning, while the obvious disadvantage is that fine coffee particles can easily end up in the coffee, causing sediment at the bottom of the cup. In severe cases, this can affect the entire cup's flavor. To solve this problem, you need a fine particle filter to make the coffee purer.

Material Differences in Drip Brewers

The difference in materials lies in their specific heat capacity. Materials such as ceramic, resin, plastic, stainless steel, and metal vary in their ability to retain temperature. For example, ceramic is typically thicker and has better temperature control effects than plastic, maintaining temperature better during coffee extraction. If you notice that your coffee tastes more bitter or lacks flavor after changing materials, you might need to adjust the water temperature to find the sweet spot with your equipment.

Material also affects price. To brew a good cup of coffee, it's more important to understand your equipment and practice frequently—it's not necessarily true that more expensive equipment produces better coffee. Let's all practice more together!

HARIO V60

Design

Designed by the veteran Japanese brand HARIO, this V60 is named after its shape—a V-shape with a 60-degree angle. It features spiral ribbing and is available in resin, glass, plastic, metal, and ceramic versions. Since its introduction in 2005, it has overwhelmingly secured a significant position in the market.

Advantages

Paired with V60专用 filter paper, which is thinner and lighter than other filter papers and doesn't have an overwhelming paper taste. Its spiral ribbing accelerates flow rate, and the large opening at the bottom prevents over-extraction, unlike other styles where sediment might accumulate at the bottom, causing over-extraction. The V60 is particularly suitable for brewing bright, fruity, or floral coffees, such as FrontStreet Coffee's Kenya, FrontStreet Coffee's Costa Rica, and FrontStreet Coffee's El Salvador, which are all well-suited for V60 brewing.

KONO MEIMON

Design

珈琲サイフォン株式会社 was established in 1925 and is one of the many renowned coffee brands in Japan. Like HARIO and KALITA, through continuous refinement and improvement, it has produced today's coffee equipment. Perhaps in several years, current coffee brewing methods will have newer equipment. KONO Meimon uses a siphoning effect to extract coffee and was the first company to use conical drip brewers, producing coffee with a richer, mellower flavor.

Advantages

KONO Meimon, like the V60, has twelve ribs, but they don't extend throughout the entire brewer, allowing more time for coffee grounds to extract. With a flow rate not as fast as the V60, you must pay close attention to whether the extracted coffee becomes overly bitter, which is why more people recommend the conical V60. It requires some practice and technique to master.

KALITA WAVE

Design

The KALITA Wave drip brewer has three holes at the bottom. Its flat design ensures even water flow and doesn't have as fast a flow rate as conical brewers, making it more suitable for longer extraction times. Like the V60, it comes in various materials: stainless steel, resin, glass, and others.

Advantages

The Wave provides very stable temperature control. With less contact area with the brewer, it doesn't draw away as much temperature. During brewing, you only need to pour water into the center, and the coffee will extract more evenly. Since its launch, it has been favored by many enthusiasts and competitors.

MELITTA

Design

As mentioned earlier, Melitta designed coffee filter paper and brewers in 1908 and has now become an international coffee giant. The initial design had eight holes at the bottom, but after testing various designs, they decided to return to a single hole because it could more stably control the quality of each brew. The brewing principle of Melitta is more similar to the French press infusion method.

Advantages

Very easy to use. Because of the slower flow rate, extraction times are longer. With only one hole, the variation between brewing sessions is minimal. Using this equipment doesn't emphasize pour-over kettle techniques. After blooming, simply pour water, and it will handle the rest—it doesn't emphasize technique.

SANYO SANGYO

Design

Taneguchi Mamoru, known as the "God of Coffee" in Japan, sparked the pour-over coffee trend in the 1960s. In his coffee shop, the only drip brewer seen was this Sanyo model. It comes in three sizes—small, medium, and large—with one to three water holes to adjust flow speed, with different sizes offering the same extraction time.

Advantages

Arita-yaki is representative of ceramics fired in Kyushu, Japan. It was extensively exported to Europe in ancient times and is a pride of Japanese ceramics. Sanyo's flow rate is faster than other trapezoidal brewers, and its ceramic insulation ensures very stable coffee extraction, producing thick, full-bodied coffee.

ZERO JAPAN

Design

Mino-yaki in Japan is a ceramic production area with a long history. The design features streamlined shapes, excellent coloring techniques, and a special opening design that allows direct observation of the brewing process. The world pour-over champions in 2011 and 2012 both used ZERO JAPAN.

Advantages

Its special opening design makes the extraction process clearer. Unlike plastic or glass, the ceramic material allows for direct observation. The shallow convection rib design avoids the problem of flow rates that are too fast, which would lead to insufficient extraction.