How to choose a pour-over dripper

1. Decide how many cups you brew

Start with batch size, because each dripper comes in fixed sizes. Hario makes the V60 in 01 for 1 to 2 cups, 02 for 1 to 4 and 03 for 1 to 6. Kalita's Wave 185 brews 2 to 4 cups. Chemex's Six Cup Classic holds 30 ounces.

For one or two mugs, a V60 02 or Wave 185 is the usual choice. For a pot to share, a Chemex is simpler than brewing twice.

2. Choose how much control you want

Decide whether you want the dripper to respond to your pouring or to smooth it out. Hario says the V60's single large hole leaves the flow "unrestricted by the dripper", so changing your pour speed changes the strength of the cup. That is control, and it is also more ways to get it wrong.

Kalita describes the Wave's flat bottom and three holes as stopping water from pooling, so the bed extracts evenly. Its fluted filters touch the dripper less, which Kalita says lets water flow evenly. In practice that means less depends on your hand.

3. Match the dripper to your grinder

Pair a fast cone with a grinder that makes fewer fines, and a steadier dripper with an entry grinder. This follows from Coffee ad Astra's experience: with low-fines burrs and a narrower grind size distribution, brews "tasted much cleaner" and could go much finer before choking, which the author attributes to the near absence of fines.

This is a starting point, not a rule. For your grinder's starting settings, see the grinder pages.

4. Consider immersion if pouring is the problem

If you find steady pouring hard, look at an immersion dripper. Hario's V60 Switch has a valve in the base. You add coffee and water, let it steep, then flip the switch to drain. It takes standard V60 02 or 03 filters.

Because the coffee steeps first, how fast you pour matters much less. You still get paper-filtered coffee. The trade-off is that you lose some of the flow control that makes the V60 worth learning. Immersion brewing explains the difference.

5. Pick a material

Choose material for heat and handling, not flavor claims. Hario sells the V60 in plastic, ceramic, glass, stainless steel and copper. Its ceramic 02 is porcelain Arita ware from Japan. Kalita's Wave 185 comes in glass, which Kalita suggests warming before you brew. Chemex uses borosilicate glass and says its brewer is dishwasher safe once the wood collar is removed.

Ceramic and glass hold heat once warmed. Plastic is light and hard to break, which makes it an easy first V60.

6. Check the filters before you buy

Make sure you can buy filters for the dripper easily. The Kalita Wave 185 needs Kalita Wave 185 filters. A Chemex needs Chemex Bonded filters. A V60 takes cone filters in its own size. See how to choose coffee filters for which paper suits which grind.

Which dripper suits a beginner?

A flat-bottom Kalita Wave or a Hario Switch, if you want consistent cups quickly. A V60 if you want to learn pouring and you are happy to adjust. Neither choice is wrong. The pour-over method page walks through a first recipe for each style.

What grind size should you use?

Start medium and adjust by taste and brew time. Chemex recommends a medium-coarse grind for its brewer. If a brew stalls, grind coarser before changing anything else.