Carl, our awesome roaster gave us this Clever brewer to play with, so we dove right in. The Clever brews coffee via immersion brewing.
Immersion brewers have a chamber where the coffee grinds are immersed in the hot water, think French Press. However, the latter uses a metal mesh filter while the Clever brewer uses a paper filter.
Because the coffee is basically steeping in water, the cup results more full-bodied and with intense flavor, and whereas, the French Press’ mesh filter allows most of the coffee oils and smaller solubles into your cup, the paper filter of the Clever brewer will only let a few through, leaving you with a more balanced, delicate cup.
The AeroPress also takes advantage of immersion brewing but what makes the Clever brewer clever is the valve at the bottom of the brewer. The valve is designed so that once the coffee is done brewing, it can be placed on a carafe and automatically start pouring. It works as an instant release valve, I have to admit, I was a bit intimidated by it but after watching these two Clever brewer instruction videos, I was convinced this is a great way to make coffee.
Brewing with the Clever brewer
Fold the paper filter on the side and the bottom in order for it to sit flush against the ridges
of the inside of the brewer. Rinse filter. Place 14g of coarse, freshly ground coffee
inside of the brewer, we are using our WeiWei Guatemala Single Origin. Since we are using a 1:16 coffee to water ratio, put 256g of water to boil.
Once water is done boiling, set aside for 10 seconds. Pour all the water in at once, cover the brewer and let brew for 2:30, uncover and give a gentle stir. Cover it once more and let it brew for an additional minute. Total brewing time at this point is 3:30.
Place the Clever brewer on a carafe and let the valve do its magic, the coffee should start draining at an accelerated rate and be ready to drink within a minute.
As with all brewing methods, there are an infinite amount of variations that can be done to each recipe. The coarseness of the grind, the type of paper filter (we used V60), the temperature of the water, and of course the water to coffee ratio.
The ability to play around with all of the coffee variables while also being able
to maintain a controlled drip rate, is what makes this brewer a great gift for coffee lovers.
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