# NextLevel Pulsar

Source: https://dailyextraction.com/methods/nextlevel-pulsar/
Last updated: 2026-10-19

> The NextLevel Pulsar is a no-bypass dripper with a valve and a water-spreading cap. NextLevel's basic recipe: close the valve, add 20 g of medium-coarse coffee and bloom with 60 g of water. Open the valve between 0:30 and 1:00, then pour through the cap to 340 g. It finishes in 4 to 5 minutes.

## At a glance

- Ratio: 1:17 (20 g coffee : 340 g water)
- Grind: Medium-coarse
- Category: Hybrid & Air-pressure (Hybrid)
- Difficulty: Intermediate
- Origin: United States
- Also known as: Pulsar dripper, Pulsar brewer, NextLevel Brewer Pulsar

## Steps

1. **Close the valve and add coffee**: Put a dry filter paper in the Pulsar, close the valve and add 20 g of coffee ground at 800 to 1,000 microns, medium-coarse.
2. **Bloom**: Start a timer and pour 60 g of water to bloom the coffee, with the valve still closed.
3. **Open the valve**: Open the valve somewhere between 0:30 and 1:00.
4. **Pour in stages**: Put the dispersion cap on and pour into its centre in several pours, keeping the water 1 to 3 cm above the coffee bed, until the total is 340 g.
5. **Let it drain**: Let it drain fully. NextLevel's total brew time is 4:00 to 5:00, depending on the coffee and grind, for about 295 g in the cup.

The **NextLevel Pulsar** is a flat-bottomed dripper built to stop **bypass**: the water that, in most drippers, runs down the sides of the filter without passing through the coffee. It adds two more ideas: a **flow control valve** at the bottom, so you can steep and then drain, and a **dispersion cap** on top that spreads the water evenly over the coffee. Its geometry was developed with the coffee scientist **Jonathan Gagné**. Here's how it works and a recipe to start with.

## The short version

- **A no-bypass dripper**: the water has to go through the coffee.
- **A valve**: closed to steep, open to drain.
- **A dispersion cap** that spreads the water, so a gooseneck kettle isn't essential.
- **NextLevel's basic recipe:** 20 g of medium-coarse coffee to 340 g of water (1:17).
- **Bloom with the valve closed**, open it between 0:30 and 1:00, then pour in stages.
- **Finish in 4 to 5 minutes.**



## How does the Pulsar work?

1. **No bypass.** The Pulsar is shaped so the water can't slip down the sides of the filter and around the coffee. It all passes through the coffee bed.
2. **The valve.** Close it and the coffee steeps, as in a [Clever Dripper](https://dailyextraction.com/methods/clever-dripper/) or [Hario Switch](https://dailyextraction.com/methods/hario-switch/). Open it and the coffee drains. Most recipes keep it closed for the bloom and open for the main pour.
3. **The dispersion cap.** Water poured onto the cap falls through it in small streams spread over the whole bed, so you don't need careful pouring.

## How much coffee and water should I use?

NextLevel publishes four suggested recipes. Its **Basic Recipe** is the place to start:

| | Basic | Dry Filter | Steep & Flush | Batch Brew |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| Coffee | 20 g | 18 g | 20 g | 40 g |
| Water | 340 g | 305 g | 340 g | 580 g, plus 100 g to dilute |
| Grind | 800–1,000 µm | 800–1,000 µm | 600–800 µm | 1,000–1,300 µm |
| Bloom | 60 g, valve closed | 100 g, valve closed | Fill to 190 g, valve closed | 120 g, valve closed |
| Open valve | 0:30–1:00 | 1:00 | 1:30–2:00 | 0:30–1:00 |
| Total time | 4:00–5:00 | 4:00–5:00 | 3:30–4:30 | 4:30–5:30 |
| In the cup | About 295 g | About 260 g | About 295 g | About 600 g |

NextLevel describes the Basic Recipe as giving more clarity and acidity, the Dry Filter recipe more sweetness, and Steep & Flush more body. For Steep & Flush, it suggests letting the kettle cool by 10–15°F before the main pour.

Jonathan Gagné's own launch recipe is a little different: he uses water just under boiling (99°C), opens the valve at about one minute, and pours in small pulses that keep roughly 1 cm of water above the bed, finishing in 3:30 to 4:30. Gota lists dozens more recipes, and most follow the same shape: a closed-valve bloom, then an open-valve pour.

## What grind size should I use?

NextLevel gives grind sizes in microns: **800 to 1,000 µm** for the Basic Recipe, which is **medium-coarse**. Then adjust by the finish time: grind finer if it drains well before 4:00 and tastes thin, coarser if it runs well past 5:00 or tastes bitter.

![Chart of coffee grind sizes from extra fine to extra coarse, with medium-coarse highlighted for the NextLevel Pulsar](https://dailyextraction.com/diagrams/grind-size.svg#medium-coarse "NextLevel's basic recipe uses 800 to 1,000 microns, a medium-coarse grind.")

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

1. **Put in a dry filter**, close the valve and add 20 g of medium-coarse coffee.
2. **Bloom:** pour 60 g of water with the valve closed.
3. **Open the valve** between 0:30 and 1:00.
4. **Pour into the centre of the cap** in several pours, keeping the water 1 to 3 cm above the bed, to 340 g.
5. **Let it drain.** It should finish between 4:00 and 5:00.

Brew mode on this page times each stage for you.

## Pulsar vs other valve brewers

| | NextLevel Pulsar | [Hario Switch](https://dailyextraction.com/methods/hario-switch/) | [Clever Dripper](https://dailyextraction.com/methods/clever-dripper/) |
| --- | --- | --- | --- |
| Shape | Flat bottom, no bypass | V60 cone | Cone |
| Valve | Hand-operated | Hand-operated switch | Opens on a mug |
| Water spread | Dispersion cap | Your pouring | Your pouring |
| Best for | Even, controlled percolation | Pour-over, immersion or hybrid | Easy immersion |

## Who makes the Pulsar?

It's made by the US company **NextLevel Brewer Co.**, which had already built the Lvl-10 dripper. Gota says every part is made in the United States, from heat-stable plastic, and that it holds about 380 ml. Jonathan Gagné, who writes the Coffee Ad Astra blog and the book *The Physics of Filter Coffee*, introduced it on his blog on 13 September 2023 and says the company funded the prototypes and tooling. Gota describes the geometry as developed in collaboration with him.

## How do you clean it?

Throw away the filter and grounds, then rinse the brewer, the cap and the valve under running water, opening and closing the valve so nothing stays trapped.

*General guidance only. Take care with hot water, and follow NextLevel's instructions for your Pulsar.*

## Pulsar vs other methods

- **[V60](https://dailyextraction.com/methods/v60/):** the classic cone pour-over.
- **[Hario Switch](https://dailyextraction.com/methods/hario-switch/):** a V60 with a valve.
- **[Clever Dripper](https://dailyextraction.com/methods/clever-dripper/):** steep, then drain on a mug.
- **[Kalita Wave](https://dailyextraction.com/methods/kalita-wave/):** another flat-bottomed dripper.

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

## Words used in this guide

- [Bypass](https://dailyextraction.com/glossary/bypass/): Bypass is brew water that flows around the coffee bed instead of through it, for example down the sides of a filter, so it reaches the cup without extracting much flavour.
- [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.
- [Bloom](https://dailyextraction.com/glossary/bloom/): The bloom is the first small pour of water in a brew, usually 2–3 times the weight of the coffee, followed by a 30–45 second pause.
- [Acidity](https://dailyextraction.com/glossary/acidity/): Acidity in coffee is the bright, lively, juicy quality you taste on the tongue, like the tang of fruit.
- [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.
- [Grind size](https://dailyextraction.com/glossary/grind-size/): Grind size is how finely coffee beans are broken up before brewing.
- [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.
- [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.

## FAQs

### What is a no-bypass brewer?

In most drippers, some water runs down the sides of the filter and past the coffee without brewing it, which is called bypass. The Pulsar is designed so the water has to go through the bed of coffee.

### What does the Pulsar's valve do?

It lets you close the outlet. Most Pulsar recipes keep it closed for the bloom, so the coffee steeps, then open it for the main pour. You can also close it to slow or stop the flow.

### Do I need a gooseneck kettle for the Pulsar?

Not really. The dispersion cap spreads the water evenly over the coffee, so you pour into its centre rather than tracing spirals, and reviewers say it works well even with a standard kettle.

### Who designed the Pulsar?

It's made by the US company NextLevel Brewer Co., and its geometry was developed with the coffee scientist Jonathan Gagné, who writes the Coffee Ad Astra blog.

### Pulsar vs Hario Switch?

Both have a valve, so both can steep and then drain. The Pulsar is a flat-bottomed, no-bypass design with a dispersion cap; the Switch is a V60 cone on a valve base.

## Sources

- [The Pulsar dripper](https://coffeeadastra.com/2023/09/13/the-pulsar-dripper/)
- [NextLevel Pulsar: best no-bypass brewer so far](https://coffeegeek.com/blog/new-products/nextlevel-pulsar-best-no-bypass-brewer-so-far/)
- [Pulsar suggested recipes (PDF)](https://cdn.abicart.com/shop/4461/art83/207808483-2b60bb-Pulsar_Recipes_____NextLevel_Brewer_Co.pdf)
- [NextLevel Pulsar dripper brew recipe](https://kaldiscoffee.com/blogs/recipes/nextlevel-pulsar-dripper-brew-recipe)
- [NextLevel Pulsar recipes](https://gota.cafe/en/recipes/nextlevel-pulsar)