Cafellissimo Paperless Pour Over Review

Performance Comparison

Brew Features

The metal perforated cone requires no filters. You expect coffee to pour out the sides, but it doesn't. It pours at roughly the same speed of the V60 which means they have roughly equal extraction time.

Taste

In side-by-side tests, we had a hard time telling the difference between this and the V60. Both at the top for taste scores. The AeroPress did a little better, but it's a close call. And both the V60 and the Cafellissimo scored much better than other cone pour-over filters.

Ease of Use

The ease of use scores here are flexible depending on your preferences. There is no need to remember coffee filters and pack them. That's a plus. But, you need to use water, time and space to clean out the cone after each use which is not that convenient. By comparison, with the V60, you just throw out the filter.

That said, if you don't care about completely cleaning out the filter after each use, it would be even faster than using a filter: just bang the cone at the edge of a trash can. But completely cleaning out the filter, takes a fair bit of time.

You can use this cone with a filter, but it makes the coffee drain slower and gives a slightly more acidic taste. If you're like most campers who are just excited to get a hot cup in the morning, chances are you will not notice. But in side by side tests with filter and without, we preferred without.

If you're brew process involves pouring water over the filter before adding coffee, the Cafellissimo gets another nudge over the V60 as you skip the step of wetting the filter.

Weight

At 3.3 ounces, this is a touch heavier than the V60. However, if you add in the weight of the filters you need to carry, they are about the same. Our 10 filters weighed 0.4 ounces. Add that to the weight of the V60 and the Cafellissimo is exactly the same weight.

Overall, for camping, 3.3 ounces is very light. For backpacking, it's light, but not ultralight like the Primula or GSI Ultralight Java Drip.

Portability

The non-collapsible cone is bulky compared to other options if stuffing in a backpack. That said, with a little ingenuity, you can clip it outside a pack.

Group Cooking

This is a good group cooking option. Load it to the brim with grounds, and you can make coffee for 4 people. That said, the V60 scored a little higher because it's even easier to load up. Most other camping coffee options do not perform as well for making coffee for more the 2 people.