I had never really thought about using an immersion brewer as a pure pour-over device but just had a mind blowing honey process Ethiopian, and I noticed barista was brewing it in a Hario switch with the switch open the whole time. Tasted as good as a v60 brew to me. I’ve been wanting to try immersion brewing for a while. I get the sense this forum and many others lean more strongly towards the clever dripper. I imagine that device could also be kept open and used as a pour-over. Do you think an open Hario switch basically IS a v60? That sounds like the ultimate multi-Tasker to me. Am I missing something here? Any thoughts on the perceived lean toward clever? I’ve ruled out the plastic version and would be looking at glass clever vs switch.
I love my Switch. I got a size 03 so when I want to do immersion, I can play with bigger volumes. I have a 02 glass V60 as well, and can swap that onto the switch if needed.
Follow up question. I typically prefer flat bottom for my pour overs (use blue bottle dripper) and usually use v60 for washed beans only. I would imagine in immersion mode the shape doesn’tatter as much though? Think that the flat bottom of the clever gives a different immersion experience than the conical switch?
Good question, and I’m not sure. In comparison to a pour over, the majority of the extraction will take place during the immersion phase, so I would guess shape doesn’t matter as much. A conical brewer typically has a faster draw down compared to flat bottom, which may benefit you as you’re trying to remove the coffee when the immersion phase is complete. But this is all speculation!
I like the Switch because I can tinker with different recipes easily, adding an immersion phase at different points. Check out Tetsu Kasuya’s “God Recipe” for one idea.
I’ve used the clever as a pourover, and the main difference i noticed is a slower drawdown due to the much smaller hole vs the v60. So it ends up tasting like a chocolatey CCD brew anyway.
In a recent video Lance Hendricks showed that the filter paper touching the side of the brewer is what draws water out of the brewing process to bypass going directly through the bed. So the immersion of an Aeropress is not using this mechanism at all since the entire water is being pushed through the bed of coffee and immersed whereas a hario switch some of the water is still bypassing the bed directly.
How much this matters is less the shorter the period of time before the water is pulled around and outside. But it also means there isn’t really just one immersion or v60 like brewer because it depends on so many factors to determine bypass and extraction. The angle of the brewer, the contact of the paper, the technique in agitation it all impacts how gets extracted. Still as a basic idea these v60 like devices that can be closed do provide almost the same thing up to the point when you open them up at which point they will behave like a v60 and there isn’t anything you can do about that. How much that matters is hard to really know they taste pretty similar to me but Lance’s video is worth a watch because it does at least show there is a difference and that will have some impact.
The bypass thing is real. It doesn’t matter all that much but it makes a difference. That’s why most geeks will also tell you to pour on the grounds, never on the paper.
You should check out the tricolate brewer. Full-immersion, but designed to have no bypass. And it makes surprisingly good coffee. I was dubious at first, but it is kind of neat.
I love my Clever Dripper immersion brewer. Great device for the money.
