As I mentioned in my SCA Expo intro post, I’ve spent most of my coffee-drinking years as a pourover coffee maker. I started with a Chemex in college, and then worked my way through all manner of variants of V60, Kalita Wave, Clever Brewer, and so on. As such, when I stumbled across the newly released Dwell Dripper on the show floor at SCA Expo this weekend, I had a natural curiosity to see what it was all about and what sets it apart from the very robust competition in that space.
First brought to market in November of last year by the team at Verve Coffee, the initial thing that drew my attention about the Dwell Dripper was the look of it. It comes in a number of fun, eye-catching colors, with a pleasing matte finish thanks to it being made from BPA-free silicone in lieu of the more reflective hard plastic, porcelain, or metal usually found in pourover drippers. The combination of color and finish gives the Dwell the appearance of something that could serve dual purpose as both a kitchen decoration and a coffee maker.
The big question is whether the Dwell is just an aesthetic upgrade to a classic design, or if it really brings something new and compelling to justify upgrading from one’s existing alternative.
It turns out that Verve did set out to make material improvements to the classic pourover mechanic. According to Harris Nash, Verve Coffee’s Senior Wholesale Manager, they designed the Dwell to speed up the pourover process while keeping or possibly elevating the consistency of the coffee.
In order to accomplish this, they ran with the Kalita Wave profile’s higher walls and a much more open bottom design. Nash said that these changes allow one to brew a standard pourover in about 2.5–3 minutes, as compared to about 4 minutes with a Kalita Wave.
If you’re thinking to yourself that speed is nice but wondering how this will impact extraction, then you and I might have some sort of asynchronous psychic connection. When asked, Nash answered that you are still able to get the amount of extraction that you’re used to by just grinding your beans one or two grind adjustment clicks finer. Further, by making the Dwell out of silicone, it has better heat retention than most drippers on the market, which should help with a more even extraction by maintaining more consistent temperatures throughout the brew process.
Verve promises a brighter, clearer cup of coffee thanks to a combination of the faster brew time provided by the design and a new, finer paper filter they are releasing. This filter is very similar to the Kalita Wave series filters, but according to Verve is structured with a touch of rigidity to help it stay suspended within the dripper to keep it away from the outer edge for a faster, less impeded flow.
In the hand, the dripper feels smooth with just a little grip, and the silicone is thick enough to keep a good amount of rigidity while maintaining flexibility that should make it unbreakable: a nice level-up over most pourovers. (I, for one, have bought a new ceramic V60 almost yearly due to various family members retiring mine early by accidentally knocking them off counters.)
Verve had pro baristas brewing up sample coffees with the Dwell at their booth all weekend, and the cup I had did indeed taste remarkably smooth. Naturally, these are results from a trained professional that has doubtlessly dialed in their process for this brewer, but I was impressed with the results. I’ll be looking to see if I can get my hands on a Dwell Dripper to put through some testing with my own more average pourover skills, both to see if I can replicate these results and if there is a noticeable improvement in brew time from my usual set-up.
Chris is a tech-loving former diplomat who has lived—and sipped coffee—on five of the seven continents. He now resides in Austin, TX, with his wonderful family, where he enjoys photography, perfecting his morning brews, and writing a weekly newsletter on fresh tech, gear, and apps.
3 Responses
It’s exciting to see Verve introduce something like the Dwell Dripper at SCA 2025, but I appreciate your critical lens on the awards overall. Sometimes a product’s real value only becomes clear after it’s been put through real-world use, especially when it comes to manual brewing consistency.
I stumbled on the dwell shortly after its launch, and was charmed by its bright colors and accessible price. I have been a long term aeropress user, so it fitted in with my workflow and I found that the dwell did indeed make a really good cup of coffee . there is a lot to like with this brewer. It is indestructible , a pleasingly simple straight forward design, visual, and it is quite forgiving in use. The packaging design is also well thought out and executed. It is nice to encounter something at this price point that has well printed documentation, good packaging design, and overall attention to detail. I wish they included a sample of their filters since a lot of people don’t have kalita filters on the shelf, and it would be nice if , as a gift, it could be used immediately.
My wife will be pleased to learn that the Dwell is made of silicon and not a plastic with some level of PFAS. Glass and ceramic are as PFAS free but as you mention are breakable. Thanks for the heads up