Equipment and Drippers
Drippers, kettles, filters, and scales — the V60, Kalita, Chemex, Origami, and immersion cousins.
This is the map of the gear that turns ground coffee and hot water into a finished cup. Pour over is famously low-barrier — a single dripper, a filter, and any source of hot water will brew a drinkable cup. But each piece of equipment quietly shapes the result, and understanding what each does lets you build a setup that matches your taste and budget. This hub links every note in the equipment domain; use it as your table of contents and return to Home for the whole vault.
#The Core Kit
A complete pour over station has six functional pieces. You can start with two and add the rest as your palate sharpens.
| Role | What it does | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Dripper | Holds the coffee bed and shapes flow | The Dripper Explained |
| Filter | Separates grounds from liquid; tunes body | Coffee Filters — Paper, Metal, and Cloth |
| Kettle | Controls pour rate and temperature | Gooseneck Kettles |
| Grinder | Sets particle size and uniformity | Grinding |
| Scale | Measures dose and water for repeatability | Scales, Timers, and Servers |
| Server | Catches and holds the brew | Scales, Timers, and Servers |
If you upgrade one thing, upgrade the grinder. Particle uniformity influences the cup more than the dripper does. A gooseneck kettle and a scale come next.
#Choosing a Dripper
The dripper is where personality lives. The first fork is geometry — see Conical vs Flat Bottom Drippers — and the second is material. From there the field splits into pour-over brewers and immersion brewers.
Pour-over (percolation) drippers: the Hario V60, the Kalita Wave, the Chemex, the Origami Dripper, the modern April and Orea flat brewers, and the classic Melitta wedge.
Immersion and hybrid brewers: the Clever Dripper, the AeroPress, the OXO Rapid Brewer, and the full-immersion French Press. These steep rather than percolate, trading some clarity for forgiveness — see What Is Pour Over Coffee for the percolation-versus-immersion split.
#How the Pieces Interact
Geometry sets bed depth, which interacts with grind; material sets thermal stability; the kettle sets agitation. Equipment is a system, and a recipe is tuned to a specific brewer — which is why each dripper below points to its own recipe.
#Continue Reading
- The Dripper Explained — start here: the anatomy that governs everything
- Conical vs Flat Bottom Drippers — the single most important design choice
- Hario V60 — the iconic conical and a great first brewer
- Brewing Technique — how to actually use this gear
- Equipment and Drippers — (this hub) the full gear map