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NextLevel Pulsar

How to use the NextLevel Pulsar, the no-bypass dripper with a flow valve and a dispersion cap: a 1:17 recipe, how the valve and cap work, and Pulsar vs V60.

Also known as Pulsar dripper, Pulsar brewer, NextLevel Brewer Pulsar

By Updated How we research

Contents
  1. Method
  2. The short version
  3. How does the Pulsar work?
  4. How much coffee and water should I use?
  5. What grind size should I use?
  6. How do you brew with a Pulsar, step by step?
  7. Pulsar vs other valve brewers
  8. Who makes the Pulsar?
  9. How do you clean it?
  10. Pulsar vs other methods
  11. Words in this guide
  12. Questions & answers

How do you use the NextLevel Pulsar?

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 : 340 g
Grind
Medium-coarse
Difficulty
Intermediate
Principle
Hybrid
Hybrid & Air-pressure

Method

  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. Bloom45 s

    Start a timer and pour 60 g of water to bloom the coffee, with the valve still closed.

  3. Open the valve15 s

    Open the valve somewhere between 0:30 and 1:00.

  4. Pour in stages2:00

    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 drain1:30

    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.

NextLevel Pulsar

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.

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 or 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.

Extra fineTurkish coffeelike flourFineEspresso, moka potfiner than table saltMedium-fineV60, AeroPresslike table saltMediumDrip machines, Cleverlike sandMedium-coarseChemexlike rough sandCoarseFrench presslike sea saltExtra coarseCold brewlike cracked pepper
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 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

Explore every hybrid brewer in the hybrid chapter.

What you’ll need

Words in this guide

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
Steeping is leaving ground coffee to sit in water so its flavour dissolves out, as in a French press or cold brew.
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
Acidity in coffee is the bright, lively, juicy quality you taste on the tongue, like the tang of fruit.
Body
Body is how heavy and textured coffee feels in your mouth, from light and tea-like to thick and syrupy.
Grind size
Grind size is how finely coffee beans are broken up before brewing.
Immersion vs percolation
Immersion brewing steeps all the coffee in all the water at once, as a French press does.
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.

Questions & answers

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

  1. The Pulsar dripper. Coffee Ad Astra
  2. NextLevel Pulsar: best no-bypass brewer so far. CoffeeGeek
  3. Pulsar suggested recipes (PDF). NextLevel Brewer Co.
  4. NextLevel Pulsar dripper brew recipe. Kaldi's Coffee
  5. NextLevel Pulsar recipes. Gota

General guidance only. Not medical, food-safety or professional advice. Always follow your equipment's own instructions.

See also

All of chapter IV: Hybrid & Air-pressure
  1. No. 001Hario V60Japan · IntermediateTo brew with a Hario V60, use 15 g of medium-fine coffee and 250 g of water at 92–96 °C.
  2. No. 057Hario SwitchJapan · IntermediateThe Hario Switch, or V60 Immersion Dripper Switch, is a V60 cone on a base with a stainless steel ball valve.
  3. No. 023Clever DripperTaiwan · BeginnerA Clever Dripper is a cone brewer with a valve in the bottom.
  4. No. 052AeroPressUnited States · BeginnerTo make AeroPress coffee, put a paper filter in the cap and the AeroPress on a mug, add 11 g of medium-fine coffee and pour in 200 g of freshly boiled water.
  5. No. 002Kalita WaveJapan · BeginnerThe Kalita Wave is a flat-bottomed pour-over dripper with three small holes and wave-shaped filters.
  6. No. 056Fellow PrismoUnited States · IntermediateThe Fellow Prismo is a replacement cap for the AeroPress with a pressure-actuated valve and a metal filter.

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