You might say we are living through a golden age for coffee. Since the 90s, higher-quality coffee has become more accessible, and with it, several methods of preparing the perfect brew.
The Hario Drip Pot is a sleek product that makes a good cup of coffee. If you are looking to buy one but need some extra insight, here’s some information to help you buy the right coffeemaker for you.
Find out other drip coffee maker options here!
Things to Consider Before Buying a Hario Woodneck Drip Pot
The Hario Woodneck Drip Pot is a drip-style and pour-over coffee maker. As opposed to a more standard electric drip coffee maker, this one requires a kettle and a bit of prep work for however many cups of coffee you want to make.
Typical drip coffee makers and pour-over brewers use paper filters, while the Hario uses cloth ones. Being a soft cotton flannel blend, the filter needs specific attention to make it last longer and still provide tasty coffee.
Hario explains that when you break in a new filter and have gone through the whole coffee-making process, it must never dry out until you get rid of it.
Also, taking into account the upkeep and preparation it involves, this coffee maker is a “substance over speed” product that probably isn’t your best choice if you are often in a hurry. But it could serve as an alternative for your “fancy” coffee when you have the time to make it.
Another thing you should take into account is the Hario drip pot’s size. You can only make about two US cups at a time, which is roughly two servings in a regular-sized mug.
If you like making a large quantity of coffee you drink throughout the day, this coffee pot won’t serve that purpose. Instead, we recommend this for fresh coffee lovers!
A Quick Look at the Hario Woodneck Drip Pot
It should be noted that the Hario Woodneck Drip Pot is a bit of an odd one out. If you refer to our drip coffee maker guide above, you’ll notice that most of them are electric and resemble standard coffee makers.
The Hario Woodneck Drip Pot is, in a sense, a crossover between a regular drip coffee maker and a French press. Like a French press, this method retains the coffee oils that add to the body and flavor of your drink.
The carafe is made of somewhat thin glass, and the neck, as the name states, is made of wood. The wood comes in either Acacia or Olive, though both are similar in appearance and essence.
The filters are made of reusable flannel cloths. This set comes with three filters originally, but more can be purchased separately when you run low on them.
The filter holder is made of lightweight stainless steel and also has a natural wood handle, and the decorative strap around the neck is leather.
Things We Like
- Beautiful appearance made with high-quality materials
- Reusable cloth filters
- Yields full-body flavor
- Informative instructions
Room for Improvement
- Takes time to prepare
- Doesn’t hold a lot of coffee
- Thin fragile glass
Features & Benefits
Now that we know some things about this drip pot, let’s look over its features, how to use it, and what it’s supposed to do.
How to Use It
Hario’s Woodneck drip pot has several steps for brewing a cup of coffee, as outlined in their instructional video. It’s not as complicated as a siphon coffee maker, but it’s not quite a make-it-and-leave-it way of brewing a cup of joe.
First, you must boil a new filter to clean it and soak it in cold water to cool it down. After wringing out the excess water, you attach the filter to the holder through the filter’s opening at the hem.
Once the cloth is in place with the raised fiber side facing out, the holder’s wires hook onto each other and lock into place.
When you set the filter in the pot, pour hot water into the carafe without any grounds to prepare and preheat the filter. After this step, you can dump the water and drain any excess moisture from the cloth.
Now the pot is ready for coffee. Put the filter back in the carafe and pour the appropriate amount of coffee grounds into it.
Lightly tap the filter holder’s sides to even out the coffee grounds. Starting from the center and moving outward, pour some hot water to steam the grounds.
Next, let it sit for 30 seconds.
Then, evenly pour hot water and fill the carafe. When the coffee stops dripping, it’s ready to drink.
Soak the filter in boiling water once again and then store it, wet, in the refrigerator. Now that it’s all cleaned up, you’re ready to drink your coffee!
Classic and Organic Style
Hario often makes visually appealing products, and this one is no exception. The glass body is a pleasing shape that’s easy to hold. The wooden neck and handle, leather strap, and cloth filters all give it a warm and earthy feel.
Being glass makes it fragile, and this glass is exceptionally thin, so it should be handled with care. However, the wooden neck provides some structure and fortification, not to mention a place to hold the hot carafe!
Overall, it’s a beautiful piece that you can display with pride between uses. The pot would fit in with a rustic, antique, or cottage-style kitchen but wouldn’t be out of place in a modern one, either. It would even suit a combination of the two.
Two Size Options
This pot comes in either a 240ml size or a 480ml size. This roughly translates to either having a single serving or two servings for each round you prepare. Remember to portion out your grams of coffee to grams of water ratio!
We suggest starting with a 1:15 ratio. For a single serving, that would look like 21-23 grams of grounds with 315-345 grams of water.
The size allows the pot to be a manageable and handy serving carafe that doesn’t take up much space.
Cloth Filters
The Hario drip pot’s cloth filter feature is one of its unique offerings. Although the pot can be used with paper filters, you can also skip the grocery store and pick a reusable basket-like cloth option instead.
Besides the cloth filters improving the coffee’s flavor, they are also an economically-friendly method of filtering coffee.
Flannel is considered an eco-friendly material and is certainly a ‘greener’ option than creating more paper waste.
The extra care of the reusable filters isn’t everyone’s preference, though, as immediately tossing out a filter is easier than having to soak a filter in hot water.
Convenient Filter Holder
The stainless steel wire and wooden handle holder allow you to easily remove the coffee grounds from the carafe. You can place it to the side and deal with it after you’ve drunk your coffee. The filter comes off the holder and then can be cleaned and stored.
Exceptional Taste
Almost any specialized brewing contraption is going to taste better than your average Mr. Coffee machine that you get at a retail store. Pour-over pots, French presses, siphon coffee makers, and so on, all create coffee with a more robust taste.
The resulting flavor from this pot is akin to a French press, as it maintains the coffee’s natural oils that are responsible for giving it a deeper flavor.
Because it’s still a drip pot, it takes a bit longer than a French press. But, you don’t want hot water to pass quickly through the coffee grounds, as it won’t retain the flavor. The cloth filters both mitigate the speed at which the water drips while adding to the silky flavor.
Compared to other pour-over devices, the Hario still has a very full-bodied taste, much like the Chemex, but it also has the rich and smooth elements of a French Press.
If you are often short on time, then a drip pot like this one may not be your best bet. However, on slower mornings or if you must have well-brewed coffee, then investing some time into this brew is probably worth it.
Moderate Care
In Hario’s video on how to prepare coffee in their Woodneck drip pot, it’s clear it’s a slightly involved process.
You can see from the video that it requires a little more attention than just throwing a filter in a container, dumping in some coffee, and splashing some hot water over it.
The pot itself can be cleaned using standard handwashing methods. The cloth filters need to be boiled in a pot of water before their use and boiled afterward for sterilization.
The filter also isn’t supposed to dry out, as this affects the flavor of the coffee.
After the cloth is boiled and cleaned after use, it can be stored in the refrigerator in a sealable plastic bag while it’s still wet. The filters last fairly long and can be bought in 3-packs, saving you on throwaway paper filters over the long term.
The upkeep involved with the cloth filter adds yet another level of care that other pour-over devices don’t normally have (although there are many great alternative filter options for Chemex brewers and other pour-over devices).
Alternatives and Conclusion
Ultimately, the Hario Drip Pot makes good coffee. There are a few more steps and some attentiveness required to use it properly, especially compared to other pour-over devices that require minimum prep, like Hario’s V6 pour-over.
Nevertheless, the quality of taste and the smooth richness of the brew itself makes the extra steps worth it on the days you can take your time.
It’s also a classic and attractive design, which is great if you want something decorative and functional. It’s also a lucrative option considering its durability, sustainability, and pleasing results.
Of course, this style of coffee maker isn’t for everyone. You might prefer other pour-over coffee makers that are better suited for paper filters if the cloth is too complicated.
Otherwise, you may prefer the taste of coffee that comes from a French press such as the Barista Warrior.
In the end, the Hario Woodneck Drip Pot delivers high-quality brews with only a little extra fuss. If you have that additional time to spare, and if the quality of taste is a priority for you, then this coffee maker will suit you well.
Happy Caffeinating!
Hario Woodneck Drip Pot Review: Is This Coffee Pot Worth It?
If you're looking for a new coffee maker, read this article for our Hario Woodneck Drip Pot review to see what we thought of this interesting kitchenware.
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