The Clever Dripper is my new favorite way to brew coffee — and I think it’s easier than a French Press

The Clever Dripper is one of the most unique coffee makers I’ve ever used. Somewhere in between a pour-over and a French Press, the Clever Dripper relies on immersion and steeping (à la French Press) but with a filter to remove sediment (à la pour-over).

Does that make it one of the best coffee makers? If you’re short on time and want something uber quick and easy, then yeah, definitely. However, if you’re the kind of person who loves the routine of making coffee and mastering the perfect pour, then it might not be the one for you.

I’ll discuss everything about the Clever Dripper from its cleaning ease, Clever’s recommended recipes, and my personal tasting notes in this Clever Dripper review.

Clever Dripper review: Cheat sheet

• Who is it for? Time-poor and energy-poor coffee lovers
• What does it do well? Brews an easy cup o’ Joe
• What does it cost? $25 / £20
• What are its weaknesses? I don’t think Clever’s recipe brings out the best
• Anything else to know? There are two versions: 300ml and 500ml — I tested 500ml

Clever Dripper: Specs

Clever Dripper review: Price & availability

There are two versions of the Clever Dripper: 300ml and 500ml. I tested the 500ml version, which seems to be the most available. The 500ml Clever Dripper is $25 from Clever direct, although is a massively overpriced $40 at Amazon U.S.

In the U.K., the Clever Dripper is £27 from Amazon U.K. or £20 from Clumsy Goat, and comes with 100 free filters.

This is pretty cheap compared to the Kalita Wave, which is $44. The Chemex classic is $47 and the plastic Hario V60 Dripper is just $10. If you want something super easy you can master in a few hours, I’d always recommend the V60.

Clever Dripper review: Design

The Clever Dripper’s design is its biggest selling point. The brewer immerses coffee in water and steeps (like a French Press, or tea) for a set amount of time.

Inside the Clever Dripper’s conical brewer is a silicone ball mechanism that stops water from coming out during the brewing process. Only when the dripper is placed on a mug will it release the coffee.

I’ll discuss this more in the ‘Performance’ section, but I really enjoyed this design feature. It meant I could bloom my coffee and measure out specific ratios without worrying about the coffee dripping through prematurely.

The Clever Dripper is all 100% patented, so if you like the sound of this process, there’s nowhere else you can get it.

I tested the brown transparent colorway, but the Clever Dripper also comes in black, clear, red, and blue. All colors are constructed of the same BPA-free Tritan plastic. I’m surprised there’s no metal, glass, or ceramic version like Kalita Wave or Hario V60, but I can also understand that this specific brewing method relies on various moving parts, and is likely easiest to make from plastic.

The Clever Dripper is compatible with any flat-bottomed #4 filters (#2 if you’ve got the 300ml version), like the Kalita Wave, and unlike the Hario V60. Clever sells Kalita filters on its website, so I’d recommend purchasing those when you run out of the initial 100.

Clever Dripper review: Performance

There’s one major difference between the Clever Dripper and literally every other dripper I’ve tried: you’re supposed to put the water in first. This is so the coffee grounds don’t clog the filter, although in practice I tried both ways and neither seemed markedly superior.

As a result, the Clever Dripper can’t really be classed as a pour-over if you follow Clever’s recommended recipe. However, this is your coffee, and there are no rules.

The Clever Dripper is more like an elevated French Press, in both flavor and process. It brews based on submersion, and then filters out sediment through the dripper. As a result, I’d say the Clever Dripper is like a combination of a French Press and a V60/Kalita Wave, although the flavor isn’t as nuanced as the Kalita Wave.

My first impression of the Clever Dripper is that it’s as prime for experimentation as any other drip method. Clever has its own recipe on its website, which I followed to the T for my first brewing experience.

However, I thought the Clever recipe left the coffee weak and bland, so I wouldn’t recommend it — for my personal tastes. I like my coffee fragrant, nuanced, and floral, but not weak, so the 2 ½ minute brewing time wasn’t enough for me. I experimented with different brewing times and different ratios, and here’s my go-to Clever Dripper routine.

My go-to Clever Dripper routine

I followed a 1:15 ratio with 20g of coffee for 300g of 200°F water.

As per Clever’s recipe, I tried this with both water first and coffee first. I actually liked the coffee-first version more, so that’s what I’ll put here.

I measured out 20g of medium-ground coffee and poured it into the pre-wetted filter. Then, I poured in 300g of 200°F water in slow circular motions and put the lid on. After 2 minutes, I stirred the coffee to break the ‘crust’ (Clever’s words, not mine) and let it brew for another 2 minutes.

After 4 minutes total, I placed the dripper on my mug and released all of the brewed coffee. It took about a minute to fully drip into my mug, and then I simply disposed the (compostable) filter.

Clever Dripper review: Storage & maintenance

The Clever Dripper is not dishwasher safe, so I would only clean the dripper with warm water in the sink. I found it super easy to clean with just a sponge and running water, then I left it to dry on the draining board.

The Clever Dripper feels quite bulky, although it’s actually only 6 inches tall, compared to the V60’s and the Kalita’s 5 inches. However, you’d be able to store it in a standard kitchen cupboard super easily.

If you go by Clever’s advice and use Kalita filters, it’ll cost you $10 for 100 filters. This is 1c cheaper than AeroPress’s filters, but 1c pricier than Hario filters.

Clever Dripper review: How does it compare?

If we’re talking about ease of use, then the Clever Dripper is more foolproof than the Hario V60 and Kalita Wave. The V60 needs a slow, controlled pour, and the Kalita Wave requires a specific pouring method to prevent tunneling (when the water goes straight through the center of the dripper and the coffee sticks to the side).

However, the Clever Dripper can be a water-first method that completely eradicates the need for any pouring skill. Even if you pour in the water after coffee, Clever recommends stirring the brew with a spoon anyway, so pouring skill isn’t even necessary here.

For complete beginners or those who don’t have time to perfect pouring consistency, the Clever Dripper is a much easier way to get fresh coffee at home. It’s much cheaper and cleanup is easier than electric methods like a Moccamaster ($235) or Breville Precision Brewer ($299).

Flavor, as with any pour-over method, is almost completely customizable. As I discussed in the ‘Performance’ section, you can adapt the ratio, brewing time, and grind size to suit your tastes, so it’s almost redundant to discuss flavor. Obviously, I reported how Clever’s recipe tasted, but you can customize the recipe to your liking.

Clever Dripper review: Verdict

The Clever Dripper is a great coffee maker for people who are time-poor or want a completely hands-free easy brewing method, but don’t want to splurge on a percolator or electric dripper like the Breville Precision Brewer or Moccamaster.

While it doesn’t brew as nuanced a cup as an AeroPress or Chemex (using Chemex’s special filters), it is much quicker and easier than any other manual brewing method I’ve tried. Whether that suits your needs or not is a question only you can answer — personally, I love the process and routine of brewing coffee hands-on.

The Clever Dripper takes all the stress out of mastering pouring precision or hands-on vacuum sealing, so if you want something utterly foolproof, this is the brewer for you.