What Is a Clever Dripper?
When it comes to coffee cones or drippers, you are probably familiar with the Hario V60, which is the most popular one. Another one is a Chemex, the famous pour-over pot.
The Clever Dripper, which looks more like the Hario V60 than a Chemex, is another method of brewing drip coffee. While it looks like the V60, it isn’t considered a pour-over coffee maker. The Clever is actually unique in it’s way of brewing. It is called Immersion brewing, and it combines pour over but with the ability to steep your coffee longer, kind of like a French Press.
Click here to learn more about Clever Dripper, read the customer reviews and buy it.
How Does a Clever Dripper Work?
The first few steps of brewing using a Clever Dripper are somewhat similar to Pour Over:
- Place the filter and wet it to get rid of any paper taste.
- Put in your coffee ground and pour in the water.
- You can pour down the water all at once or slowly. You don’t have to pour the water in increments like with traditional pour-over.
At this point, the Clever Dripper, unlike the V60, will hold the coffee in it and it will steep. Due to its unique mechanism with its shut off valve, the coffee doesn’t pour down until you’ve put the dripper over your mug or carafe. You can let your coffee steep for as long as you want, but 2 to 3 minutes is the recommended time. After it’s done steeping, place the Clever Dripper over your cup and the coffee will start to pour down.
How Does Clever Dripper Compare to Chemex When It Comes To Taste?
The main difference between these devices is retention and how long the coffee is kept before it’s poured into a mug/server.
- The Chemex is designed to be used with thick paper filters that retain a lot of the coffee’s oils. That, combined with the coarseness of the coffee ground and the slow pour of water, coffee is released slowly but the result is a light and clean cup of coffee.
- The Clever Dripper uses a lighter type of paper filters, but the dripper itself still contains the coffee ground perfectly. However, due to the fact the the coffee steeps in the dripper rather than pour down right away, it results in a bolder cup of coffee, almost as bold as a cup of French Press.
Click here to learn more about Chemex, read the customer reviews and buy it.
How Does Clever Dripper Compare to French Press?
We’ve already stated that Clever is the closest thing to French Press as both allow you to steep the coffee longer. However, since the French Press pot keeps the coffee ground in it even after you’ve pressed down the plunger, it will still continue to steep, though way less than before plunging. This means that a cup of French Press coffee is even stronger than a Clever’s.
Click here to learn more about French Press and the Best Press Pots by Bodum.
What Kind of Filter Does a Clever Dripper Use?
For a Clever, you’ll need a paper filter size #4.
Does It Work With a Permanent Filter?
A permanent filter of the right size could work. However, it might pop up a bit and not sit correctly as a paper filter, which once wet, will mold to the shape of the dripper.
Clever Dripper vs. Bonavita, Are They Different?
- Bonavita’s Porcelain Dripper is actually an immersion dripper, just like Clever. The brewing method is the same, but there are a few design difference.
- With the Clever Dripper, the shut-off valve is designed to release the coffee once it is placed on top of a mug. It is also made of BPA-free plastic.
- The Bonavita Dripper has a switch valve. When you’re done steeping you’ll switch the valve to release the coffee. It’s made of porcelain so it is of higher quality than the Clever.
- The porcelain of the Bonavtia will actually help retain heat better than Clever’s plastic.
- Capacity wise, the Clever dripper is 18 oz while the Bonavita is 16 oz.
Click here to learn more about the Bonavita Dripper, read the customer reviews and buy it.
What’s The Difference Between Bonavita Porcelain and Bonavita V-Style Dripper?
The Bonavita V-style dripper is actually a pour-over dripper, much like the Hario V60. It doesn’t have the steeping feature of the Bonavita Dripper or Clever.
Watch How the Bonavita Dripper Works:
