Clever Dripper

The Clever Dripper steeps like a cafetiere and drains like a filter, so you get the body of one and the clean finish of the other. There is no pouring technique to learn. Water in, lid on, wait, drain.

Coffee: 20g for a 300ml mug
Water: 300ml, all at once
Grind: Medium, like sea salt
Time: 4 minutes, then a minute to drain
Temperature: Off the boil, about 94°C

Best for: Cafetiere body with a filter-clean finish, and almost impossible to get wrong. The lazy brewer's dripper.

You will need: Clever dripper, a paper filter, medium ground coffee, kettle, scales (optional)

Coffee for the Clever Dripper

Ground for this method, so the grind is already right. Or beans, if you have a grinder.

4.9 (55)

Supercharger
Brownie · Chestnut · Spice
Arabica, with Robusta added for punch
Intensity 12/12

~~£8.00~~ £5.60 (Save 30%)47p a coffee
£6.40 on subscription · 53p a coffee
4.8 (42)

Brunch Blend
Chocolate · Caramel · Brownie
South & Central America · East Africa 
Intensity 9/12

~~£8.00~~ £5.60 (Save 30%)47p a coffee
£6.40 on subscription · 53p a coffee
5.0 (23)

Intense Roast
Hazelnut · Malt Loaf · Spice
Brazil · Central America · India Robusta
Intensity 9/12

~~£8.00~~ £5.60 (Save 30%)47p a coffee
£6.40 on subscription · 53p a coffee
4.8 (12)

Daily Grind
Granola · Toasted Nuts · Caramel
Brazil · Central America · Colombia · Ethiopia
Intensity 8/12

~~£8.00~~ £5.60 (Save 30%)47p a coffee
£6.40 on subscription · 53p a coffee

See all Ground Coffee

How to make it

1

Filter in, rinse it

Lid off, cone-shaped filter in. Pour some hot water through it while the dripper sits on your mug. The valve at the bottom opens when it is standing on a cup, so the rinse water runs straight out. Tip the mug and start again.
2

20g of coffee

Stand the dripper on the worktop, not the mug, so the valve stays shut. Add 20g of medium ground coffee for a 300ml mug. Our ground coffee is milled for this.
3

All the water at once

Kettle just off the boil. Pour all 300ml in, wetting every bit of coffee, and put the lid on. No pouring technique needed: the coffee steeps like a cafetiere, which is the whole point of this brewer.
4

Four minutes, one stir

Leave it for four minutes. At about two, take the lid off and give it one gentle stir to break the crust, then lid back on. Longer makes it heavier, shorter lighter.
5

Put it on the mug

Lift the dripper onto your mug. The rim of the mug pushes the valve open and the coffee drains through the paper, about a minute. The paper holds back the sediment a cafetiere would let through.
6

Lift off and bin the filter

When it stops dripping, lift the dripper back onto the worktop and drink. The filter and grounds go in the food bin together. A rinse and the dripper is ready for the next one.

If it tastes wrong

What you taste	What to change
Weak	Too little coffee or too coarse a grind. 20g, one step finer, or steep for five minutes.
Bitter	Steeped too long or ground too fine. Back to four minutes, and a step coarser.
Takes ages to drain	Grind too fine, or the filter is clogged with fines. Coarser, and give it a stir before you set it on the mug.
Drips while it is steeping	The valve is not fully shut. Lift it and set it down flat on the worktop; check nothing is caught under the base.

The kit

Clever Dripper Filter Papers (100 pack)

~~£5.00~~ £4.00 (Save 20%)
AeroPress Filters (350 pack)

~~£8.90~~ £7.12 (Save 20%)
Hario V60 Filter Papers (40 Pack)

~~£6.00~~ £4.80 (Save 20%)
AeroPress Coffee Maker

~~£40.00~~ £32.00 (Save 20%)

See all Filter / Pour Over

Common questions

What grind do I need for a Clever Dripper?

Medium, like sea salt, which is how our ground coffee comes. Too fine and it drains slowly and turns bitter; too coarse and it is thin.

How much coffee should I use?

20g for a full 300ml dripper, which is one big mug. Scales help, but two level tablespoons gets you close.

Is it the same as a cafetiere?

Same idea, different finish. Both steep the coffee in water, so you get the body. The Clever Dripper then drains through paper, so the sludge and the heavier oils stay behind and the cup is cleaner. It also makes one mug, not a pot.

What water temperature?

Just off the boil, about 94 degrees. Boil the kettle, count to 30, then pour. Boiling water pulls the bitter notes out first.

Replace or refund guarantee

If you don't love it, we'll replace it or refund it. No fuss, no forms.
Free delivery over £35

Or from £25 on subscription
4.9 on Trustpilot

From 3,220 reviews
Questions? Talk to us

020 3747 1255 or hello@cafepod.com