How to choose the right coffee dripper?

In a world where there are so many coffee drippers and brewers to choose from how on earth are you supposed to decide on which dripper is right for you?

No, we are not talking about picking your favourite colour, in this article we'll discuss the properties of different coffee drippers and explain the benefits and disadvantages for each. 

How To Choose Your Coffee Dripper

If you're reading this and have any amount of doubt in your mind about which coffee dripper suits your needs then chances are that you 1, don't know enough about coffee drippers or 2, you haven't thought about what you want out of a coffee dripper.
Step one of this is to gather all the necessary information you need to know (provided in this article) to make an informed decision about purchasing coffee drippers and also keeping in mind your requirements and what you want to be able to achieve from brewing with your coffee dripper.

Coffee Dripper Sizes

Coffee Drippers come in a huge range of different sizes (which is a good thing) unfortunately where things started to get a little confusing was when independent companies start referring to the same size as a different name. A Hario V60 01 dripper is the same size and uses the same filters as a 1 cup Cafec flower dripper, albeit the drippers are a different design and may have slightly varying dimensions.

Coffee Dripper Size to Cups of coffee:

Working out how many cups of coffee you plan on brew each time will help you to choose the correct size dripper. Considering a small cup of coffee is just under 250ml / 8oz and with a standard pour over coffee to water ratio of 1:15 you end up using around 15g of coffee. When brewing pour over coffee you have to consider not only the dose of coffee but how much water can physically fit in your dripper whilst brewing. 
What I am trying to get to is that going 1 cup larger than what you need is always a good idea, for instance if you only ever brew 1 cup of coffee you may come across a really slow drawing down coffee that instantly fills up the dripper with your first or second pour. Luckily small drippers are usually sized to make 1-2 cups of coffee and this would be ideal in this scenario.

• If you plan on making 1 cup of coffee at a time, opt for a small 01 or 1-2 cup coffee dripper.
• If you plan on making coffee for 2-3 people at a time, a 02 or 2-4 Cup dripper is your best bet.
• If you're making coffee for 3-4 or more people consider using an 03 Hario V60 dripper or even larger coffee drippers.
• Why You Shouldn't Buy the Biggest Dripper

Ok so up until now you may be thinking that bigger = better, unfortunately this just isn't the case. When pouring your water into your dripper it is important to get the tip of your gooseneck kettle close to the bed of coffee grounds, the distance and speed of water flowing will have an impact on how your coffee extracts.

Large drippers have longer walls that create a greater distance between the coffee bed and the tip of your kettle's spout. When brewing an appropriate dose of coffee this isn't an issue and is an appropriate size to cater to the amount of coffee you're brewing, but when using smaller doses of coffee in a larger dripper this can quickly over-extract and start to create problems with your coffee.

Hario 01 / 02 / 03

The Hario V60 range of drippers is by far the most popular coffee dripper available, they are a conical coffee brewer and just like the name suggests feature a 60º angle and a 'v'-shape. The Hario V60 is available in 01, 02 and 03 sizes which can be easily interpreted as:

• 01 = 1-2 cups of coffee
  
• 02 = 2-4 cups of coffee
• 03 = 3-4 cups of coffee

Origami Small / Medium

The Origami Dripper is another conical coffee dripper which can be brewed with both conical filter papers or wave style filters. This 2 in 1 dripper was popularised in 2020 and continues to be a fan favourite amongst cafes, coffee competitions and home baristas.
The Origami dripper and the Origami Air Dripper are available in both 'S' and 'M' sizes, these refer to Small and Medium and equate to:

• S = 1-2 cups of coffee
  
• M = 2-4 cups of coffee

Kalita 155 / 185

Kalita is another Japanese coffee dripper, which utilises wave filters. Wave filters are large circles of paper that have been creped and moulded into a wave shape with 20 folds that line up perfectly with the Origami dripper.

When you flatten a Kalita wave filter you can measure the diameter out to be 155mm or 185mm, the small Kalita wave filters are named 155 and the larger Kalita wave filters are named 185. 

• 155 = 1-2 cups of coffee
  
• 185 = 2-4 cups of coffee

Cafec 1 Cup / 4 Cup

Cafec, again another Japanese coffee gear brand, manufacture both coffee drippers and their own range of filter papers. The Cafec range use '1-2 Cup' / '2 Cup' and '2-4 Cup' to refer to their products sizing. 

• 2 Cup = 1-2 cups of coffee
  
• 4 Cup = 2-4 cups of coffee

Coffee Dripper Size Chart:

	Small 1-2 coffees	Medium 1-4 coffees (AKA 2-4 Cup)	Large 1-6 coffees
Hario V60	01	02	03
Origami	Small	Medium
Kalita Wave	155	185
Cafec	1 Cup	4 Cup

 

Coffee Dripper Shapes

Pretty much every different brand of coffee dripper is a unique shape. On average the two most popular shapes of a coffee dripper is the V-shaped pour over cone and the flat-bottomed coffee dripper. 

Conical Coffee Drippers (V-Shaped)

These are shaped like a cone, often with a 60° angle (like the Hario V60). Water flows through a single point at the bottom, creating a deeper coffee bed and encouraging a more pronounced flavour clarity.

Characteristics:
• Encourages complex flavour clarity
• Requires more careful pouring technique
• More sensitive to grind size and flow rate

Flat Bottom Coffee Drippers

Flat bottom brewers use a wider base with multiple drainage holes. This results in a shallower coffee bed, promoting even extraction and a more forgiving brew.

Characteristics:
• Easier to brew consistently
• Promotes balanced, round flavour
• Ideal for batch brewing or beginners

Coffee Dripper Materials

Plastic Coffee Drippers

Most home brewers will start their pour over coffee journey with a plastic coffee dripper, the Hario V60 plastic dripper is both inexpensive, the filters are readily available and it is capable of making great tasting coffee.

Plastic has some of the very best thermal insulating properties, meaning that when brewing the inside stays hot while the outside remains warm at most. This makes plastic not only an approachable solution but a great performing coffee brewer.

Ceramic Coffee Drippers

The natural progression is for someone to start off with a plastic dripper and then upgrade to ceramic, most people do this because they're under the impression that a heavier dripper has more quality and aesthetic appeal so it must make better coffee... right?

Ceramic is thicker and heavier but when it comes to heat retention it sucks out the heat, this can be ideal for brewing multiple coffees back to back because your ceramic coffee dripper will keep warm but when brewing a one off coffee it sucks the heat right out of your brew. 

Ceramic drippers aren't completly written off, thinner porcelain brewers like the Origami dripper have great results and take less hot water to bring it up to a hotter temperature and in fact many brewer competitors prefer to use ceramic drippers to compete with.

Glass Coffee Drippers

Glass is an interesting choice to use as a coffee brewer, it's properties are quite similar to ceramic with the biggest difference being the opacity. The Hario V60 Switch which features a Glass dripper is a perfect example of this, when the switch is open you can see how the filter interacts with the dripper, noting at which points the coffee flows freely.

Besides this there really isn't a monumental difference between ceramic and glass coffee drippers.

Metal Coffee Drippers

Metal is my personal favourite material to make coffee with, the Hario V60 Metal Dripper uses a thin sheet of stainless steel with a matte black coating. Metal tends to suck the heat from water quicker but stays hotter as well. Another honourable mention is the Graycano dripper, it has intentionally carved out air pockets at the base of the Aluminium brewer which capture the hot air from the brewed coffee and continuously heats the dripper throughout brewing.

Portable Coffee Drippers

The last category we will cover is for the travellers, office works and home brewers who cant stomach hotel coffee. Portable coffee makers and travel coffee gear has only grown in popularity since the AeroPress's inception. 

Most portable coffee brewers are made from plastic, metal or a combination of both. Travel coffee gear prioritises ease of use and ability its ability to easily clean, with reusable filters and lightweight build.

The Miir Pourigami dripper is essentially just 3 pieces of metal that interlock to form a triangular cone shape. This packs down into a small pouch that can is around the same size as a small wallet.