Bonavita Immersion Coffee Dripper Review – My New Daily Grind

Updated 140312: A Facebook friend asked about my upside-down inverted Aeropress coffee brewing method, so I made a video and added it below.


Just when I published Our Daily Grind Coffee article I got wind of a new coffee maker that gave our previous favourite morning brewing method a run for its money.

Murphy’s Law strikes again!

We’ve made loooots of coffee over the past year and you can bet our scales were out A/B testing this new kid on the block against our previous favourite, the Clever Coffee Dripper.

First off, an unboxing video of the new Bonavita Immersion Coffee Dripper.

Why it’s better

It’s hard not to notice the similarity in shape and size between the Clever Coffee and Bonavita Immersion Dripper.  But the Bonavita solves several issues I had previously brought up with regards to the Clever Coffee.

Porcelain vs Plastic

Most notably the Bonavita is made of high-quality porcelain.  I hate to be alarmist, but recent reports suggest even “BPA-free” plastics leach harmful estrogenlike chemicals.

Advantage: Bonavita.

The porcelain has proven to be a robust and easy-to-clean option. Even so, the artist in me would love to see a glass version of the Bonavita made …. a guy can dream, right?

Auto vs Manual Drip Control

No doubt the Clever is more clever, but with age it becomes prone to leaking.  The Bonavita’s manual lever also leaks, but you can brew the Bonavita a top your cup to catch the contents instead of making a mess of your counter.

Advantage: Bonavita.

Below is a video review and comparison of the Bonavita Immersion Dripper, Clever Coffee Dripper and Aeropress.

Tips for Brewing Great coffee with the Bonavita Immersion Dripper

I’ve already written about how we make our daily coffee here. There are, however, just a few things we’ve tweaked when brewing with the Bonavita.

1. Coarser grind required.  I find the smaller drip hole of the Bonavita takes quite a bit longer to drain than the Clever Coffee. This risks over-extraction of your immersed beans.  Thankfully, choosing a coarser grind will fix this.  How coarse?   Aim for the brewed coffee to drip in no more than 2 to 3 minutes.

2. Bloom for 30sec, then bust the crust. I’ve become even lazier and don’t want to dirty a chopstick-as-stir-stick.  I first add just enough water to cover the grinds, then start my timer and wait 30 seconds.  This allows the ground coffee to “bloom” (aka de-gass … aka fart).   After 30 seconds, I add the rest of my hot water, making sure to add it gently and slowly to submerg the entire top-layer crust.  When the timer hits 3 minutes, I open the valve and await my wonderful brew.

Enjoy and repeat. 

That’s it! No mess no fuss.

Update: A Facebook friend asked about my inverted Aeropress method, so I made this quick video during the making of today’s fourth cup.

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Thanks for reading and happy shopping!


THANK YOU! + THE NotSo FINE PRINT

I hope you've found this article useful as I hope to make your life easier and more fulfilled.

Most links and images above will take you to your local Amazon website. But if you can't find what you're looking for, you can click here for my Amazon.com Shop where you'll find my most current recommended finds. You can also use these links to shop at Adorama, B&H Photo and Ebay. As affiliates we get a small percentage of qualifying purchases but rest assured you won't pay a cent more than buying it elsewhere. Thank you for starting your shopping off with us 🙂

Lastly, I'd love to hear from YOU. Please don't be shy and hit me in the comments!

Thanks for reading and happy shopping friends 🙂