Since getting into this coffee making malarky, whilst I have got a Clever Dripper I used to use for work and still break out on occasion, I have never tried what I get the impression are considered the more ‘high end’ pour over methods, such as the Chemex and V60. So, are they worth a go and if so, which one would you recommend? I know the V60 is half the price of the Chemex but that isn’t an issue. I get the impression most on here mainly stick to espresso based drinks… or do you?

Pompeyexile I get the impression most on here mainly stick to espresso based drinks… or do you? I’ve been on Pourover for the last week. A bit longer than usual, but I’m doing some testing.

I haven’t entered the world of espresso drinks just yet. Was put off by the learning curve but I’m becoming increasingly tempted. I have a Hario v60 which I use most days and really like it. Find it simple to use, good for single cups of coffee and think it makes a really good cup with the right grind setting & method. As for method I use this: James Hoffmann ultimate v60 technique

DavecUK I’ve been on Pourover for the last week. A bit longer than usual, but I’m doing some testing. So, what are you using? Or are you testing various jobbies?

Pompeyexile So, what are you using? Or are you testing various jobbies? A simple setup, the plastic lid is from something else, but I find it helps keep the heat in.

Ah, is that the V60 you are using?

DavecUK Chemex & V60 (drip/percolation) aren’t more “high end” than Clever (immersion), they are a different & quicker brew method, unless you are targeting lower extractions (which is what you mostly get with Clever, unless steeping long). I almost never use my Chemex, I use V60 most often. You will need a gooseneck pouring kettle, an electric one would be great, don’t worry about temp control. For small cups (<18g dose) use an 01 (though I have method for making smaller cups with the 02 and a steel can strainer). I prefer to use 2 brewers if making multiple cups as big brews never seem to work out so well. I don’t know why most people overlook Melitta & Bartleet brewers, paper filters are often easier to find. Kalita Wave 185 work just as well as all the others mentioned, but storing the basket papers is a bit more faffy, they’re not always easy to get either. Melitta, Kalita Wave 185 & the Wilfa pour over cone can also be used with a regular kettle (though best to use a small one with 1 cup minimum boil).

Pour Over Predicament

Mark-drinks-coffee

I exclusively drank pour over for the last 10 years or so before getting an Espresso machine last month. I enjoy the process of brewing with them so reckon they will continue to feature in my coffee rotation.

I love my clever dripper, easily the most forgivable brewer I have. I also have a v60 and Kalita Wave but find them both pretty fussy. I have as many poor brews as I do good brews if I get one of the many variables slightly off. I do also have a chemex which I don’t use very often, it’s only the small one so the neck is a really steep angle and small surface area for the coffee bed which I don’t think makes for the best brewer.

MWJB

Mark-drinks-coffee V60 & Kalita are measurably consistent. Also, in many comparisons I have done I haven’t noticed a preference in taste from any of them, assuming they are dialled in (e.g. the main variable is the coffee itself regarding taste, but nothing in the mechanics of brewing).

With any of them, if thy are hit & miss, it’s an idea to re-assess the brew regime.

Mark-drinks-coffee

MWJB

I have no doubt it’s my own skill (or lack of) that introduces the inconsistencies. I’m sure both can produce consistent, excellent results.

I just need to spend some time with them both, dialling in and working on repeating the recipe correctly. Just easier to stay in a habit of using a clever which is pour and forget and generally much more forgiving.

PortafilterProcrastinator

A clever and v60 have been my main brewers for a while.

I did both short and long steeps in the clever until I got the v60. Then the clever became long steep only (45min+) with shorter brews in the v60.

I’ll often make a Clever and then make a v60, so can come back to a second cup not that long after the first. The difference is nice I find.

That said, I have always struggled with ‘mainstream’ v60 methods/ recipes - including from the likes of Hoffman and Sprometheus.

I use @MWJB method using 18g and 270ml at a grind setting of c.83 on the niche.

I do want to experiment with other methods, but I’ve found the above so reliable that it’s difficult to get out of the comfort zone.

Pompeyexile

Well, I’ve just been to the Hario website and they were offering the Glass version with Olive wood base 01 size in the sale which looks similar to DavecUK’s, at just over £14. So, with a box of 100 filter papers at £6 that worked out cheaper than my Clever Dripper… sorted!

It’s all about learning and one I’m really enjoying…unlike my maths lessons back in the day.

root

Perhaps I’m in the minority here but 95% of my coffee consumption is pourover.

As a general rule of thumb flat bottomed drippers such as Kalita tend to be more forgiving of less than optimal technique than conical shaped ones like the V60. However, the V60 is cheap and there are tons of recipes you can try to really help you understand the mechanics of pourover brewing.

Having used a number of drippers (and given many away once I realised I had a dripper collecting problem) I now tend to reach for the Fellow Stagg X most often, particularly in the morning when I just want to make a good cup without having to think too much. I still use the V60 to experiment and try to draw certain characteristics out of a particular bean.

My latest acquisition is the Tricolate brewer, which I haven’t had a chance to put through its paces yet. It is designed as a no-bypass brewer, meaning that water is forced to makes its way through the grounds instead of some of it being allowed to take a route around the grounds down the sides of the brewer walls. It also has a built-in water dispersion screen to help feed water uniformly to the grounds below. I might make a thread if no one here has talked about it yet.

DavecUK

root Perhaps I’m in the minority here but 95% of my coffee consumption is pourover.

I suspect you are not in the minority for enjoying pourover, because even though I have an espresso machine (well a few of them), the coffee from Pourover can be quite different…so I often include it in my routine…I suspect many others do exactly the same.

I know @MWJB enjoys his pourover/immersion etc.. brews

MWJB

root Tricolate is not a “no bypass” brewer, this is a commonly quote myth, with no evidence. Any time you are pouring water & disrupting the bed, you have the opportunity for bypass.

Tricolate is definitely not a brewer to recommend to someone starting to explore drip coffee. It’s more for people who like very difficult & time consuming puzzles. You know, like those interlocking metal rings you can’t get apart, in Christmas crackers? :-)

Please don’t start a thread on it until you have a reliable brew regime, equal to/better than V60/Kalita/Melitta etc.

You can use various things as a dispersion screen, like a steel can strainer, or an Aeropress with a metal filter (which a few people might have lying around).

PortafilterProcrastinator

DavecUK root

My brew preferences change with the seasons. The warmer it gets, the fewer longer drinks I want, so the proportion of espresso (a ROK when I used it) and shorter drinks goes up.

Middle of winter and a nice large long steep in the Clever is perfect, or a couple of back-to-back pourovers.

The choice in flavour profiles/ characteristics between the methods is fantastic. Variety is the spice of life!

Beverast

root Checked out the Tricolate brewer on Youtube as I have not heard of it. Seems quite expensive for a piece of plastic? I mean it is £20 more expensive than an Aeropress - what benefits would it have over something like the Aeropress?

CoyoteOldMan

DavecUK I have an espresso machine (well a few of them)

And the prize for “understatement of the year” goes to…

root

MWJB I think you’re right that the “no-bypass” claim is an exaggeration, it would probably be more accurate to say it’s been designed to reduce bypass.

I agree the Tricolate wouldn’t be a good recommendation for those new to brewed coffee. I obtained it more for experimentation than anything.

I don’t understand the advice against creating a new thread. This is a relatively new forum without much content. Why discourage people from creating new threads to explore different brew methods? The arbitrary bar of ensuring a brew regime equalling other well known drippers is like saying, “Don’t make a thread about a new espresso machine until you’ve gotten a shot out of it that’s as good as machine X or Y.”

MWJB

root It was a request, not advice, nor instruction.

Everything I have read/watched about the Tricolate has turned out to be somewhat wanting. I just don’t think it is fair to prospective buyers to promote this product until it is proven to work at a basic level. Or, until someone can convey a reasonably successful brew regime.

Most grinders & brewers do perform at least ‘normally’. There are variations of course, and specific preferences that might be a bit harder to hit, but I have never encountered another bit of kit that was so fundamentally, far removed from other options on the market.

If you nail it, or even get good & reasonably consistent taste scores, I’ll be first to read and engage with your thread.

Why would anyone promote anything that made their coffee taste significantly worse than a plethora of alternatives?

root

MWJB I disagree that creating a thread to discuss something is the same as promoting it. It’s just as likely that people will decide against a purchase based on negative reactions in a thread discussing it.

People like Scott Rao and Patrik Rolf have taken the device seriously enough to experiment with it, and I don’t think they were being somehow unfair to prospective buyers by doing so.

I’m not on board with the idea that not talking about something will naturally result in better consumer choices, or even that informing purchase decisions should be the primary consideration when deciding what to discuss on a forum.

Grahamsphillips

root I just came across this thread..I’ve been collecting brewers (I know, I know) inc the TRICOLATE with which I’ve had some great successes and great failures! I pretty much follow Scott Rao’s recipe. Anyways maybe create a thread on Flat Bottomed brewers in general? (( ordered an OREAD too so lots to compare)

root

Beverast I think the price at least partially reflects the fact that it’s a niche device being made in small batches in comparison to the mass produced Aeropress. As it’s an unproven device with mixed reviews it’s difficult to say whether there are any benefits over the AP, honestly. The thing with the AP is that it’s a really versatile device that can be used in multiple ways. For example, you can emulate the Tricolate brew style. See 20:00 onwards of this video:

My advice would be to try something like this if you already have an AP and are curious about the Tricolate.

MWJB

Beverast No benefits are immediately apparent over the Aeropress, nor over any other of the widely used brewers.

Tricolate is not as simple to clean as the Aeropress, If you take out the filter screen to clean it, it’s a pain to line up & get back in. Aeropress is more versatile (immersion, or drip/percolation).

DavecUK

root I got bored one minute in with the claps. music, reverence, subscribe and Patreon….couldn’t take any more. I’m non-complex about my brewing, and my head was beginning to hurt slightly.

root

DavecUK Welcome to zoomer coffee youtube. 🤪

hornbyben

For pour over I’m a big fan of the v60.

I’ve got a chemex, and while I think it looks great, I find that it takes a long time to brew. Also, due to the large amount of glass the coffee is also fairly cool. I almost never use it now.

V60s size 1 cool quickly, so personally I don’t think you can go wrong with the plastic funnel. It’s not as attractive as the glass ones, but needs next to no preheating and doesn’t break when you drop it.

Hotmetal

My only brewer is an Aeropress. Other than that I drink espresso either straight or with steamed milk.

I like the Aeropress but sometimes I feel its a bit ‘flat’. I’ve had nice brews but nothing like the natural Ethiopian served to me from a V60 in the now defunct Track in Marlow. That really wowed me. Do you brewing cognoscenti (looking at you Mark B/Dave) think the V60 gives a ‘superior’ cup (livelier, more intense, not 100% sure what I’m trying to articulate here)?

The reason I haven’t tried one yet is I’m a bit faffophobic and don’t want to clutter my ridiculously small kitchen with more coffee paraphernalia like pouring kettles etc, and learn the dark art of V60 brewing, but might give it a go if people can convince me its tastier, cleaner etc than AP. I do 10 minute steeps with AP and favour light /med naturals.

hornbyben

Hotmetal I’ve been pretty happy doing v60 with a standard kettle. I’m sure it’s easier with a gooseneck, but I can get a low flow steady stream with some careful pouring.

Unlike many coffee related gadgets a plastic v60 is only £5, so I say give it ago

DavecUK

Hotmetal I like a V60 from time to time….tried friend’s aeropress, and it was too much faff for me, plus a pain to clean up. V6 seems cleaner tasting too.

If you do get one, I think a plastic cone is better than glass or ceramic as it doesn’t need warming and is super cheap (plus lightweight, chuck it in a cupboard..

MWJB

Hotmetal The V60 gives you a cup in 2-4 min that it takes 20-30min to brew in the Aeropress. When both are good they’re comparable, but long steep Aeropress are only an occasional thing for me.

If you want drip, but don’t want a goosneck/faff, buy a Melitta/Kalita 185/Wilfa pourover cone.

V60 is quick, extracts well & consistent, but not magic/different to other popular cones. It’s not an art, it’s a mechanical process & what you get out is a reflection of what you put in (care, coffee, grind).