The Hario Gadget That Changed My Mind

In this episode, I take you through my journey with what I initially thought was one of coffee's most useless gadgets—the Hario Drip Assist. I share my skepticism about unnecessary coffee tools and explain why I almost dismissed this particular device before giving it a chance. After testing it with my Moka Master and various V60 brewers, I discovered something unexpected: this simple plastic tool with strategically placed holes actually revolutionized my brewing consistency. I walk through how it works, with three center holes and ten outer ring holes that allow for precise water distribution, and why it's become an invaluable tool in my coffee arsenal—not for daily use, but for those moments when precision matters most.

By listening to this episode, you'll learn how to use constraints and simple tools to improve your coffee brewing consistency, discover when gadgets actually serve a purpose versus just cluttering your countertop, and understand how to replicate recipes with precision while isolating variables like temperature and grind size. You'll gain insight into the mindset of someone who tests coffee equipment daily and learn practical approaches to getting out of your own head when brewing coffee at home.

Chapters

• 0:00 Intro
• 0:44 The Moka Master Shower Head Problem
• 2:08 Discovering the Hario Drip Assist
• 3:17 How the Drip Assist Works
• 4:35 The Instant "Aha" Moment
• 5:21 Recipe Replication and Precision
• 6:24 Getting Out of Your Own Head
• 7:44 Why Constraints Create Magic
• 8:37 Should You Get One?

Transcript

[00:00:05] There's a lot of stupid gadgets, items, just things in general, in coffee. I guess all industries have those things, right? Where you look at it, you're like, "That is dumb. Somebody spent their time making that thing. And why would anybody need that? Did anybody ask for this?" You know, Apple does that a lot, right? Apple just makes things and we are supposed to just go with it, right? But when we think about it in coffee, at least me, I'm like, "Why did you do this? This doesn't make any sense."

[00:00:53] Just recently I was playing around with the Moka Master trying to figure out how to make coffee where you don't have to spend so much money to make it better because the machine isn't perfect. I talk about that in that video and videos before it. So you'll get that spill or that rant from time to time. But in this case, one thing that I was looking for is something that can evenly distribute coffee, you know, like a shower head. The Moka Master again is notorious for having a crappy shower head. It doesn't lend well to extractions if you're trying to go coarse with the grind.

[01:36] So I had something that could kind of fit that bill. So it's from the OXO brewer, nice brewer, and they had this drip assist type of thing. They have about eight holes. And they're essentially just dripping down on coffee at a very slow rate, which is fine if you like that. It's not if you like fast brewers. But this didn't really fit. It has its own little quirks and things that you have to kind of maneuver through when you're doing your cup of coffee.

[02:35] And then I kept seeing this Hario Drip Assist. I was like, "Come on, Hario. Why are you making things like this?" I've seen it for a while. I wouldn't pay for it. Didn't pay for it. But then, of course, with anything, mostly anything in coffee, at least for me, I justified it. Probably this can work really well. But it really didn't fit on my actual Moka Master the way that I had it configured. But that's fine.

[03:13] So I got it. Here it is right here. This is a Hario Drip Assist. It works on mostly all of the Hario devices, the Mugen, the V60, different sizes. It doesn't work for the size three dripper. It even works for other brewers out there. So that's kind of neat how all the brewers are kind of mimicking a V60 because they want to be able to use probably the same type of products. And this one right here is no exception. So this one has three holes in the middle and about one to ten holes on the outer ring. So the way that it works is that if you pour coffee up top, it just goes in the middle. And then if you pour it on the side, it will evenly distribute the coffee.

[04:16] And again, I thought it was dumb. I think devices sometimes we just need to let it be what it is. But as I played around with it instantly, I got it. Instantly. I'm telling you instantly. I got what the fuss was all about. The reason why is because it allows precision when you think that you need it. You don't use this every day. I don't use this every day. I think the last time I used it was a week ago just because I wanted to change things up.

[04:54] I think this device comes in handy, especially when you're just trying to mimic a recipe. Let's say that the only variable that you're changing is temperature, but you want the exact same recipe and this allows you to repeat it all the time. So you do 50 grams center and then 100 grams on the outside. You can do whatever you want. It allows you to just simply replicate your ideal recipe by changing up one or two variables, whatever that may be. Grind size, whatever it may be. Can't really stir with it, which I don't highly recommend. You actually agitate your grounds with a stick or something. If you want to agitate your grounds, of course, you do it with the pour.

[05:52] But I didn't realize how consistent this thing was and how it allows you to get out of your head and be objective with your brews and taste it and see what it's all about. Again, I thought this thing was dumb. For $14, it's just something, another plastic something that you have to deal with when you're brewing your cup of coffee. But truthfully, it actually gets you out of your way. It allows you to see coffee for what it is. Drink it, analyze it, enjoy it, don't not enjoy it. And then once you figure out the recipe and the things that you want to do, you don't have to use it all the time.

[06:34] I think it helps from time to time. It's kind of like the refractometer with me. I use the refractometer more times than this gadget right here. But I try not to use it all the time. I want to be able to train my palate in order to know what's over, under, perfectly extracted coffee from that. But the refractometer gives me that ability to calibrate what I'm tasting in that particular coffee bean. And for you, this is probably exactly what you need. Get out of your head. And the cool thing about it is that you can use a non-gooseneck kettle. You can use something that allows you to pour the water. And you have a scale to where you can measure out how much you're actually putting in. Yeah, like I said, I thought that this gadget was dumb.

[07:44] And the cool thing about this gadget is that this is something that we all don't need. And to get out of your head and to see what you can do with limited amounts of things that are with you. Because a lot of times when we have our toolbox, we almost want to feel that we want to play around with every little thing. But in truth, the magic comes from those actual constraints.

[08:20] So should you get it? Probably. I have a video talking about that soon. And there are many other gadgets out there in the coffee world that we tend to play around with, tend to use. And we wonder why we're using it. We wonder if it actually is going to make our lives better when we make our cup of coffee. And yes, this is mainly for pour over but you can't really use this for AeroPress. I don't know why you would use this for AeroPress. I guess you can use it for French press but you do need to agitate the grounds.

[09:00] It's just something that's cool and unique that I actually have a lot of fun with. So do you have crazy gadgets, things that you love, things that are silly that somebody may look at you crazy and you're like, "Whoa, what's going on here? Why this thing?" There are many things that I've seen in the past. Like there's still a lot more gadgets and things that you need to do and have when you're making espresso. I think it's kind of crazy how you have to do all that work for espresso. But truthfully, espresso is a different beast in itself. But like I was saying, are there any gadgets like this that kind of get you thinking about coffee in a different light? Does it help you get better? Does it give you that opportunity to make that coffee great?

[10:04] What do you think about when you actually have that gadget in your hand? Or you don't use it at all? Let's talk about it. Talk to you later. Bye.