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Don't worry -- we won't all necessarily need owners' manuals in order to brew a cup of joe. Sometimes the best methods and mechanisms are also the simplest. Enter the latest one-cup maker, aptly called the Clever Coffee Dripper -- a sort of hybrid between a Melitta cone and a French press.
Manufactured by a Taiwanese company known primarily for dreaming up new tea-brewing equipment, the Clever can create a sediment-free cup of coffee that still allows the beans' nuances to shine through. The grounds sit in a paper filter that's fit into the brewer (it takes standard No. 4 cones), and hot water is added directly to them, filling much of the basin. The coffee and water then typically steep for anywhere from two to four minutes, after which the liquid's drained through a small valve that opens once the brewer is placed on top of a cup or serving vessel.
Read more about the Clever Coffee Dripper after the jump. What's so great about the Clever? It's an easy, unfussy and fast way to brew individual delicious cups of coffee, making it an increasingly popular tool at boutique coffee shops. And for the home user, it makes small batches of coffee cleaner than a French press can and with more controlled output than a Melitta cone, meaning the coffee only comes out when you tell it to -- you're the boss of this brew.
What will be the next newfangled thing that comes along to help us get caffeinated? Do you think technology or technique will win the battle of the brewers? Tell us in the comments.
Erin Meister trains baristas for North Carolina-based Counter Culture Coffee and sporadically maintains the blog Meet the Press Pot from her home in New York City. This is part of a series for the caffeine-addicted.
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2-23-2010 @8:03PM Erich Blattner said... No thanks. I like a bit of sediment at the bottom of the cup. It's why I brew my coffee with a French Press.
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2-26-2010 @9:38AM kc said... I've been selling cookware products for the lat 22 years and Bonjour has had a piece like this at least for the last 8 years, nothing new if you regular a quality independent cookware store.
2-26-2010 @6:25AM Billy said... There is only one way to make coffee. Boiled on the stove. Perk....perk....perk. Most drip style makers produce nothing more than a flavored cup of water.
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2-26-2010 @12:45PM Alice said... I couldn't agree with you more! My favorite coffee is brewed in our old "perk style pot" with the basket and stem for the grinds and cooked over an open fire while camping in the woods!!! Hmmmm...can taste it now!
2-26-2010 @1:27PM Jerry said... And here I thought the C-ration coffee from my days in the Army was the only REAL coffee!
2-26-2010 @7:18AM John S said... My coffee maker grinds the beans. That makes for a much better flavor, and a fresher cup of coffee. Check out the Cuisinart 12 cup Grind & Brew.
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2-26-2010 @7:41AM maxiesmom067 said... I grind the beans in my Magic Bullet (marvelous little gadget!) and then brew in my little 4 cup Mr. Coffee. Definitely NOT just a cup of "flavored water".
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2-26-2010 @8:41AM P said... I only use a cuisinart coffee maker, and the coffee comes out great.
HOWEVER poster BILLY is correct when saying that perked coffee on top of the stove makes ( real ) coffee.
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2-26-2010 @8:42AM Louis said... The secret to a good cup of coffee is not the pot. I use a simple Mr. Coffee drip pot, and friends dream of coming over just for my coffee. I blend half a pound of ground Brown Gold coffee(the absolute best coffee in a can), then I add half a pound of bean coffee that I grind myself and mix it together. The beans MUST be real shiny or "wet" looking--That's when they are freshest. And I store them in an air tight container in the cabinet--NOT THE FRIDGE OR FREEZER. Use one scoop of coffee (2 tablespoons) for every TWO 5 oz. cup markings on your pot.
Now for the real secret--I use ice cold DISTILLED water for brewing, and your coffee maker must be immaculately clean all the time.
[To keep your pot its cleanest, rinse it out thoroughly every now and then, by brewing alternate pots of baking soda water, and white vinegar water followed by clear distilled water. Distilled water is not only purest, but it will keep your pot from building up calcium residue.]
I WILL NEVER SERVE OR DRINK A CUP OF COFFEE THAT HAS BEEN SITTING IN THE COFFEE POT MORE THAN 20 MINUTES. If you must keep brewed coffee longer than that, be sure to transfer it into a thermal carafe.
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2-26-2010 @9:44AM Adrienne said... You're right Louis..
I have read other comments you have made.. You're a pretty smart guy.. : )
Just wanted to say thanks for the coffee *recipe*.. I LOVE coffee.. and you have given me some good tips!
Have a great day!
Adrienne
2-26-2010 @2:40PM Barbara said... I had heard that drinking distilled water wasn't good for you. After reading Louis comment I did a google search and found the following: http://chetday.com/distilledwater.htm
2-26-2010 @12:44PM Linda said... Can you tell me where to purchase Ground Gold coffee. I live in Alabama.
Your article was excellent. Thank you, Linda
2-28-2010 @11:54AM George Aramoonie said... Louis, you are on the money with everything you said. I would add that once getting that distilled water home, pour it into a glass jug. An 18/10 stainless steel container works too. The plastic containers add a bad taste to the water.
Barb posted a link to a document warning of the dangers of drinking distilled water on a regular basis. It's true that pure water can absorb nutrients from the body, but once you brew coffee with it, it's no longer pure water, so these cautions don't apply. ENJOY!
2-26-2010 @9:16AM Rooster said... Do as you please i go to 7/11 the same every time!
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2-26-2010 @11:47AM Jordan said... This "new" invention for a perfect single cup of coffee isn't new to me at all. I have a Swiss Gold single cup brewer which doesn't need paper filters and consistantly makes a great cup of coffee. It's a two part filter item with the water going into the top part then dripping through to the coffee located in the bottom gold filter into my cup. It's dishwasher safe, very durable and I've had (and used) it for well over 15 years. No grounds are ever in my coffee either!
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2-26-2010 @10:56AM starvinmarvin said... best i have found for the money " eight o' clock " brand . almost as good as starbucks for half the cost. a little secret to better coffee,take out the grounds as soon as the coffee stops brewing.
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2-26-2010 @11:14AM Lil said... Who wrote this? This sort of coffee filtering and drip system has been around for at least 40 years and probably before that. Mellita has had their single cup drip for at least that many years. Chemex (the artisen chemist's coffee filtration system in handblown glass), well I think I bought that one in 1970. Before that, it was the drip coffee maker, different style, but a drip's a drip. It all depends on a good filter, a great coffee ground to the correct grind, pure water at the right temperature and a steady hand to slowly pour in the water. If brewed too long, the coffee's bitter, if brewed to quickly the coffee is weak. if you take a good look at the photo above, it looks really not that much different from my electric drip coffee maker piece. there's a spring inside to release the coffee. It is so nice that the younger kids think that these old ideas are new, it helps market a product. But with a bit of research, I'd look at the Italian and French presses and drips, and go to any second hand store and see what once was, is again now theeeeee thing to buy.
What I have seen now as prices have come down are those $20-40 coffee cups that are double walled ceramics with removable silacon lids for traveling with coffee that stays hot for an hour. They are now $8.98 at Meijer, it saves all the trips to the shops to get a cup. Carry that and a Thermos and have it all day, or find a great stainless steel no plastic Thermos cup.
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2-26-2010 @11:22AM Tholzel said... Some young journalist wannabe wrote this, probably a young girl, thrilled at her discovery that the world started with her arrival on the scene.
The problem with all these drip systems is that the coffee is never really hot when you drink it. Also, think a little bit about some of this esoteric advice: even if you can taste the difference between flat-tasting distilled water and the delicious spring water flowing in Boston & NYC, who would want the flat stuff?
We buy 2 bags of 8 o'clock decafineated beans and mix with one bag of whatever hi-test coffee that appeals to us at the moment. Then we can brew potent coffee without tearing up our guts for the pleasure. Add a tiny bit of salt to boost the flaovr even more, if necessary.
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2-28-2010 @5:06PM JimTheDad said... The coffee machine which has developed,called the Clever Coffee Dripper,seems to be so-so,for only a cup of coffee,eye prefer a whole 12 cup decanter of coffee though.ANd ,if the Clever Coffee Dripper is only for an individual cup,why would it need a #4 cone filter?The #4 Cone filter is for 12 cup Coffee Machines? Signed JoeDimagioGeveilia The # 11 and #12,not 10.
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2-26-2010 @12:41PM cass said... This is nothing more than a "pour-over" method, and Starbucks has one of these.. so, I guess it's not all that new.
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