Baristas getting into hand-brewed coffee for the first time are presented with a bewildering array of devices to choose from. For some, this is exciting: I ended up with a kitchen drawerful of brewers in my early days of exploring. For others, it can be daunting: Why are there so many to choose from?! What do they all do? Which one is right for me? It may be stating the obvious, but the coffee you select will have a far greater impact on how your coffee tastes than your choice of brewer. The novice brewer then should buy their first brewer to meet the way they want to brew, rather than the flavours they’re trying to create.
There are three different ways of brewing filter coffees:
1. Immersion Brewers: You add ground coffee and water together in the brewer, let it sit for a few minutes before filtering it. The most famous example is the French Press/Plunger but today we'll take you through the Clever Coffee Dripper, aka CCC.
2. Pour Over Brewers: You pour water over a bed of ground coffee and the water runs through the loose bed. You will most likely see a V60 or batch brews used in cafes. We'll go through 2 beautiful ceramic brewers: the Etkin Dripper and the Origami Dripper.
3. AeroPress: This brewer is a category of its own. It's an immersion brewer with added pressure.
Immersion brewing with the Clever Coffee Dripper
The Clever Coffee Dripper (CCD) is by far the easiest to use of our three devices. If you're looking for a no nonsense way to brew delicious coffee, look no further! Other benefits are its size: you can brew up to 500ml at a time, and its consistency: it's very easy to control variables and repeat brews with the CCD. The CCD is what's known as an immersion brewer, which means all of the water and coffee hang out together for most of the brew time. This means that even though it looks similar to a pourover, it actually behaves more like a plunger, but with a cleaner body due to the paper filtration. The hidden strength of the CCD lies in its flexibility: not only are those variables easy to repeat, they're easy to manipulate independent of each other, which gives you lots of room to play if you like experimenting.
Clever Coffee Dripper Brew Guide
Tools
- CCD
- Filter papers
- Grinder
- Digital scales
- Timer
- Kettle or urn
- Cup or vessel
Ingredients & Targets
- 15g of your favourite filter roast coffee (lighter than espreso)
- 250g (or ml) of filtered water, or adjust to a coffee brew ratio of 16:1 (brew water: coffee)
- Target TDS: 1.23%-1.48%
Method
1. Bring your kettle to the appropriate temp (~94°C).
2. Insert filter paper into CCD.
3. Use hot water to thoroughly rinse filter paper and preheat device.
4. Grind 15g of coffee at a medium coarseness (18‐22 on a Baratza grinder).
5. Place CCD, with pre-wet filter paper on scale, add ground coffee and tare the weight.
6. Pour 50g of 94°C brewing water in the first 15 seconds. This allows the grinds to release the gas they contain and makes it easier to integrate them in to the brew while pouring.
7. Wait 15 seconds before pouring another 200g of brewing water over 15 seconds (during 0:30-1:00) in a steady circular motion.
8. At 2:15, drain into a carafe or pot.
9. After all liquid has dispensed, discard the used filter paper and rinse CCD.
10. Sit back, relax and sip your deliciously brewed coffee.
AeroPress
The Aeropress is a compact, syringe looking device for brewing coffee. Created by the inventor of the flying disk, the Aeropress has taken the world by storm and even has its very own competition. Like the CCD, the Aeropress is fairly easy to get started with and is a very versatile brewer. It’s also incredibly portable and makes a great travel companion, particularly with a Porlex grinder tucked neatly inside. One downside is the size: the Aeropress will only brew enough for one cup. Great for the solo coffee enthusiast but some households might need a his and hers. An alternative could be to create a concentrate of coffee and dilute with hot water to taste, we call it 'by pass'.
AeroPress Brew Guide
Tools
- AeroPress
- Filter papers
- Grinder
- Digital scales
- Timer
- Kettle or urn
- Cup or vessel
Ingredients & Targets
- 13g of your favourite filter roast coffee (lighter than espresso)
- 200g (or ml) of filtered water, or adjust to a Coffee Brew Ratio of 16.7:1 (brew water : coffee)
Method
1. Bring your kettle to the appropriate temp (~94°C).
2. Insert filter paper into Aeropress lid, and use hot water to thoroughly rinse.
3. Attach the rubber stopper with about 1cm to spare on to the base, and make sure there is no danger of slippage. Do not attach the lid or filter at this stage.
4. Invert the Aeropress so the rubber stopper is facing upwards so you can fill the brew chamber with grounds and water.
5. Use hot water to preheat device and then empty for the next steps.
6. Grind 13g of coffee at a fine-medium coarseness (14-18 on a Baratza grinder).
7. Place Aeropress on scale, add ground coffee and tare the weight.
8. Pour 200g of 94°C brewing water into Aeropress and start timer.
9. Gently stir for 10 seconds.
10. Add lid and steep for 2 minutes total.
11. At 2 minutes place your cup upside down on top of the Aeropress and, while gripping the cup and Aeropress brew chamber, flip so cup sits right way up on your bench with Aeropress on top ready for plunging.
12. Plunge into your cup. Plunge should take 15-30 seconds.
13. Plunge all the way down until you can’t anymore.
14. After all of the liquid has dispensed, remove the cap, point the Aeropress at a bin and hammer the base to shoot the coffee puck and filter into the bin.
15. Rinse Aeropress.
16. Sit back, relax and sip your deliciously brewed coffee.
The Pour Over - Origami or Etkin
The Origami is what’s known as a pourover: a cone-shaped device with a paper filter, where water is poured through the coffee bed before dripping into a cup or carafe below. There are many such devices; we picked the ceramic Origami for its consistency and relative ease-of-use. The device’s flat bottom and one hole make it easier to pool water in the device; while its wavy filters help keep the coffee in contact with the water. The Origami is also the brewer in our line-up which requires the most expertise – there are more variables at play and you’ll need a bit of practice to become consistent with it. That hard work will pay off however, as it can produce some really tasty brews! You’ll also need a bit of extra kit to make pourovers – while a normal kettle will suffice for other brew methods, a gooseneck kettle will help you get the most out of your Origami.
The second pour over brewer we love is the Etkin Dripper. It's deep ridges and flat bottom promotes a more even brew extraction, producing a more balanced and sweeter cup. It even made a name for itself willing the 2024 Brewer's Cup Championship!
Origami Dripper Brew Guide
Tools
- Origami
- Filter Papers
- Grinder (medium/coarse)
- Digital scales
- Timer
- Kettle or urn
- Cup or vessel
Ingredients & Targets
- 15g of your favourite filter roast coffee (lighter than espresso)
- 250g (or ml) of filtered water, or adjust to a Coffee Brew Ratio of 16.7:1 (brew water : coffee)
- 94 degree celcius water
- Target TDS: 1.25% ‐ 1.5%
Method
1. Bring your kettle to the appropriate temp (~94°C).
2. Insert filter paper into Origami.
3. Use hot water to thoroughly rinse filter paper and preheat device.
4. Grind 15g of coffee at a medium coarseness (18‐22 on a Baratza grinder).
5. Switch on timer and pour 50g of hot water in 15s in a steady and circular motion to release gas from the bed of coffee. Make sure the bed is fully saturated.
6. At 0:30min, pour 100g of water for 15 seconds. Stay in the centre and avoid pouring into the gaps of the filter.
7. At 1:15min, pour the last 100g of water for 15 seconds.,
8. Your total brew time should be 2min 15s.
9. Sit back, relax and sip your deliciously brewed coffee.
Etkin Brew Guide - 2 Cup Dripper
Tools
- Etkin Dripper
- Filter papers
- Grinder (medium/coarse)
- Digital scales
- Timer
- Kettle or urn
- Cup or vessel
Ingredients & Targets
- 18g of your favourite filter roast coffee (lighter than espresso)
- 250g (or ml) of filtered water, or adjust to a coffee brew ratio of 1:15.1 (brew water:coffee)
- 94 degree celcius water
- Target TDS: 1.25% - 1.5%
Method
- Bring your kettle to the appropriate temp (~94°C).
- Insert filter paper into Etkin.
- Use hot water to thoroughly rinse filter paper and preheat device.
- Grind 18g of coffee at a medium coarseness.
- Switch on timer and pour 50g of hot water in 30 sec in a steady and circular motion to release gas from the bed of coffee. Make sure the bed is fully saturated.
- At 0:30min, pour the last 100g of water for 30 sec.
- At 1:15min, pour the last 100g of water for 30 sec.
- Your total brew time should be 2min 15 sec.
- Sit back, relax and sup your deliciously brewed coffee.
