Mark MorphewMany of these cold drip coffee makers cost an arm and a leg. The good news is if you want to brew cold dripped at home, and you’re on a tight budget, look no further than the Iwaki cold drip brewer.
The Iwaki is one of those coffee brewers that’s gone under the radar with many coffee geeks. But to be honest, there’s no reason not to love this budget-friendly, compact coffee brewer – and the final cup tastes fantastic to boot!
There’s only a small circle of coffee lovers who’ll dig deep in their pockets and fork out over two-hundred dollars for a six-foot-tall cold drip coffee tower; this is where the Iwaki fills a void in the marketplace.
The price point is what makes the Iwaki water drip coffee server affordable for everyone, not just those hipster baristas looking to impress with coils, test tubes, and large round glass jars found on the more expensive cold coffee drippers.
Plus, you won’t have your neighbors thinking you’re running the local meth lab with all those test tubes and Pyrex beakers stacked up on your kitchen countertop!
Joking aside, the Iwaki is the perfect entry-level cold drip brewer that’s compact and brews-up a great tasting brew. Want to know a bit more? Let’s take a closer look.
Iwaki Water Drip Coffee Maker Basics
What makes the Iwaki the perfect entry-level cold drip coffee maker is its simplicity. If you’re new to the whole drip coffee scene, it doesn’t get much easier than this.
The Iwaki kit comes with everything you’ll need to get started – minus the coffee!
When you open the box, you’ll discover the glass decanter, a section for your ground coffee with a built-in filter, the top plastic water reservoir, and finally, a two-piece lid.
Unlike other (more expensive) cold coffee drippers, the Iwaki has no valve to control the drip-rate. Now, this makes it super easy for the novice because things can get messy and out of hand when the drip rate is not set correctly.
Thankfully, the Iwaki is already pre-set for beginners to drip roughly every 2 seconds – which is perfect.
Now, for those of us who prefer experimenting by increasing or decreasing the flow of the water drip rate, this is still possible but involves a bit of experimentation with the coarseness of your coffee grind.
For example – A coarser coffee grind setting will allow the water to seep through quicker than a finer grind. When the water passes through too quickly, the final cold-brewed coffee will be less intense because the water hasn’t had enough time to steep and collect all of the flavorful oils and nuances from the coffee as it passes through.
I have had a good play around with the Iwaki, and I’ve found that a fine grind works the best, somewhere between an espresso and a Turkish grind. It really is trial and error because the instructions that come with the Iwaki cold drip server are not in English.
Luckily, there are markings on both the water reservoir and the ground coffee section, which takes a bit of the guess work out. The water reservoir holds about 495g of water, and the coffee section will hold up to 50g of ground coffee.
Once you get the hang of the Iwaki, you’ll find it super easy to set up and use. Basically, you have to place finely ground coffee and cold water up to the indication marks in each section.
Iwaki Water Drip Coffee Server Instructions
As I mentioned above, setting up and using the Iwaki water drip coffee maker is pretty easy and straightforward. Those of you who are struggling and want a better idea of how this cold drip brewer works, keep on reading.
- Rinse and place the glass Pyrex beaker onto a flat surface.
- Weigh out 50g of whole bean coffee and set your grinder to a fine setting and grind your whole coffee beans and pour into the plastic center section with the built-in filter.
- Use an espresso tamper to gently compact the coffee down, not too much because you don’t want to risk breaking the delicate built-in screen, but just enough to compress the coffee slightly.
- Place the section with the coffee in onto the glass, Pyrex beaker.
- Next, add the top water reservoir onto the middle section with the coffee in.
- Fill the water reservoir with cold water, up to the fill line (roughly 495g of water), and add ice if desired.
Give yourself a tap on the back, sit back, and admire your handy work, that’s it! The whole drip brewing process should take no more than 8 hours. I like to place mine in the fridge overnight and wake to fresh, ice-cold coffee.
Overall Impressions of the Iwaki
Compared to expensive coffee drip towers that take up your entire kitchen countertop, the Iwaki is a great compact, space-saving budget buy.
It’s a low-risk purchase and an excellent introduction to cold drip coffee at home, making it the perfect choice for those who don’t want to spend a small fortune trying this type of coffee brewing at home.
With that said, if you’re a person who enjoys tinkering with various brewing ratios and settings, the Iwaki might not keep you entertained for long. If that sounds like you, the Hario or the Yama drip tower might be more to your liking.
Overall, I have nothing terrible to say about the Iwaki coffee maker, it’s cheap, easy to use, but as I’ve pointed out, its low price point mitigates with the lack of drip rate settings – this shouldn’t be an issue and makes it perfect for beginners.
When he's not fiddling around with a new coffee gadget, you'll find him busy doing DIY projects around the home and taking his German Shepherd for a walk, who funnily enough is called Kona!
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Since the creation of the Bean Ground coffee blog in 2014, Mark and a small circle of coffee hobbyists have rigorously tested, reviewed, and researched coffee gear. In most cases, they have purchased the items themselves with the sole intention of rating and evaluating.
In that time, they have built up a list of quality points to look for and what makes specific equipment better than others. They cut through the noise and marketing hype that often surrounds products to give you their unbiased opinions so you can make clear decisions on your next purchase.
