Pour-over · easy
Bee House Dripper
The Bee House is a Japanese ceramic wedge dripper with two small holes in a flat-ish bottom, a modern take on Melitta Bentz's original 1908 cone. The two holes limit flow, so the brewer controls most of the drawdown speed for you. That makes it a good first pour-over: you don't need a gooseneck or careful pouring, and standard Melitta filters are sold almost everywhere. It also has a cutout in the base so you can see how full your mug is.
20 gCoffee
320 gWater
1:16Ratio
94-100 °CTemp
3:30-4:30Time
mediumGrind
Water by roast: light 98 °C · medium 95 °C · dark 91 °C
Steps
- PrepFold the filter along its seams, rinse it with hot water, and dump the rinse water from your mug
- 0:00Pour 50 g and stir gently to break up clumps
- 0:30Pour to 185 g, then give the brewer a swirl
- 1:45When the slurry has drained to the top of the bed, pour to 320 g and swirl
- 4:00Drawdown finished
Variations
Bee House Brewing GuidePrima Coffee (Ragan LaTour-Kelley)
Three-stage brew with boiling water and a WDT stir in the bloom
20 g · 300 g water · 100 °C · medium
- 0:00Pour 50 g and stir with a WDT tool to wet everything
- 0:30Pour 125 g (to 175 g) and swirl
- 1:45When the slurry drains to bed level, add the last 125 g (to 300 g) and swirl
- 4:30Brew should finish between 4:00 and 5:00
Two-Minute Bee HouseStumptown Coffee Roasters
Fill fast to 380 g by 1:00 and pull the dripper at 2:00 even if water is left
21 g · 380 g water · 96 °C · medium-fine (table salt)
- 0:00Saturate the grounds and stir to break up clumps
- 0:15Pour in a spiral, aiming at dark spots, filling toward the top of the dripperReach about 380 g by 1:00
- 2:00Remove the dripper, even if some water is still in itYou should have about 300 ml (10 oz) in the mug
Fix your cup
| Taste | Cause | Fix |
|---|---|---|
| Sour, watery | Under-extracted, often from a cold ceramic brewer | Preheat longer, grind finer, use water just off the boil |
| Bitter, heavy | Over-extracted, drawdown too slow | Grind coarser |
| Drawdown over 5:00 | Grind too fine, or fines blocking the holes | Grind coarser, swirl instead of stirring hard at the end |
| Weak but clean | Too much water for the dose | Drop to a 1:15 ratio or add 1-2 g of coffee |
Tips
- Fold the filter along both seams before you put it in. An unfolded filter won't sit flat against the wedge.
- Preheat well. Ceramic soaks up a lot of heat, so rinse with plenty of hot water.
- Because the holes set the pace, change grind size before you change your pouring.
- Stir or swirl after the first and last pours to knock grounds off the walls and level the bed.
- Use the window in the base to check your mug level without lifting the dripper.
Common mistakes
- Skipping the preheat. A cold ceramic dripper pulls heat out of the brew and leads to sour cups.
- Not folding the filter seams, so the paper bunches and water runs down the sides.
- Grinding as fine as for a V60. The two small holes already slow the flow, so medium is plenty.
- Overfilling the dripper on a small mug. The cutout window helps here, so check it.
What you need
- Bee House ceramic dripper (large)
- Melitta #4 or Bee House paper filter
- Scale
- Any kettle
- Spoon or stir stick