Hey guys.

I'm also having the problem which I can read some others have, too. I can't get my drawdown on my Clever Dripper to behave like I want to. It's way too long even if I grind very coarsely.

I'm using a Wilfa CGR1, which I actually believe is quite a good grinder. But could this grinder be the cause to my long drawdowns because of a way to uneven grind?

What is your take on the Wilfa CGR1 and Clever Dripper combo?

My first question is, how long is "too long" of a drawdown?

But in general, yes, you should be able to speed up draw-down by grinding coarser. If that isn't happening then your grinder is probably producing too many fines at a coarse setting.

It takes 2:35 for 250g of water to run through 15g of coffee grounds set between medium and coarse. I'm using a Melitta #4 filter.

It shouldn't even take that long if I ground on medium which would be something like drip.

This is how it looks set between medium and coarse

MadsHilde wrote:Hey guys.

I'm also having the problem which I can read some others have, too. I can't get my drawdown on my Clever Dripper to behave like I want to. It's way too long even if I grind very coarsely.

I'm using a Wilfa CGR1, which I actually believe is quite a good grinder. But could this grinder be the cause to my long drawdowns because of a way to uneven grind?

What is your take on the Wilfa CGR1 and Clever Dripper combo?

Is it the new (smoked plastic, "C" handle, with the more open well) Clever Dripper, or the old (clear plastic, , "ear" shaped handle, small well around the valve) version? Anything up to 3 minutes may be OK with the new one, old ones take longer, I have had delicious brews that took from 6 seconds (Swissgold KF4 only) up to 6 mins to draw down. I'd focus more on the taste of the coffee before you draw down, rather than obsess over how long draw down takes. I have had a stab at trying to determine how much more/if any TDS is picked up in a long draw down & couldn't find any conclusive answers, complicated by differing fill techniques & the difference in the 2 designs.

A Swissgold (or other permanent 4 cup filter that fits, in conjunction with the paper filter) will minimise the effects of draw down. You don't need to yank it out the brewer (but can if you want) as the brew will largely drain around the bed, rather than through it.

Yeah, that is longer than I would prefer; I generally shoot for a drawdown lasting about 60s.

Some things you might try include (1) adjusting your grinder to the coarsest setting it has and seeing if that produces good results (sometimes a grinder's calibration can change over time, so that the marked settings do not correspond to reality anymore); (2) replacing its burrs with a fresher set; (3) replacing the entire grinder for a different model.

I use both the Baratza Preciso and the Breville Smart for CCD-style brewing, and get great results with both.

MadsHilde wrote:It takes 2:35 for 250g of water to run through 15g of coffee grounds set between medium and coarse. I'm using a Melitta #4 filter.

It shouldn't even take that long if I ground on medium which would be something like drip.

Why do you say that? If it were a medium grind drip brew there would be periods where degassing grinds would be floating around & not holding back the brew. In the CCD after enough steep, the grounds all settle with more cohesion/resistance than a straight drip?

Hmm, actually I would call it smoked and earshaped. Maybe the smoked color just comes from brewing. But the handle is earshaped.

I do not fold the bottom of the filter, only the side. I do not let the water run through when I rinse the filter, I just empty it in the sink.

It is very hard for me to explain what the coffee tastes like, firstly because I have not so much experience and secondly because I have never had a REAL cup of coffee from a coffeeshop, so I have only my own cups to compare with.

I would say my cups tend to taste weak, maybe too bitter/harsh. And lately they tend to taste a bit like when chewing in a pencil.

If you guys look at my two pictures, wouldn't you say the grind looks very uneven or does it look ok? My Wilfa CGR1 grinder is only a year old.

MadsHilde wrote:If you guys look at my two pictures, wouldn't you say the grind looks very uneven or does it look ok? My Wilfa CGR1 grinder is only a year old.

They don't look bad, but I don't consider myself much of a judge of the quality of grinds based on appearance. I go by what works well in the cup. Draw-down will be significantly affected by fine particles that are too small to see easily with the eye, so appearance can be deceiving.

MadsHilde wrote:I would say my cups tend to taste weak, maybe too bitter/harsh. And lately they tend to taste a bit like when chewing in a pencil.

Here are a few other things to look into:

What temperature of water are you using? If it is too hot, that will tend to over-extract bitter flavors, which could be part of your problem.

How long of a steep are you using before draw-down? If your draw-down is taking a long time and you are over-extracting your brews, you could shorten the steep to compensate.

But most importantly, is your coffee fresh and high quality? If the coffee itself tastes bad, none of this other stuff will make a difference.

Sounds like you are underextracting, the grinds look coarser than I would typically use...but that's just me, I know of guys who recommend coarse grinds & presumably get results with them.

Whatever grind you use, I would suggest that you try tasting the coffee out of the top of the brewer & draw down when you hit on something you like. If the coffee is cold before this happens, grind finer.

I'd also experiment with adding grinds first, then water vs. water first, then grinds (or most of the water, wet the grinds, then top up to save the grinds from overflowing the filter paper).

Personally, I like to keep the brew ratio a little lower than recommended for other steeps, ~62g/l?