# Tricolate

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

> The Tricolate is a cylinder-shaped dripper with straight walls, so no water can bypass the coffee, and a dispersion screen that spreads the water for you. Scott Rao’s recipe uses 20 g of medium-fine coffee to 400 g of boiling water: a 60 g bloom, 170 g at one minute and 170 g more a few minutes later. Expect 7 to 10 minutes.

## At a glance

- Ratio: 1:20 (20 g coffee : 400 g water)
- Grind: Medium-fine (table salt)
- Water temperature: Boiling
- Brew time: about 8:30
- Category: Pour-over & Drip (Percolation)
- Difficulty: Beginner
- Origin: Australia
- Also known as: Tricolate brewer, Tricolate coffee brewer

## Steps

1. **Fit the filter and add the coffee**: Put a Tricolate filter in the brewer, add 20 g of medium-fine coffee and shake the brewer to level the bed. Fit the dispersion screen on top.
2. **Bloom**: Start the timer and pour 60 g of boiling water onto the screen. Spin the brewer gently to level the bed.
3. **Second pour**: At one minute, pour 170 g of boiling water and spin gently again.
4. **Last pour**: Between 3 and 6 minutes, when the water is about 1 cm above the coffee, pour the last 170 g, to 400 g in total, and spin the brewer firmly to level the bed.
5. **Drain**: Let it drain fully. It should finish at about 7 to 10 minutes, then lift the brewer off.

The **Tricolate** is an Australian brewer designed to take the skill out of pour-over. It's a **cylinder** of **Tritan plastic** with **90° walls** and an **80 mm flat bed** of coffee, so water has nowhere to go but **through** the coffee: there's no bypass down the sides. Above the coffee sits a built-in **dispersion screen** that spreads the water across the bed, so you **don't need a gooseneck kettle**. Sprudge reported that it had been shown online **since 2019** before it went on sale. It brews slowly: expect **7 to 10 minutes** for the recipe below. Here's how to use one.

## The short version

- **A cylinder with straight walls**: no water bypasses the coffee.
- **A dispersion screen** spreads the water for you.
- **No gooseneck needed.**
- **Scott Rao's recipe:** 20 g of medium-fine coffee to 400 g of boiling water.
- **A long brew:** about 7 to 10 minutes.



## How does the Tricolate work?

1. **No bypass.** In a cone dripper, some water runs down between the paper and the walls without passing through the coffee. The Tricolate's **vertical walls** and flat bed stop that: all the water goes through the coffee.
2. **The dispersion screen.** The screen spreads the water across the whole bed, a little like a shower head, so you can pour from an ordinary kettle without worrying about flow rate. Coffee Chronicler found the first screen too fast and forceful; Tricolate updated it in **2022** with a slower flow, and also changed the filter size.
3. **The result**, Tricolate says, is a higher extraction than a typical pour-over; reviewers have been more cautious about whether that tastes better.

## How much coffee and water should I use?

| | Scott Rao (via Elm) | Prima Coffee |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Coffee | 20 g, medium-fine | 20 g |
| Water | 400 g, boiling | 360 ml |
| Ratio | 1:20 | 1:18 |
| Bloom | 60 g, spin gently | 80 ml, swirl, wait 1 minute |
| Then | 170 g at 1:00, 170 g at 3–6 minutes | 280 ml at 1:00 |
| Total time | 7 to 10 minutes | 6 to 10 minutes |

Because there's no bypass, it's an efficient brewer, and these recipes use wider ratios than a typical pour-over. Coffee Chronicler says Tricolate's own site suggested two approaches, one at about **1:16.6** and one at **1:22**. If a cup tastes dry or bitter, grind coarser before you change anything else.

## What grind size should I use?

**Medium-fine**, about cupping grind, for Scott Rao's recipe. Coffee Chronicler preferred a medium grind (24 to 26 clicks on a Comandante) with a slower pour. Adjust by taste and time: coarser if it's bitter or takes much longer than 10 minutes, finer if it's thin.

![Chart of coffee grind sizes from extra fine to extra coarse, with medium-fine highlighted for the Tricolate](https://dailyextraction.com/diagrams/grind-size.svg#medium-fine "Scott Rao's Tricolate recipe uses a medium-fine grind.")

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

1. **Fit the filter**, add **20 g** of medium-fine coffee and shake to level it. Fit the dispersion screen.
2. **Bloom:** pour **60 g** of boiling water and spin the brewer gently.
3. **At 1 minute**, pour **170 g** and spin gently again.
4. **Between 3 and 6 minutes**, when the water is about 1 cm above the coffee, pour the last **170 g** and spin firmly.
5. **Let it drain**, which should finish at about **7 to 10 minutes**, then lift it off.

Brew mode on this page times each stage for you.

## Tricolate vs other no-bypass brewers

| | Tricolate | [NextLevel Pulsar](https://dailyextraction.com/methods/nextlevel-pulsar/) | [V60](https://dailyextraction.com/methods/v60/) |
| --- | --- | --- | --- |
| Shape | Cylinder | Flat bottom | Cone |
| Bypass | None | None | Some |
| Water spread | Dispersion screen | Dispersion cap | Your pouring |
| Valve | No | Yes | No |
| Gooseneck needed | No | No | Helps |

## Where does the Tricolate come from?

**Australia.** Elm Coffee Roasters describes it as "Australian made", and Coffee Chronicler calls the maker a small and relatively new outfit. Sprudge reported that the brewer had been shown online **since 2019** before it went on sale as a pre-order, at **$75 AUD**, with German-made paper filters.

*General guidance only. Take care with boiling water, and keep the brewer steady on a cup it fits.*

## Tricolate vs other methods

- **[NextLevel Pulsar](https://dailyextraction.com/methods/nextlevel-pulsar/):** another no-bypass brewer, with a valve.
- **[Orea](https://dailyextraction.com/methods/orea/):** a fast flat-bottomed dripper.
- **[Kalita Wave](https://dailyextraction.com/methods/kalita-wave/):** the classic flat-bottomed dripper.
- **[Delter Coffee Press](https://dailyextraction.com/methods/delter-press/):** another Australian brewer that rethinks the pour.

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

## Words used in this guide

- [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.
- [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.
- [Extraction](https://dailyextraction.com/glossary/extraction/): Extraction is the process of water dissolving flavour compounds out of ground coffee.
- [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.

## FAQs

### How does the Tricolate work?

It’s a Tritan plastic cylinder with an 80 mm flat bed and 90° walls, so the water can’t run around the coffee. A built-in dispersion screen above the coffee spreads the water across the bed, so you don’t need a gooseneck kettle.

### What is bypass?

Water that runs down the sides of a dripper and past the coffee without brewing it. The Tricolate’s straight walls are designed to stop it.

### What’s a good Tricolate recipe?

Scott Rao’s recipe, shared by Elm Coffee Roasters, uses 20 g of medium-fine coffee to 400 g of boiling water (1:20), in a 60 g bloom and two pours of 170 g. It takes 7 to 10 minutes. Prima Coffee’s guide uses 20 g to 360 ml in two pours, finishing in 6 to 10 minutes.

### How long does a Tricolate take?

Longer than a cone pour-over. The published recipes run from about 6 to 10 minutes, and one reviewer had early brews stall for 5 to 7 minutes before Tricolate updated its screen in 2022.

### Do I need a gooseneck kettle?

No. The dispersion screen spreads the water for you, so an ordinary kettle works.

### Where does the Tricolate come from?

Australia. It’s made by a small Australian company, and Sprudge reported that it had been shown online since 2019 before it went on sale, first as a pre-order.

## Sources

- [Tricolate: our new favourite single-cup brewer](https://elmcoffeeroasters.com/blogs/news/tricolate-our-new-favorite-single-cup-brewer)
- [The Tricolate brewer might be the best new coffee maker under $60](https://sprudge.com/the-tricolate-brewer-might-be-the-best-new-coffee-maker-under-60-177517.html)
- [Tricolate review: high extractions or just hype?](https://coffeechronicler.com/tricolate-review/)
- [Tricolate brewing guide](https://prima-coffee.com/blog/tricolate-brewing-guide/)