.png)
Everyday Beans Podcast - Mostly About Coffee and Other Stuff
It's about coffee, food, life and what other randomness I feel that'll be helpful to the common coffee drinker or to anyone who likes to be entertained by a stranger, briefly.
Everyday Beans Podcast - Mostly About Coffee and Other Stuff
Stop Using Just One Coffee Dripper
In this episode, I dive deep into why having multiple coffee brewing devices isn't just gear acquisition disorder – it's actually essential for any serious coffee enthusiast. I share my recent experiences with the Juel dripper, OXO dripper, Mugen, and trusty Hario V60, explaining how each brewer brings out different characteristics in your coffee.
I discuss my realization that after collecting various brewers over the years, I had fallen into the trap of only using my favorites – the Hario V60 and lately the Switch and Bonavita. But recently, I've been experimenting with different mechanisms, extraction levels, and understanding what each brewer excels at. I explain how having multiple brewers allows you to play with grind size, paper filters, and brewing techniques to truly master any coffee that comes your way. By the end of this episode, you'll understand why embracing multiple brewing methods isn't about finding the "best" brewer, but finding the best brewer for each specific situation and coffee.
For good tasty coffee, check us out at: everydaybeans.com
For tips, tricks and still trying to figure it out: https://www.youtube.com/@everyday-beans
[00:00:00] We're live right now. Today is May 14th, 2025, and we're doing pretty good. If you're watching this, I have some cool things in my hand. I have a Juel dripper, an OXO dripper, a Mugen Hario, and the trusty tried and true Hario V60.
[00:00:49] We're going to be talking about gear and why lately I've been really enjoying brewing coffee, and why I think you should too. If you're already into pour overs and coffee gear, I know we go back and forth between minimalist versus not, but we're going to talk about the reasons why I think it's very critical and important for you to have different coffee gear.
[00:01:22] I recently did a couple of videos - the unboxing of the Juel dripper and also the unboxing of the Mugen dripper, my first thoughts about them, who I think they're for. I did think the Mugen was dumb initially, but it's one of those things where you don't know until you start to really play and try to use the coffee that you have in order to make your cup of coffee.
[00:01:54] That's what I've been doing for the past couple of days. Before that, I got the OXO dripper and the Pegasus dripper. I like that OXO a lot better - it only has one hole versus two.
[00:02:20] I have this mic that I am currently talking on, I have another mic in the corner, I have like four or five in my travel podcast set, I have a handheld one, I have an overhead one. I have lots of mics. Why would it be any different that I would have multiple brewers?
[00:02:38] I've had many brewers before, but what happens after a while, once you have all the brewers, you tend to use the ones that you just gravitate to. For me, that was the Hario V60, and then lately it's been the Switch and Bonavita.
[00:02:59] I've had this realization for the past couple of days of just playing around with different brewers, understanding their mechanisms, their extraction levels, what they're really good at, what they're not really good at. It's been a lot of fun.
[00:03:21] That's the thing that I want to give you an opportunity to do - play. That's really the biggest thing we're trying to do here. You can't really do that with one brewer. I mean, you can, and I do suggest that you play around with all your brewers - just pick one for a month or two and really do all the things that you want to do with that brewer.
[00:03:55] That's how you're really mastering that particular brewer. I believe depending on the coffee, that's where the elements will really change. When you're buying all the gear, understanding the gear, and ultimately using the gear, you will really understand that it's a big world out here, especially when it comes to things that you can do to manipulate the coffee.
[00:04:25] I believe for the most part, after that coffee is roasted, that coffee tastes the way that it tastes. Can it change in different variables, different sweetness or body, depending on your brew? Yes, it can. But at the end of the day, at the core of what that coffee is, it is what it is. The cool thing about having different brewers is that you play with grind size, paper filters, you can see what works for you.
[00:05:00] Once you go down that rabbit hole, you can really conquer almost any coffee that's thrown at you. You've made that coffee as tasty to your tasting profile as much as you can. That's one of the biggest takeaways I would love to give you.
[00:05:29] The cool thing about majority of these devices, especially the Hario line - if you get the plastic version, it's relatively cheap. Even some of the expensive ones, like this one, probably because it's silicone. The Juel dripper is twenty-five, thirty dollars. The Mugen dripper is about seventeen, eighteen dollars. The Mugen is ten, eleven dollars. At the end of the day, these are still relatively cheap.
[00:06:23] After a while, they kind of do the same thing. They brew coffee - flat bottom, cone shape, different type of filters, different techniques. The biggest thing about all of this is experiencing things for what they are, dealing with the limitations and constraints that they do have, then figuring out how you can brew the best coffee out of this device.
[00:06:57] For instance, this Juel dripper - at first, I was going to use the recipe that they had on their packaging, which to me is still kind of bizarre. It's like three scoops and then three pours and then you're out. The drawdown is ridiculously fast - the fastest drawdown I've ever seen.
[00:07:17] The opening is essentially mostly open. They just have this barrier so the coffee won't actually drip through. If you use an Aeropress fast filter, a regular filter is going to be a really tight fit.
[00:08:00] The actual body cavity of the brewer is a little bit wider, and I'm sure that affects taste from time to time. But you won't notice until you actually play around with the brewer. That's the cool thing - we have the opportunity to try and play with coffee, to love and enjoy coffee.
[00:08:25] Some of the best ways to do that is to have multiple brewers. Depending on which side of the spectrum you're on, depending on your ritual, you can get really good at the craft, you can get really good at making a cup of coffee.
[00:08:52] So play, experience and understand that you can really have a lot of fun with brewers. I'm still putting these through their paces, but this one I thought will be perfect for my wife, because she usually does a poor pour anyway. This one's designed to do one pour.
[00:09:16] I thought that this will be a cool brewer, but now spending time with it, I think it's still very critical that you use a kettle that has a nozzle, a goose neck. You still need precision, you still need time. I'm still playing around with different recipes and seeing what comes out the best.
[00:09:51] This one I think is more of a fine grind brewer because of how you bring up the extraction. Just playing around with these, seeing them for what they are and really understanding that this can be fun. Different applications, different coffees, different situations call for different brewers.
[00:10:40] You don't have to be stuck with one versus the other. One isn't necessarily better than the other. We need to get out of that camp. I'm always trying to find the best, but I don't think there's a best. It's just the best for that job, that situation.
[00:10:49] So get brewers, understand them, put different coffees through them, taste them, see what recipes are out there. Make your own recipes. Make it closer to your heart and soul of the way that you actually make coffee. If you like light roast, don't limit yourself to fast filters.
[00:11:13] I've noticed on the Juel dripper, which is very fast, I can actually grind a lot coarser. I like that I can grind coarser on a machine that drips really fast and still extract the lightest of roast. There's plenty of opportunity to play and explore.
[00:11:29] What other drippers do you have? Do you have a French press? Do you have an AeroPress? Do you play around with different recipes? Do you see if the coffee can taste any better? What are you tasting in your cup? What are you thinking that you're missing? What ways can you make that as easy as possible?
[00:11:59] Don't forget the metal filter. I got so much stuff that I'm reviewing right now. The point is if you haven't given yourself permission to play and experience, I hope that this is giving you that chance and opportunity. Have fun with it.
[00:12:24] We are going to be talking about just using one brewer for a long time and see what that does for you. This is Okey at Everyday Bean signing off. Talk to you later. Bye.