Coffee, Water, Grind, and Time

Coffee brewing is essentially a "just add water" situation. The caveat is that you want to measure the amounts of coffee
and water, use water at the right temperature, find the appropriate grind size, and control the amount of time that the
coffee grounds and water are in contact. Every brew method recipe, whether filter style (drip machines, chemex, pour
over) or immersion style (french press, eva solo, siphon) can be largely expressed within these variables.
Clean filtered water of the sort you'd happily drink is a must. Most manual brew methods will perform best at
temperatures just off of a boil (~195-205F). You'll discover some coffees are more sensitive to water
temperature than othersunusually dark roasts are able to tolerate much lower brewing temperatures (accounting
for much of their continued popularity as the bulk of cheap automatic drip brewers tend to not get water hot enough).

Coffee to Water Ratio

Coffee nerds differ by degrees about what the most correct coffee to water ratio is, and you'll want to explore nudging
your coffee dose up or down to suit your own tastes and specific gear. A good general starting point is just over 60
grams of coffee per liter of water. (Or in simple measurements: about 2 tablespoons of coffee for every 6 ounces of
water.)
For those with a slightly nerdier bent for exact numbers and a full embrace of the magical metric systemin which 1
gram of water equals 1 milliliter of wateryou can aim for a ratio of 1:16 or 1 gram of coffee per 16 milliliters (or grams)
of water. I keep an online ratio calculatorbookmarked for just this purpose. I'll make the case below for owning a good
kitchen gram scale which can actually make precise manual brewing a breeze.

Ideal Brewing: the "1.5 Minute Stir" method.

Here are some more specific recommendations for exactly how I use the brewer
Step 1: Put the paper filter into the dripper.
Step 2: Add coffee into the filter
Step 3: Add all the water at once and cover, wait 1.5 minutes, then lift the cover and stir to fully mix
the grounds and water. Re-cover for remaining infusion time and drain.
Step 4: When infusion time is up, place dripper on top of a mug or other vessel. Coffee will drain
for approximately 1.5 minutes or less. To stop the flow, simply lift the dripper off the mug.
Amount of Ground Coffee
Water used
Infusion time
Amount of Filtered Coffee Made

2 scoops/22g
12 oz/350 mL/361 grams*
3 - 4:00 min
10 oz/300 mL

* We have found that for the most accurate brewing, it is best to measure your water by weight. This is
easily done by preparing your coffee on a scale. For 22 grams of coffee, you want to use 361 grams of hot
water.
** These recommendations are based on using a regular drip grind. If you use a coarser grind, you may
need to lengthen extraction time.
How to Brew Coffee with the Clever Coffee Dripper:
Step 1: Put the paper filter into the dripper and rinse to reduce paper taste and warm the dripper.
Step 2: Grind immediately before you brew. You want to use a fine filter drip grind. Our
recommendations are based on using a relatively fine drip grind. If you use a coarser grind, you may
need to lengthen extraction time. If the water pools and does not drain effectivelty in Step 5, try a
coarser grind.
Step 3: Add coffee into the filter (See chart below for ratios we found work well.)
Step 4: Add the water and cover. Wait1.5 minutes, then lift the cover, stirring to fully mix the
grounds and water, and re-cover.
Step 5: At 4:00, stir one last time and place dripper on top of a mug or other vessel to start coffee
draining. To stop the flow, simply lift the dripper off the mug.
Amount of Ground Coffee
Water used***
Infusion time

22g

33g

66g*

12 oz/360 mL 18 oz/530 mL 36 oz/1 L

3 - 4:00 min

3 - 4:00 min

Amount of Filtered Coffee Made 10 oz/300 mL 15 oz/450 mL

3 - 4:00 min
30 oz/900 mL