Many high-end cafés prefer the pour-over brewing method because it’s a simple way to make freshly brewed coffee on demand. Plus, pour-over coffee reveals flavors and aromas you might not get from bulk-brewed batches held in thermal carafes.
When using fresh-roasted beans at home, a manual dripper is a great tool for getting the most from your brewing ritual. After making several hundred cups, we found the Kalita Wave 185 Dripper to be both consistent and easy to master.
We strongly recommend getting a good grinder, kettle, and scale to complete your setup. These tools will make it much easier for you to consistently brew a truly great cup.
Our top choice
With its flat bottom, this dripper delivers reliably even extraction as well as the most consistently great-tasting coffee.
The Kalita Wave 185 Dripper produced consistent, flavorful, balanced cups of coffee while also being among the most forgiving with regard to technique. Its flat bottom promotes more-even water drainage, making it easier for even beginners to get consistent results. The Wave 185 is available in glass, ceramic, or stainless steel. The proprietary wavy filters are slightly pricier than basic, wedge-shaped Melitta filters, and can be difficult to find in local stores, though they’re usually available at online retailers.
Runner-up
This dripper should appeal to pour-over experts, since you need to pay extra-careful attention to the rate and aim of your pour. In our tests, it produced some of the best brew.
If you want a dripper that further captures the essence of pour-over coffee’s ritualistic appeal, we recommend the Hario V-60 Coffee Dripper (Size 02). Once you’re comfortable with your technique, it’s a lot of fun to match your spiral pour to this dripper’s wide, conical shape. The V-60 is capable of brewing coffee that’s just as flavorful, interesting, and well-rounded as coffee made with our top pick. With the Hario V-60, it just takes a little more practice and focus to get consistently great results, and small changes to your brewing parameters will have a more noticeable effect on your coffee, which could be a good thing if you like to tinker. Like the Kalita Wave, the Hario V-60 uses proprietary filters, but they’re widely available at specialty coffee shops and online.
Also great
This dripper uses cheap filters that are available in grocery stores, so it’s ideal for beginners who prioritize convenience over mastering the nuances of pour-over coffee.
If you want a dripper that uses filters you can get at almost any supermarket, we recommend the Kalita 102 Ceramic Dripper. In our testing, of the many capable drippers using wedge filters (Melitta #2, in this case), we found this ceramic model to be the most pleasing, with a nice weight and balance. It brewed slightly less-complex coffee than our other picks, but it’s the most convenient option for beginners who just want a simple way to brew a cup.
Also great
As gorgeous as it is usable, this vessel can make several cups at once, and it produced delicious, vibrant brews that our testers loved.
We also love the Chemex Six Cup Classic Series. It’s a good choice for those who want to brew several cups at once, as well as for fans of great design. The Chemex was invented by chemist Peter Schlumbohm in 1941, and it’s included in the Museum of Modern Art’s permanent collection. It has a built-in carafe, and in our tests the Chemex reliably produced balanced, nuanced coffee while being fairly forgiving of our pouring technique. Like most of our other picks, the Chemex uses proprietary filters not usually available in grocery stores, but they’re easy enough to buy online or from high-end coffee shops.
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