Each of the leading high end cafes I visit here in the Bay area are transitioning more and more to the Curtis Gold Cup Brewer and a Kone/Chemex combo for their highlighted "made for you" brews. It's more consistent and cuts down labor costs of having a barista stand there and pour a kettle over a dripper filter and it's results are incredible.

I had an amazing first impression of the Driver and was thinking it would make an even better replacement for the Kone Filter in those applications. And after being tempted to pick up a PID kettle and glue the base to it like Todd Carmichael's winning Brewer's Cup method, I realized I already owned everything I need and wouldn't need to bother plugging in and holding up a heavy kettle+base combo each time I want to brew a precisely temped batch of coffee.

It didn't take long to realize that using the manual release mode on my Brazen would really be the best solution. It works brilliantly easy, and the results are phenomenal. There's two ways to do it, pre measure the volume you want in the brew and just set the Driver in its included base over a Yama 600ml carafe.



The water drips in a pretty evenly distributed shower without dripping out and making a mess anywhere.



Or you can put a thin scale under the carafe and dose on and off with more water in the reservoir than you need. You just have to remove the metal frame that holds the Driver and just rest it in the mouth of the Yama.



Clearance is fine.


Either way really works fine, but the Brazen's ability to dose very small amounts of water is a bit tricky so you can easily over/under shoot your desired end volume by 5cc or so. If that's a concern, skip the scale and just pre measure your water going into the reservoir.

I'm finding rich, balanced, sweet and consistent brews using this method. I liked my simple Tiamo kettle, but the temp drops quite a bit during the brew. Using this method, I can keep one more variable more consistent and it makes the whole effort an even easier one handed process. I can even stop the manual release after a brief pre-infusion soak, stir to break up any dry grounds, then proceed to brew at a dead set temperature. It all works pretty nice and I'll be using it a lot more in the coming weeks.

Thanks for sharing this.

This has pretty much been in my imagination the last two weeks pouring Chemexes with the Kone filter (although I have been using a modified Carmichael method involving chopsticks and a tea infusion bag as a second filter) As you are supposed to use a straight pour into the centre of the Kone post bloom vs. swirling with the paper filter, it starts to seem a little silly to do all the pouring by hand... Especially for 750ml.

I wonder if the shower screen in the Brazen is good for the initial wetting and bloom but might not be optimal for the rest of the pour (the straight in the centre pour suggested for the Kone.... Perhaps to create a cone of grounds for timing of the extraction?)

However if you are having good results, that's cool. I just got my Kone as a gift so it's too soon for a Driver.

Yeah, I use a brief pause in the manual release to do a brief stir. From then on out, the shower head seems to do a good job of properly and evenly extracting the grounds. My main targeted goals in this method was mainly temp control and easier daily use. I think debates about one stream straight down the center vs a simple shower head pour can devolve into a "how many angels can dance on the head of a pin" sort of debate. What matters is what ends up in the cup.

And so far, I'm finding the Driver to really be key in highlighting both the flaws in my roasts and the ones where I really nailed something right. I like the absolute transparency it seems to provide.

I know without a doubt, having the same coffee, same dose, same water, same resulting volume of beverage, but with a declining temp of the brew water gives me vastly different and slightly weaker tasting extractions. Keeping the temp water consistent might not be critical, but it's one more thing that I can keep closer within my goals.

Not everything needs to be razor thin, dead on precisely measured, close enough on everything will usually give you delicious results either way, as long as you're using good beans and a capable grinder, but being able to keep one more factor controlled, and only needing one hand to do it, makes it a welcome method for my morning brew.

Playing around with this method more, still enjoying the results. I bought some Papa Lin's Ethiopia Ninety Plus Nekisse "RED" N2 (Special Micro Lot) to enjoy. I made two batches, the first set at 208°F and I did an 8 second or so "pre-infusion" pour to wet the grinds, stirred to even out the wet/dry spots, then ran the rest of the brew straight on thru till the end.

What I was left with was no doubt too much "high and dry", although the cup still tasted pretty great, albeit it a bit more bitter and dry distillate/dark caramels heavy.





So, a repeat batch, brought down to a lower 204°F brought out the dynamite fruit, tangy clean acidity much more forward on the palate. I did one more pause half way thru the brew and did one quick stir and ended up with a much more even bed afterwards.