Tricolate
How to use the Tricolate, the Australian no-bypass brewer with a dispersion screen: Scott Rao’s 20 g to 400 g recipe and its long brew time.
Contents
- Method
- The short version
- How does the Tricolate work?
- How much coffee and water should I use?
- What grind size should I use?
- How do you brew with a Tricolate, step by step?
- Tricolate vs other no-bypass brewers
- Where does the Tricolate come from?
- Tricolate vs other methods
- Words in this guide
- Questions & answers
How do you use a Tricolate?
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 : 400 g
- Grind
- Medium-fine (table salt)
- Water
- Boiling
- Brew time
- 8:30
- approximately
- Difficulty
- Beginner
- Origin
- Australia
Method
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.
Bloom1:00
Start the timer and pour 60 g of boiling water onto the screen. Spin the brewer gently to level the bed.
Second pour3:00
At one minute, pour 170 g of boiling water and spin gently again.
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.
Drain4:30
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?
- 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.
- 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.
- 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.
How do you brew with a Tricolate, step by step?
- Fit the filter, add 20 g of medium-fine coffee and shake to level it. Fit the dispersion screen.
- Bloom: pour 60 g of boiling water and spin the brewer gently.
- At 1 minute, pour 170 g and spin gently again.
- Between 3 and 6 minutes, when the water is about 1 cm above the coffee, pour the last 170 g and spin firmly.
- 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 | 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: another no-bypass brewer, with a valve.
- Orea: a fast flat-bottomed dripper.
- Kalita Wave: the classic flat-bottomed dripper.
- Delter Coffee Press: another Australian brewer that rethinks the pour.
Explore every pour-over method in the pour-over chapter.
What you’ll need
Words in this guide
- 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
- 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
- Extraction is the process of water dissolving flavour compounds out of ground coffee.
- 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.
Questions & answers
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. Elm Coffee Roasters
- The Tricolate brewer might be the best new coffee maker under $60. Sprudge
- Tricolate review: high extractions or just hype?. Coffee Chronicler
- Tricolate brewing guide. Prima Coffee
General guidance only. Not medical, food-safety or professional advice. Always follow your equipment's own instructions.