The Ultimate Clever Dripper Technique

Thanks for sharing our approach, James, and for the shoutout.

My great grandmother had a "similar" technique. She boil the the water on the stove top, turn off the heat and pour the coffee into the water. After a couple minutes she would pour that mixture over the paper filter and let it drain. I liked her coffee the most, but for some reason never repeated her technique. Watching this made me want to try it again

Very cool trick! The reason is that if coffee was put in first, the fine coffee particles would get into the filter paper before swelling by water. The swelling process causes volume expansion of the coffee particles thereby clogging the filter paper. If coffee was added later, the fine powders would have time to expand before reaching to the pores of the coffee filter.

This is a simple technique but I have bad memory so I'm writing down for anyone like me lol 15g coffee, 250ml hot water 1. Slightly fold two parts of the filter and place it on the dripper 2. Water first, coffee second. Give it a little stir 3. Steep for 2 minutes. Optional: give it a gentle shake 30 seconds before drawing the coffee out 4. Draw down! Done.

Here's the recipe: 15grams 250ml medium-fine grind STOP! WATER FIRST, then coffee stir steep for 2 mins break crust - wait 30 seconds 1 minute draw time

Thank you. Based upon your review and instructions I received my clever dripper today. The best cup of coffee in the last 10 years. I am 60, you are undoubtedly one of the foremost coffee experts in the world. Amazing😁

I bought one after watching this episode. Amazingly effortless to use. The coffee is clear and yet has better aftertaste. Thank you!

"This is a fantastic way to make coffee..." Yes, I recall brewing French Press and then filtering thru paper long before I was aware of Clever. Re slow or stalled drawdowns, I had been using Filtropa filters, but today used "official" Clever filters (Japan) supplied directly by Clever with a new brewer, and the drawdown was 30 seconds faster with Clever paper. Also the preheated soaked Clever filters weigh about 15g less, so I assume thinner paper holding less water. Finally, hybrid method, pour half of water into Clever, add your dose of ground coffee, then pour in the remaining half of the water. This was suggested by Clever. I find this easier than adding the coffee to all the water and then stirring without making a mess. (not sure James or anyone will see this comment made 16 months after the video when there's already 1500+ comments, oh well)

Other coffee people say Clever Dripper doesn't produce good coffee. Me: totally agree James say Clever Dripper is is easy, simple and produce great coffee. Me: totally agree

Really appreciate the grind size demonstration with the “brewler”! Could be an idea for a whole separate video, showing the grind size for every major brewing method combined in one video? ☕️

Huge fan of the Clever Dripper. It’s great for using when I was at the office and still get a fine brew. This technique was new but it works so well I’ll use it from now on. Thanks James.

Need to try this. Have the clever in the cupboard and use it from time to time when I only need one cup. Thank you James! This channel is truly an inspiration for coffee lovers.

Years ago I was looking for one of those filter machines. A review site I read said they used the Clever Dripper as a baseline to see how good all of the different machines were, and they were all somewhat worse, so I just bought the Clever Dripper. It's been great!

Just went out and bought a Clever Dripper, followed this guide, and it came out great. Thanks James!

I think the thing that makes the clever especially great for the ultra-budget conscious: the fact that water goes in first means that you dont need a gooseneck. You can get into specialty coffee for $30 and a cheap hario grinder (or have the roaster grind it) and a scale. This is great!

Love my clever! One of my first real home brewer experiences and still using it to this day. Now travels in my camping kit.

I love the Clever Dripper, it's such a great and easy brewer. It's nearly made my V60 obsolete as the Clever is just easier and makes the same tasting (if not slightly better) coffee. The only downside for me is the smaller capacity, I wish there was a 750ml or even 1L size. I brew 30g of coffee to 510g of water and it is filled to the absolute maximum, which makes nice sized cups of coffee for my wife and I. I also found the lid doesn't really contribute to anything beneficial and I just leave it off now, which is a relief because putting the lid on at 510g requires some washing of the lid every time. I don't really mind the long draw down, as my coffee is usually too hot to drink anyways. I add my coffee, water, stir it all up, and wait four minutes before I begin draining. Comes out wonderful every time. I've changed the steep times a bit in my experimenting and never really noticed a different either. I have also not found any negative taste side effects from grinding really fine. The finer I grind, the richer the coffee tastes but also the longer it takes to drain. Really, the balance I find is to go as fine as I possibly can before I clog or get too bored of waiting. One final thing, I found if you do want a really, really strong cup of coffee, like a 1:15 or 1:13 ratio, you're best off by stirring it quite a bit to really get your extraction up. If you don't stir enough, it can become a bit acidic most likely from there not being enough water to get all the goodies out with agitation? Also, final, final thing, love the videos!

Just rotated from the Aero to the Clever a month ago and have been pleased with the cleaner if slightly longer brewing process. Using the same grind (29 on the Rocky) as I use on the Aero. Ran to the bar as soon as I finished your video and tried the new method, water first, and draw down reduced by 25sec. Coffee was still very good. Great review of a “Clever” method.

Love the clever! I even competed with it in Brewer's Cup a few years ago. This is a great recipe. I also love the recipe from Coffee and Water 's channel.

I've been using the Clever Dripper since the start of the pandemic. Love it. Great to see James covering it!