With the Cafellissimo you will never need to worry about pesky paper filters again! While it's a more significant investment upfront, you won't have to purchase a separate component that constantly creates paper waste. Yes, you need extra water to clean, but it's a small price to pay for a beautiful dripper that delivers an excellent cup of coffee.
Performance Comparison
The Cafellissimo is one of our all-around favorite brew methods.
Brew Features
This metal perforated cone requires no filters. While you may expect coffee to pour out the sides, it most certainly doesn't. The Cafellissimo pours at roughly the same speed as the V60 and these two drippers have about equal extraction times. As with all pour-over brewing devices, the more attention you pay to amount of coffee, grind size, amount of water, and how you pour, the better final cup you will receive.
The Cafellissimo delivers great taste with no filter.
Hot water and plastic
More studies link hot water and plastic to health issues. The Cafellissimo is one of the few options in our test suite that did not involve pouring hot water through plastic, something we see as a definite bonus.
Taste
In side-by-side tests, we had a hard time telling the difference between this brewer and the V60. Both scored at the top for taste, consistently delivering clean and luscious cups, far better than other cone pour-over options. The AeroPress, our Top Pick for Gourmet Taste, edged out a win for this category, but it was a close race and, depending on personal preference, an arguable one.
This stainless steel cone is easy to use and produces a delightful cup every time - especially if you follow a proper recipe.
If you're new to using a pour-over cone and want to do it right, be sure to weigh both your coffee and your water. A good starting place is a 1:14 ratio. So, if you want to finish with a 12-ounce cup, use about 25 grams of coffee and about 350 grams of water (grams and milliliters are interchangeable, and there are approximately 30 grams in 1 ounce). Your full brew time should only take about 3 minutes total.
Ease of Use
While the Cafellissimo requires no buying or packing of filters, it will take some extra time, care, and water to clean after each use. The V60 scores a bit higher in this category because clean up just requires lifting out the filter and throwing everything away. Of course, if you don't care about thoroughly cleaning this brewer after each use, you don't have to — bang the cone at the edge of a trash can and carry on. Don't make this a habit, though, as doing so will result in your cone becoming clogged with oils. Clean regularly and properly to ensure you can continue to brew up a great cup.
Filterless options like the Cafelissimo require cleaning after each use. How much time and water is dependent on your personal cleanliness standards, though if you let too many coffee oils build up it will impede how well your dripper works.
Group Cooking
This is a decent option for group cooking scenarios. Load it to the brim with grounds, and you can make coffee for four people. This is not, however, the recommended way to brew and flavor will suffer as a result.
This isn't a great option for large groups, but if it's all you have you can make it work. Either load it up with more grounds or, more ideal, brew smaller amounts back to back. Clean up is easy and brew time should only take about 3 minutes per cup.
Portability
This is a non-collapsible cone, meaning it's bulky compared to other options if you're stuffing everything in a backpack. That said, with a little ingenuity, you can clip it to the outside of your pack and be merrily along your way.
Weight
At 3.3 ounces, this is a touch heavier than the V60. However, if you add in the weight of filters, then they are about the same. Ten V60 filters weighed 0.4 ounces. Overall, 3.3 ounces is very light for camping, especially for something stainless steel. There are lighter options available, but be prepared to brew with plastic.
Light and easy to use, this filter is a joy to use.
Value
When comparing the prices of cone drippers, this one is definitely pricey. However, a couple of factors justify the price point: it's high-quality stainless steel instead of plastic and you will never need to buy filters. When you consider these things, both from a health standpoint (you'll won't be pouring hot water over plastic and drinking it) and a durability standpoint (no danger of cracking or chipping here!) then the initial sticker-shock might start to make more sense.
Conclusion
If you're looking for something light, easy to use, and practically zero-waste, then the Cafellissimo is a stellar option. Earning top scores in our taste tests, this dripper is a solid investment that will serve you well for the long haul.
No paper waste and easy to clean. This is a great filter.
