Kalita Coffee Dripper 'TSUBAME' WDS-185 2-4 Person Use Stainless Steel 5097

Like the standard Melitta or Beehouse drippers that use a wedge-shaped filter. Those drippers have one or two holes in the bottom, but the Kalita "Hasami" version has three holes. As a result, water flows through the coffee bed a bit faster. Also, the quality of the porcelain is top-notch! Consistently makes a very tasty cup of coffee with minimal fuss. This has become my daily driver over others in my collection (Kalita "wave", V60, Origami, Kono, Torch "mountain" etc.). Oh yeah, pick up some quality filters like Kalita 102 or Cafec Abaca 102 to get the best results.

I had been using a medium Frieling Cilio ceramic one-hole dripper for Melitta #4 cone filters for years, until it finally cracked. I wanted to replace it with a dripper that won't break, isn't plastic, and doesn't have internal rivets that might rust, so I bought the Tsubame 185, hoping to still be able to use my hundreds of remaining (cheap!) Melitta filters with it. I am so pleased that the #4 filters work just fine with the bottom inch folded up (instead of just the bottom seam, as one would for use in a Melitta cone dripper). Even though the dripper capacity is smaller, requiring more/smaller pours than the larger Cilio, the flow rate/total brewing time is somehow magically much faster overall (no clogging/slowdown of the filter) AND the same coffee tastes VERY noticeably better. This beautiful dripper is really worth the price.

Making coffee at home started with an Aeropress and a Hario Mini-Slim+. Later on, not wanting to deal with plastic/vinyl, I later moved on to a Comandante C40 MK3 and a Hario Switch 03.While I do love immersion brewing with its full body, I could never obtain the bright notes described on coffee bags, unless maybe perhaps if I was making iced coffee.I've avoided percolation/pour-over methods for a while. I thought it would take too much time, effort and technique. I could say now, that really isn't the case. You just got to put in the work to learn.My reasons for choosing the TSUBAME Kalita Wave are that I heard the Kalita Wave was the most consistent pour over device, and after trying a pour over from a coffee shop that used the TSUBAME Kalita Wave, I was sold.The first week was filled with buyer's remorse. I failed many times trying every tip and trick I could find without modifying or adding any additional hardware to the TSUBAME Kalita Wave Stainless setup. The method that works best for me is based on Dylan Siemens' method, and a little observation on my part.1. Water in a gooseneck at 206F2. Grind coffee at 23 clicks on a Comandante C40 (adjust as coffee ages or to your taste)3. Plop filter into dripper.3. When water is up to temp, rinse the filter. Discard rinse water.Note: Some water will still remain between the bottom of dripper and the bottom of the filter. Tilt dripper towards any of the holes of the dripper to dry to get as much water out. Do not disrupt the position of the filter during this process. Also keep in mind where the holes are, because if you don't use a dripper stand like I do, you'll notice that the dripper won't sit level if the top of glassware isn't level. The dripper should tilt down towards a hole if needed.4. Pour in coffee grinds and shake the dripper to level the coffee grinds.5. When timer starts, saturate the grinds starting from the center and moving outwards in a circular motion up to washing the grinds back down from the filter walls with 3x water. I use 18g coffee grinds for 327g of water so I pour around 60g of water in this bloom phase. Use a spoon to lightly stir any gassy areas.Note: The following pour times will vary, depending on how fast the dripper drips, but the key is to maintain a high water level to maintain the dripping. Just keep an eye on when you can pour another 60g to maintain such high level. Again, always start from the center and move outwards in a circular motion up to washing the grinds back down from the filter walls.6. At around 00m 45s, I pour in 120g of water to bring the total water to 180g.7. At just over 01m 00s, I pour in 60g of water to bring the total water to 240g.8. At just over 01m 15s, I pour in 60g of water to bring the total water to 300g.9. At just over 1m 30s, I pour in 60g of water to bring me up to my final water weight of 327g.10. Coffee done in less than 3:30 minutes.

I have many drippers, most of them are the Hario type with a big hole in the center. This brews an excellent cup of coffee but I think it does not flow as fast. If you value clarity more, Hario is the better choice. This brews a heavier coffee. Still good though.

Makes excellent coffee and it takes no time to get it done. Love this item.

I purchased this to replace a broken Blue Bottle dripper. The latter is a ceramic dripper similar in design to the Kalita Wave ceramic models. The handle broke off one morning when I accidentally knocked the dripper of my coffee mug -- the second one that happened to in the past few years -- and so I decided that I need something stronger. I read reviews and this version was overwhelmingly recommended over the normal metal Kalita Wave. So here we are.This dripper looks very nice, works as advertised, and obviously the handle is not going to break. Actually, the handle is pretty nice and sturdy, which was a concern I had when looking at the photos online.That said, as compared with the Blue Bottle dripper there are some definite minuses:- Drainage speed is slower than the Blue Bottle, by 20+%. It also stalls much more frequently. The Blue Bottle has ridges on the inside designed to support water movement (venturi effect), whereas this model is smooth, which probably contributes there. Note that the "wave" part of Kalita Wave is supposed to be a wavy texture designed to help with the same issue. That's present on the original metal drippers, but for some reason was omitted from the design here.- Heat retention is much less with this model than with the Blue Bottle. I think this is probably a major negative of metal drippers in general, and that coffee brewed in ceramic or glass drippers will show a bit more sweetness.- The Blue Bottle, interestingly, fits the Kalita Wave 185 filters better than this dripper! The bottom of this dripper is a bit too narrow to accommodate the bottom of the filter, which makes it sometimes skew to the side. Further, the angle of the Blue Bottle dripper goes to slightly wider at the top, giving the grounds just a bit more surface area. I think this yields a slightly better cup, as well as faster drainage through a shallower bed.- The base of the Blue Bottle has flat ridges that extend from the center to the rim, making it sit securely atop a coffee mug or decanter. This Kalita model, on the other hand, has a ring that extends below the rim, which makes it kind of slide around. Not a major deal, but as someone who has knocked two other drippers off in recent years, it caught my attention.This is a pretty decent dripper, makes a good enough cup, and I know it will last me basically forever. That said, I feel that I sacrificed a bit here, both from a material and design perspective. I'll almost certainly go back and buy another ceramic model as a daily driver, and use this one as my second choice.---Update: I wound up getting so frustrated with the overly slow flow rate that I decided to fix it. Was easy and a huge upgrade, as it turns out: I got out my power drill and widened the holes by maybe 20%. That's it. Give it a shot if you feel like not waiting several extra minutes for your morning brew.