Upgrade Your Coffee Routine With the Best Pour-Over Coffee Makers
Specialty coffee continues to win over new devotees each year, but there’s been a laser focus on at-home brewing during the COVID-19 pandemic. The simplest approach truly is the manual pour-over method; once you realize how easy it is to make a morning cup in your jammies, it’s hard to go back. Both the water and groun…
Choosing the best manual pour-over coffee maker for your home depends on several factors: your preferred roast level, your patience with measuring and timing, and how weighty design and aesthetics are to you. The most weighty specs to consider are ease of use, level of control over extraction, preferred style of brew, and the figure it cuts on your counter or shelf.
One of the earliest drippers in the pour-over landscape, the Hario v60 allows the most creative control over extraction, an key feature for brewing a variety of coffees with different grind sizes. The v60’s single hole at the bottom allows you to pour fast or slow, depending on your grind size, with equal success. The Hario v60 comes in multiple sizes and materials; we recommend the glass version in your choice of size.
The Kalita Wave is perhaps the Hario v60’s biggest competition among drinkers of third- and fourth-wave coffee styles—and it’s designed in an opposite manner. But the most compelling feature of this dripper is that you can use flat-bottom Kalita Wave-style filters or conical Hario v60 filters, a choice that results in vastly different cups.
It takes a bit of practice to zero in on the correct brew time that considers the variables of roast level and grind size, but once you do, this is a very versatile tool. The filters keep out more of the coffee’s oils, so the body can be a bit thinner compared with the same coffee brewed with a Hario v60 or Kalita Wave, but it’s a nice effect if you prefer a tea-like mouthfeel.
After wetting the grounds with water at your temperature of choice, allowing the grounds to “bloom:” just pour the remainder of the desired amount of water all at once (no gooseneck kettle required) onto the ground coffee, set a timer for your target brewing time, and go about your business until it’s time to open the stopper and allow the coffee to flow into your cup. This device is best for darker roasts with less nuanced flavors in the fruity range, and the cup it produces is more like that of a French press than any other device on this list.
The Hario v60 with stand is an easy and visually appealing way to upsize your pour-over brew. The most weighty considerations in determining what products to recommend were ease of use, level of control over extraction and its relationship to the buyer’s preferred style of brew, and the device’s aesthetic presentation.
Features to Keep in Mind When Shopping for a manual pour-over coffee dripper Preferred Roast Level: The single most weighty factor in determining the best manual pour over dripper for you is the style of coffee you prefer. The Hario v60 and Origami are the most flexible in terms of controlling extraction, so if you like to mix it up, then one of these might be right for you. One might pull out the Chemex or the Hario v60 with stand for an upscale brunch or the pretty Origami or minimalist Fellow Stagg for a first date.
The pour-over method offers the greatest control over your brew, as it puts the variables of water temperature, flow rate, and overall brew time in your hands. That explained, if you’re looking for a coffee with low perceived acid, you can achieve that by your choice of roast level, first and foremost, and then adjusting your grind and flow rate.
We feel the Hario v60 is the best choice overall for its control over extraction, its aesthetic appeal, and its value, though our other picks are great options depending on each user’s lifestyle and coffee preferences.
