Brewing Guide: The Clever Coffee Dripper

Oct 5, 2020

The Clever Coffee Dripper has to be one of the easiest brewing methods to master. It combines a period of immersion brewing after which the coffee is filtered – essentially it’s like brewing in a coffee press (cafetiere) without the sediment which can sometimes be left behind.

How does it work?

The secret to the Clever Dripper is the valve in the base. When it is closed the coffee remains in the filter cone but as soon as you place the dripper on a cup, the valve opens and the coffee is released through the filter paper.

Kit List

You obviously need a Clever Coffee Dripper (and filter papers) but in addition we would recommend the following:

Something to stir the coffee
A set of digital scales
a timer
A coffee grinder (you’ll get much better results if you grind your own coffee)
A kettle (we like to use a temperature controlled version)

Coffee to Water Ratio

The Clever Dripper works on a ratio of 60g coffee per litre of water. We generally make 350ml batches so use 21g coffee

Water Temperature

Heat loss is about the only issue with the Clever Dripper so you want to start with pretty much the hottest water you can. We had our kettle set to 98ºC for the method below but if you aren’t sure just boil your kettle and go for it!

The Method

We’ve created a video outlining the method or simply keep reading below.

Start by placing a filter paper into the coffee dripper. Use some of your water to thoroughly wet the filter paper. This will also warm up the dripper.

Now place the Dripper onto your serving vessel (jug, cup) and allow the water to release. This will warm up the serving vessel.

In the meantime grind your coffee (21g). We use the Wilfa range of grinders so to help get you started have suggested a couple of grind settings:

Wilfa Uniform

Wilfa Svart

Place the Coffee Dripper onto a set of scales and add your coffee.

Tare your scales. Start a timer. Add 350g of hot water (98ºC or above) stirring as you pour to remove any clumps of coffee.

Immediately place the lid on the Dripper.

After 30 seconds remove the lid. You should see a raft of coffee sitting on the surface. Gently tap this ‘bloom’ until it sinks.

Place the lid back on the Dripper.

We aim for a total brew time of 4 minutes. At our grind setting it takes around 1½ minutes for the water to release from the Dripper so we aim for a steep time of 2½ minutes. You might need to play around with these timings depending on your grind setting.

After 2½ minutes remove the lid and stir the coffee. This prevents any grounds from sticking to the sides during the release stage.