I’m a former barista and this $25 coffee brewer has earned a spot in my kitchen
For many of us, there’s nothing more personal than our coffee preferences — okay, maybe mom’s maiden name or whether we wear boxers or briefs. Maybe you like iced coffee, topped with a generous amount of half-and-half, and dressed with fragrant syrups that rival the smell of a Yankee Candle store. Or maybe you want coffee so black and strong that it numbs your taste buds. You know, that good kind of pain.
No matter how you like your coffee, the fact is that making a consistently good cup of coffee at home can be difficult. But you don’t need an expensive brewer to make a cup of coffee worthy of a coffee shop. All you need is freshly ground coffee, filtered water and a modest overflow maker like the $25 Dwell dropper I’m testing.
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Pour-over drippers or brewers are simple in their approach. Most fit over a coffee mug and require nothing more than a paper filter. And although you have to manually pour hot water over the coffee grounds, you’ll be rewarded with a cup of coffee with a rich flavor and not too much extraction or bitterness. Sometimes an overflow dripper can produce cups so smooth you don’t even need to add milk.
And while there are countless options when it comes to pour-over brewers, the Dwell Dripper stands out because it’s aimed at someone who has never sat at home or is coming from a cheap electric coffee machine they got in college. Think of the Dwell Dripper as a gateway to a world of great-tasting coffee that doesn’t require a barista with a man bun to make it for you.
The Dwell Dripper, made by Verve Coffee Roastershas many unique features that make it as versatile as it is simple. It’s made of BPA-free silicone instead of glass, metal or ceramic, which makes it portable. I’ve been testing one for a few weeks now, and I can easily imagine throwing this in my suitcase on a trip without worrying about it breaking.
Pour-over brewers are typically available in a cone-shaped or flat-bottomed design, such as the Dwell. The flat-bottomed shape saturates the coffee more evenly than a cone-shaped dripper, when the coffee in the center can be extracted more than that on the edge.
“We as a company, Verve, sell thousands of pour-overs per day. And we choose to use a flat bottom brewer because we really prefer that extraction method,” Colby Barr, CEO and co-founder of Verve, to CNET. “I find it almost crazy that not all brewing methods have a flat bottom from my perspective.”
Not only does the Dwell have a flat bottom, but most of it is open, allowing the filter and coffee to do the brewing. This means that the dripper is just there to keep everything in place, rather than compromising the brew itself: the filter hangs above the cup. The dripper uses flat bottom filters, but is compatible with most Wave paper filters, including Kalita 185 filters.
The Dwell comes with a small scoop in the same color as the brewer. Verve created the Dwell Dripper together with Bould Designs, founded by Fred Bould, one of the designers behind the Nest Thermostat. The Dwell Dripper involves a unique and simple three-by-three process. Add a filter to the Dwell (bonus points if you rinse it out). Then add three level measuring spoons of ground coffee. And finally, fill the brewer three times with hot water up to the line on the side. Three minutes later you have a delicious cup of coffee.
Normally, coffee snobs would tear up at the idea of using volumetric measurements instead of a scale. But using three-level scoops really works. I made over a dozen cups of coffee with the Dwell Dripper while my coffee scale sat on the counter collecting dust. I’ve brewed coffee from several roasters, such as Verve, Four Barrel, and Collectivo, and have been pleased with the results. Coffee from the Dwell has a great taste, is smooth and is consistent every day.
But if you’re wondering about the weight and proportions, three level scoops on the Dwell are about 20 grams and the water weighs 300 grams for a 1:15 ratio – pretty standard stuff.
Why the Dwell Dripper is a great gift
The best feature of the Dwell Dripper is that it meets you wherever you are on your coffee journey. So if you don’t have a coffee scale or gooseneck kettle, that’s no problem. But if you do, you can use them. The Dwell’s broad appeal will ensure that both home coffee novices and seasoned coffee snobs alike will get a lot out of it.
The $25 price makes it a great gift for someone in your life who wants to make better coffee at home. I also suggest they buy a large bag of fresh coffee beans and, if they don’t already have one, a good coffee grinder. The Dwell Dripper is something that will last for years and is well worth the low initial cost.
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