Clever Coffee Brew Guide

Step One

Bring 1 liter (33.8 ounces) of filtered water to boil in a gooseneck spouted kettle, stovetop teakettle or electric kettle. Since there is no particular pouring technique, no special kettle is required.

Step Two

Open the #4 Filtropa bleached paper filter, folding along both creases and place in the brewer so it stays open. Then, rinse the paper filter with a few ounces of the hot water from your kettle. This step will rinse out any extra paper taste from the filter and preheat the brewer. Let this water sit for a few minutes to warm the brewer, then set the brewer on top of a carafe or mug to drain the rinse water. Dump this rinse water from carafe or mug.

Step Three

Weigh out 26 grams of freshly roasted, whole bean coffee on a scale. If you don’t have a scale, you can also measure this with a tablespoon. We recommend about 4 level tablespoons. (1 Tablespoon ≈ 6 grams)

Step Four

Using a burr grinder, grind the coffee to a coarse consistency, similar to French Press. Brewing with a consistent and uniform grind size is crucial to make delicious coffee. If you aren’t sure what setting to use, check out our grinding page in our Learn section for reference.

Step Five

Place the Clever Dripper on the scale, add the ground coffee to the filter and shake the brewer to level the grounds, and tare to 0.

Step Six

After starting your timer, “bloom” the grounds by pouring 100 grams (3oz, or just enough to cover the coffee) of the filtered water just off boil. This step allows the grounds to saturate with water, forcing out gases and priming the coffee for the brewing process. To help this process, use a spoon to lightly stir the grounds and water to ensure all the grounds have been saturated.

Step Seven

Quickly add the remaining 300 grams (12 oz) water to the brewer, making sure all the grounds have been fully saturated. Just as before, there is no special technique here, since the goal is to get brewing underway as quickly as possible. Once all the water has been added, it needs to steep for 2:30.

Step Eight

At the 2:30 mark, set the dripper on top of a carafe or large mug. Grab the spoon again, and stir in a zigzag motion for 5 seconds in the top of the slurry as the coffee drains. This final stir will mix the slurry, help produce an even extraction, as well as speeding up the draining of the coffee.

Step Nine

It should take 1:30 to 2:00 to finish draining. You can then remove the dripper and throw the spent grounds in the trash or compost. Note: If it takes less than 1:30 to finish draining, use a slightly finer grind. If it takes longer than 2:00 to drain, use a coarser grind to allow the water to pass through the coffee more easily.

Step Ten

Swirl the coffee in the carafe and smell the delicious aroma wafting throughout your kitchen. Grab your favorite mug and enjoy the moment.