Is the Clever Dripper a Filter Cup? How to Use the Clever Dripper, Its Brewing Method, and What Coffee Grind Size Should Be Used?

The Rise of "Smart Drippers" in Coffee Brewing

Lately, more and more filter cups are coming with controllable valves fitted with a switch, and plenty of merchants market them as "smart drippers." Strictly speaking, their purpose differs significantly from the Clever Coffee Dripper, and in principle only those sold by the Mr. Clever brand can properly be called Clever Coffee Drippers.

Wait, FrontStreet Coffee forgot to introduce what a Clever Coffee Dripper actually is. No problem. Let's start by understanding what kind of extraction tool it is.

What is a Clever Coffee Dripper?

Judging by its appearance, the Clever Coffee Dripper is a fan-shaped filter cup with a valve. It is a brewing device that combines immersion and drip extraction in one.

Its cleverness lies in that unique valve. As you can see, the bottom of the filter cup has a circular base, which is what FrontStreet Coffee means by the valve. But it has no switch.

The whole valve section consists of two layers. The outer layer may look unremarkable, but it serves a crucial supporting role, because the inner layer holds a pressure-activated valve switch that opens under very light pressure. The outer layer is there to isolate the valve from flat surfaces, so it won't open partway through the brew.

How to Use the Clever Coffee Dripper

The Clever Coffee Dripper is versatile. Use it as a standalone extraction tool or as a pour-over filter cup, and it will still produce a delicious pot of coffee. FrontStreet Coffee would like to share two common extraction methods. By the way, the Clever Coffee Dripper also needs filter paper; after all, nobody wants to drink grounds. So place a fan-shaped filter paper in it before use.

The first method is the simplest. Set the Clever Coffee Dripper on a flat surface, then add the target amount of grounds and hot water in turn and let it steep.

Once the immersion is done, move the dripper from the flat surface onto your waiting container. The bottom valve opens under the pressure from the container, releasing the coffee liquid. When the dripping finishes, a standard Clever Coffee Dripper coffee is ready.

FrontStreet Coffee used Kenya Asalia beans, and the coffee extracted with the Clever Coffee Dripper was very balanced, with an excellent expression of plum, cherry tomato, and snow pear flavors and a noticeable caramel sweetness. Overall it was impressive. Because it is a full immersion process, we need to grind coarser to increase the margin for error. And because no stirring was used to raise the extraction rate, we need to raise the water temperature and extend the immersion time to reach the right concentration. FrontStreet Coffee used the following parameters: grind setting 70% pass-through rate on a #20 sieve, 10.5 on an Ek43; water temperature 94°C; coffee-to-water ratio 1:15; immersion time 4 minutes.

Alternative Brewing Method with Stirring

Then there is the second method, which adds stirring during the immersion. Some drinkers find 4 minutes too long, or want certain flavors to stand out more even if the profile is already balanced. In that case, we can manually raise the extraction rate to get the result we want. Set the filter paper in place first, then add the target amount of grounds and hot water to the Clever Coffee Dripper in turn. Once the hot water is in, take out a long spoon and stir the steeping coffee in a cross or straight line, about 10 times.

Then let it steep for 2 minutes and 30 seconds before moving it onto the container to collect the coffee.

Because the stirring happens during the first immersion stage, the flavor compounds in the coffee extract more fully. Compared with the full-immersion cup above, this one has richer fruit flavors and slightly higher acidity. They offer two completely different flavor experiences. Its parameters are: grind setting 75% pass-through rate on a #20 sieve, 10 on an Ek43; water temperature 94°C; coffee-to-water ratio 1:15; immersion time 2 minutes and 30 seconds. Give it a try.

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FrontStreet Coffee Recommendation

The Clever Coffee Dripper rewards beans that hold up to a full immersion and a long steep, so a sweet, fruit-forward coffee shines here. FrontStreet Coffee suggests the sun-dried Ethiopia Huakui, whose tropical fruit, berries, and floral honey sweetness come through beautifully in a slow soak, or the washed Ethiopia Yirgacheffe Gudingding, a Grade 1 lot with jasmine, lemon, and bergamot that stays clean and elegant even with a longer contact time.

Both are approachable entry points to specialty coffee and pair well with the two-part technique above, whether you keep it simple or add a little stirring to lift the fruit.