# Clever Dripper

Source: https://dailyextraction.com/methods/clever-dripper/
Last updated: 2026-10-20

> A Clever Dripper is a cone brewer with a valve in the bottom. Off the mug, the valve stays shut so the coffee steeps like a French press; set it on a mug and the valve opens, draining through a paper filter. Ozone Coffee uses 15 g of coffee to 250 g of water at 95°C, steeps until 2:15, then drains for a total of about 3:30.

## At a glance

- Ratio: 1:16.7 (15 g coffee : 250 g water)
- Grind: Medium (sand)
- Water temperature: 95 °C
- Brew time: about 3:30
- Category: Immersion & Steeping (Immersion)
- Difficulty: Beginner
- Origin: Taiwan, 2008
- Also known as: Clever coffee dripper, Clever brewer, Clever Dripper coffee

## Steps

1. **Rinse the filter**: Fold a
2. **Add the coffee**: Take the Clever off the mug and put it on the counter. Add 15 g of coffee, ground medium, like filter coffee.
3. **Add all the water**: Start a timer and pour in all 250 g of water at 95°C, making sure all the grounds are wet. Put the lid on.
4. **Steep**: Let it steep until 2:15. The valve keeps everything in the brewer.
5. **Drain**: Set the Clever on your mug or server. The valve opens and the coffee drains through the paper.
6. **Serve**: Lift the Clever off when it has drained, at about 3:30 in total.

The **Clever Dripper** is a cone-shaped brewer with a **shut-off valve** in the bottom. On the counter, the valve stays **closed**, so the coffee **steeps** like a [French press](https://dailyextraction.com/methods/french-press/). Set it on a mug and the valve **opens**, draining the coffee through a **paper filter** like a pour-over. You get the easy, hands-off brewing of immersion with the clean cup of paper. Here's a recipe, how the valve works and how it compares.

## The short version

- **Steep, then drain**: a valve holds the water in until you set it on a mug.
- **Ozone Coffee's recipe:** 15 g coffee, 250 g water at 95°C, steep until 2:15, about 3:30 in total.
- **Grind medium**, like filter coffee.
- **Uses #4 cone paper filters.**
- **Forgiving**: no pouring technique needed.



## How does the Clever Dripper work?

![Diagram of the Clever Dripper: on the counter the valve stays closed and the coffee steeps; set on a mug the valve opens and the coffee drains through the paper filter](https://dailyextraction.com/diagrams/clever-dripper.svg "The Clever's valve: closed on the counter, open on a mug.")

At the bottom of the Clever is a **valve**. While the brewer sits on the counter, the valve stays **shut**, so the coffee and water steep together, like a French press. When you put it on a **mug or server**, the valve **opens** and the coffee drains through the **paper filter**. Because it's an immersion brewer, you don't need careful pouring: the steep time does the work.

## How much coffee and water should I use?

This is **Ozone Coffee's Clever Dripper recipe**:

| | Amount |
| --- | --- |
| Coffee | 15 g, medium filter grind |
| Water | 250 g, at 95°C |
| Ratio | About 1:16.7 |
| Steep | Until 2:15 |
| Total time | About 3:30 |

Other roasters' recipes sit around **1:15 to 1:17**, with steeps of roughly 2:00 to 3:00. A longer steep gives more body.

## What grind size should I use?

**Medium**, like filter coffee. If it tastes weak or sour, grind a little finer or steep longer; if it's bitter or drains very slowly, grind coarser.

![Chart of coffee grind sizes from extra fine to extra coarse, with medium highlighted for the Clever Dripper](https://dailyextraction.com/diagrams/grind-size.svg#medium "The Clever uses a medium, filter-coffee grind.")

## How do you brew with a Clever, step by step?

1. **Rinse a #4 filter** in the Clever, then set it on a mug to drain the rinse water.
2. **Move it to the counter** and add 15 g of coffee.
3. **Pour in all 250 g of water** at 95°C, wet all the grounds and put the lid on.
4. **Steep until 2:15.**
5. **Set it on your mug.** The valve opens and it drains.
6. **Lift it off** when it's done, at about 3:30.

Brew mode on this page times the steep and the drain for you.

## What sizes and filters are there?

| | Large | Small |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Holds | 500 ml (about 18 oz) | 300 ml (about 10 oz) |
| Filters | Size 4 cone papers | Size 2 cone papers |

Ozone Coffee says the size is printed on the brewer's base.

## Who invented the Clever Dripper?

The Clever comes from the Taiwanese company **E.K. Int'l Co.**, founded in 1996, which sold it under the brand **Abid**, short for Absolutely Best Idea Development, and now as **HandyBrew**. The maker says it brought the idea of cupping into the design. Retailers often date the Clever to **2008**, and a forum post says Sweet Maria's first brought it to the US in 2009, but I haven't found a primary source for either date, so treat them as approximate.

## Clever vs other brewers

| | Clever | [French press](https://dailyextraction.com/methods/french-press/) | [V60](https://dailyextraction.com/methods/v60/) |
| --- | --- | --- | --- |
| How it brews | Steep, then drain through paper | Steep, then press through mesh | Pour-over through paper |
| Filter | Paper | Metal mesh | Paper |
| Cup | Clean, medium body | Heavy, full | Clean, bright |
| Technique | Very little | Very little | Careful pouring |

The **[Hario Switch](https://dailyextraction.com/methods/hario-switch/)** works on the same idea, but you open and close its valve with a switch instead of setting it on a mug.

## How do you clean it?

Lift out the filter and grounds, then rinse the brewer, valve included, so nothing blocks it.

*General guidance only. Take care with hot water, and only set the Clever on a mug or server that it sits on securely.*

## Clever vs other methods

- **[French press](https://dailyextraction.com/methods/french-press/):** steeps the same way, with a heavier cup.
- **[Hario Switch](https://dailyextraction.com/methods/hario-switch/):** a hand-switched immersion dripper.
- **[V60](https://dailyextraction.com/methods/v60/):** pour-over with more control.
- **[AeroPress](https://dailyextraction.com/methods/aeropress/):** another steep-and-filter brewer.

Explore every immersion method in the [immersion chapter](https://dailyextraction.com/methods/immersion/).

## Words used in this guide

- [Steeping](https://dailyextraction.com/glossary/steeping/): Steeping is leaving ground coffee to sit in water so its flavour dissolves out, as in a French press or cold brew.
- [Pour-over](https://dailyextraction.com/glossary/pour-over/): Pour-over is a way of making filter coffee by hand: you pour hot water over ground coffee in a filter cone and let it drip through into a cup or jug.
- [Immersion vs percolation](https://dailyextraction.com/glossary/immersion-vs-percolation/): Immersion brewing steeps all the coffee in all the water at once, as a French press does.
- [Body](https://dailyextraction.com/glossary/body/): Body is how heavy and textured coffee feels in your mouth, from light and tea-like to thick and syrupy.
- [Metal filter](https://dailyextraction.com/glossary/metal-filter/): A metal filter is a fine stainless-steel mesh that holds back coffee grounds, as used in a French press plunger and some reusable pour-over filters.

## FAQs

### How does a Clever Dripper work?

It has a shut-off valve in the bottom. On the counter, the valve stays closed so the coffee and water steep together. When you set it on a mug or server, the valve opens and the coffee drains through a paper filter.

### What's a good Clever Dripper recipe?

Ozone Coffee uses 15 g of medium filter-ground coffee to 250 g of water at 95°C. Steep until 2:15, then set it on your mug to drain, for a total of about 3:30.

### What filters does the Clever use?

Ozone Coffee, the UK distributor, says the large 500 ml Clever takes standard size 4 cone filters and the small 300 ml one takes size 2. The size is printed on the brewer's base.

### Who makes the Clever Dripper?

The Taiwanese company E.K. Int'l Co., under the Abid brand (Absolutely Best Idea Development), now HandyBrew. Retailers often date it to 2008, but I haven't found a primary source for the year.

### Clever Dripper vs French press?

Both steep the coffee, but the Clever drains through paper, so the cup is cleaner with less sediment. A French press filters through metal mesh for a heavier, fuller body.

### Clever Dripper vs Hario Switch?

Both combine steeping and paper filtering. The Clever's valve opens when you set it on a mug; the Hario Switch has a switch you open and close by hand.

## Sources

- [Clever Dripper brew guide](https://ozonecoffee.co.uk/pages/brew-guide-clever-dripper)
- [Clever: history and how to use it to brew coffee](https://www.caffeernani.com/en/recipes/clever-history-and-how-to-use-it-to-brew-coffee/)
- [Clever coffee dripper: recipe and hands-on review](https://www.brewcoffeehome.com/clever-coffee-dripper/)
- [Clever Dripper brewing guide](https://crema-coffee.com/pages/clever-dripper-brewing-guide)
- [Clever Dripper C-90200](https://www.handybrew.com/CleverDripper_C-90200.html)
- [Clever Dripper filter papers](https://ozonecoffee.co.uk/products/clever-dripper-filter-papers)