Maybe the best coffee extraction tool.
Needless to say, I’ve been a coffee addict and aficionado ever since I backpacked through Europe with Cindy, when I got indoctrinated with my first espresso in Paris.
I am of two minds: the funny thing is I actually made it all throughout college without drinking a single sip of coffee. Truth be told, I probably slept better, felt better, and was still very productive without the aid of coffee caffeine or other stimulants. The only thing I would do is drink green tea every once in a while.
Therefore, if I never got addicted to coffee, it probably would’ve been better but, since I did get addicted to coffee, maybe it is best to just lean into it.
Why the clever dripper?
When me and Cindy lived in Saigon, we met the owner of this very epic boutique coffee shop and Roastery, and she recommended it to us. She said that it was her personal preferred method of extracting coffee, and she would travel with it with her everywhere she went. Therefore, after purchasing one in 2017, we have used it religiously since and it still works like a charm.
So how does it work?
Essentially, imagine a V60 pour over cone, but it has a locking mechanism at the bottom. And it remains unengaged, until you put it on top of a cup, or a bottle. Therefore, you could brew and extract the coffee for a very long time, almost making it like the consistency of a cold brew coffee. And this is what I sometimes do, I let it sit overnight, then in the morning it is nice and thick, like a very strong cold brew.
What I love about the design
First of all, it lasts. It has not broken, even after five years of daily and multiple of day use. Also, it requires no maintenance. Even though sometimes I fantasize about having a really nice espresso machine, I cannot be bothered having to maintain a machine.
Also, it is portable, lightweight, and we could travel with it. Imagine trying to travel with an espresso machine.
Also, it is simple. Ever since we got this Zojuroshi Japanese hot water boiler kettle, which always has hot boiling water on tap, it is very straightforward. We just grind our beans, pour the beans into the clever dripper with a filter attached on top, and we brew the coffee, and let it sit. And whatever remainder we may have, we extract it and put it in the fridge, and drink it the next day. And every morning it’s like we have a nice cold brew coffee.
Is the clever dripper superior to an espresso?
One of my greatest joys is having a very bright and fruity and acidic espresso, pulled expertly by some coffee espresso expert. I really love the insanely bright and acidic taste and feeling in my mouth.
However, finding espresso like this is few and far in between, and I cannot optimize my life around coffee. The question is: is the purpose of your life just trying to find the best coffee, to maximize your taste buds pleasure? Or, do you see coffee caffeine and other stimulants as a tool to just get you going, in order to do more virtuous things, like your creative work, or weightlifting?
I say the clever dripper or extraction tool and technique and the method is to me, about 95% as good as a great espresso. Also it has more caffeine. Therefore, it is currently my preferred method of extracting and consuming coffee.
I’d recommend buying one on Amazon, and also, it seems that just using a cheap coffee grinder works fine. Me and Cindy bought a Capresso coffee grinder from Costco maybe seven years ago, for only 20 or 30 bucks, and it has worked well until now.
Also a new discovery that Cindy made is that you could buy bulk coffee on Amazon, for very cheap, and it tastes very good. I really like the “fresh roasted coffee“ brand on Amazon, and the light roast.
