Clever Coffee Dripper and Filters, Large 18 oz (Black)| Barista's Choice| Safe BPA Free Plastic|Includes 100 Filters

This is it folks. I think I've finally found the perfect 1 cup coffee maker in existence today. After many researching and product trials (not to mention the money spent), the Clever Coffee Dripper is hands down the best little coffee maker I've ever used and I believe I can say for certainty that my searching has finally concluded. The CCD combines the functions of a french press with a melitta drip filter. Basically what this means is that the CCD will give you french press quality coffee but with the ease and cleanup of a single melitta filter.Why this beats a french press:With a french press contraption, the quality of your coffee is way better than what you would get with a normal drip machine because you actually get to steep the coffee grounds rather than just run hot water over it. Think of this as "marinating" your coffee. The downside to using a french press is two fold. First is what people call the "sludge" you'd get when using a french press. When you get to the bottom of your coffee, there is this slimy texture that just makes you not want to actually finish your cup of coffee. There are definitely ways to combat this sludge effect but it didn't really work for me.The second reason why a CCD beats a french press is due to how easy it is to clean up. With a french press, dumping the grounds in your waste basket is definitely not hard to do. What is a pain is having to clean the plunger device. This plunger usually consists of three parts and you'd have to take them apart for cleaning after each and every time you use it. If not, coffee grinds will be stuck to it and stains will appear. The clean up process was one of the main reason why I had to switch to a single brew melitta filter.Why this beats a melitta filter:A single brew melitta filter is cheap, convenient and extremely easy to clean when done. If you are the only family member who drinks coffee, this little device is perfect for you. It's basically just a funnel if you think about it and that right there is why you won't get the best cup of coffee if you use this method. As soon as you pour hot water over the coffee grinds, the water drips into your cup. You actually don't get to steep your coffee. However, many users still prefer this method of brewing because it is so easy to use and clean up after.Why the CCD rules them all:The CCD allows you to steep your coffee because the water doesn't actually filter out until you place the CCD over your cup! This single feature is what makes this device so efficient. The "steep" you get equates to what you'd get when you use a french press. Because the coffee drips into your cup like a melitta filter, there is no extra piece to clean up. Once done, simply toss the #4 filter into your trash bin, rinse the CCD and you're done! For users who are afraid of their coffee losing temperature while steeping, the CCD comes with both a plastic base and lid. The base I find useless but the lid helps trap the heat while you are steeping the grinds. Unless you like to drink boiling water straight out of the kettle, I found that the temperature of my coffee is still hot enough for my preferences after extraction. It's much better than with a french press. The lid helps a whole lot. I usually steep for about 3 minutes.Some might think the price is a bit too much but I believe it's definitely worth it.My personal tips and advice:- Never use soap to wash the CCD as it can affect the taste of your coffee.- I normally do a "deep clean" of the CCD by just pouring in nothing but boiling water after every few days. I'd just let it sit inside and let the hot water remove some of the leftover coffee smell.- Try to clean the CCD with hot water as much as possible if you have to rinse it right after a brew. Rinsing it with cold water might wrap the plastic.- I never place the CCD upside down after cleaning or for any other purpose. Leave it upright as much as possible.

UPDATE: I have come to like this coffee maker a lot better since thinking of it more like a French press in the brewing strategy. As many know, a French press really needs more time than is usually recommended to make the best tasting coffee, since the water around the grinds does not get replaced over and over (so extraction efficiency is lower than a pour over or auto-drip setup). I was finding the coffee from the Clever Dripper very bland compared to my Hario V60; a tad more pungent, but lacking the really good flavors. I ended up changing my brew to 25 g/400 ml, 200 ˚C water, 30 seconds to degas, add the rest of the water and wait 5 minutes for a total brew time around 5:45-6:00. Now the coffee tastes fantastic, and I can see the appeal of this coffee maker in full. The best I can describe the taste is that of a syrupy 7 minute French press flavor without as much of the super pungent and occasionally bitter elements, which are likely among the lipids that the paper filter is keeping from getting in your coffee. Between a pour over and a French press, it's more like a French press, but reminds you of a pour over in a clarity of the flavor. The other big difference, of course, is the lack of grounds in the drink. I dig it.This is a nice coffee maker to be sure. It is fairly convenient and easy to use, easy to clean and produces consistently good coffee. That being said, I have seen this compared to the pour over coffee method and it's just not as good. I came to this conclusion after comparing the same coffee made with the Clever and my Hario V60 pour over setup over the course of a week. The brewing method was otherwise the same: 22 or 27 g coffee and 16 g of water for each g of coffee. Before brewing, I'd wet the Clever or Hario with the paper filter in place using fresh boiled water and discard into the vessel of choice to pre-warm as well as getting rid of any potential paper taste. I pre-wet for 30 seconds, and then added the rest of the water and waited another 3:45 (Clever) or added the remaining water over 3:45. I preferred the pour over every time. The best way I can explain it is the pour over always emphasized a little more of the coffee's intrinsic "brightness", while the Clever tended to greatly lack this by comparison and slightly overemphasize oily flavors. A B+ at best to the Hario's solid A.The Clever may be better for entertaining a large group due to its convenience for brewing larger batches. Other than that I'll stick to the pour over. It doesn't save time, it just requires less baby sitting and is less error prone, but pour overs are easy once you know what to do.