rewrite this title I'm a Former Barista, and This $25 Coffee Brewer Has Earned a Spot in My Kitchen

For many of us, there’s nothing more personal than our coffee preferences — OK, maybe mom’s maiden name or whether we wear boxers or briefs. Perhaps you like your coffee iced, topped with a generous amount of half-and-half, and dressed with fragrant syrups that rival the smell of a Yankee Candle store. Or maybe you want coffee so black and strong that it pummels your taste buds until they’re numb. You know, that good kind of pain.

No matter how you like your coffee, the fact is it can be hard to brew a consistently good cup of it at home. But you don’t need an expensive brewer to make a cup of joe that’s worthy of a coffee shop. You just need freshly ground coffee, filtered water and a modest pour-over brewer like the $25 Dwell Dripper I’ve been testing.

Pour-over drippers or brewers are simple in their approach. Most fit over a coffee mug and require nothing more than a paper filter. And though you do have to manually pour hot water over the grounds, you’re rewarded with a cup of coffee that has rich flavor and isn’t over extracted or bitter. Sometimes a pour-over dripper can yield cups so smooth that you don’t even need to add milk to it.

And while there are countless options when it comes to a pour-over brewers, the Dwell Dripper stands out because it’s aimed at someone who hasn’t brewed at home before or is coming from a cheap electric coffee machine they got in college. Think of the Dwell Dripper as a gateway into a world of great tasting coffee that doesn’t require a barista with a man bun to make it for you.

The Dwell Dripper, made by Verve Coffee Roasters, has a lot of unique features that make it as versatile as it is simple. It’s made from BPA-free silicone instead of glass, metal or ceramic and that makes it portable. I’ve been testing one for a few weeks, and I can easily envision tossing this in my suitcase on a trip without worrying about it breaking.

Pour-over brewers typically come in either a cone or flat-bottom design like the Dwell. A flat-bottom shape lets the grounds get more evenly saturated versus a cone-shape dripper when the grounds at the center can be extracted more than those on the perimeter.

“We as a company, Verve, are selling thousands of pour-overs a day. And we choose to use a flat bottom brewer because we really prefer that extraction method,” Colby Barr, Verve CEO and co-founder, told CNET. “It’s almost crazy to me that all brewing methods aren’t flat bottom from my perspective.”

Not only does the Dwell have a flat bottom, most of it is open, which lets the filter and coffee do the brewing. This means that the dripper is just there to hold everything in place instead of compromising the brew itself — the filter is suspended over the cup. The dripper uses flat-bottom filters but is compatible with most Wave paper filters, including Kalita 185 filters.

The Dwell comes with a tiny scoop that’s the same color as the brewer. Verve created the Dwell Dripper along with Bould Designs, which was founded by Fred Bould, one of the designers behind the Nest Thermostat. The Dwell Dripper involves a unique and easy three-by-three process. Add a filter to the Dwell (bonus points if you rinse it). Then add three level scoops of ground coffee. And lastly, fill the brewer with hot water to the line on the side three times. Three minutes later, you have a yummy cup of coffee.

Normally, coffee snobs would tear up at the idea of using volumetric measurements instead of a scale. But using three level scoops actually works. I brewed more than a dozen cups of coffee with the Dwell Dripper while my coffee scale sat on the counter collecting dust. I made coffee from various roasters, like Verve, Four Barrel and Collectivo, and have been pleased with the results. Coffee from the Dwell has a great flavor, is smooth and has been consistent day-to-day.

But if you’re wondering about weight and ratios, three level scoops on the Dwell equals roughly 20 grams and the water weighs 300 grams for a 1:15 ratio — pretty standard stuff.

Why the Dwell Dripper makes a great gift

The Dwell Dripper’s best feature is that it meets you where you’re at in your coffee journey. So if you don’t have a coffee scale or a gooseneck kettle, that’s OK. But if you do, you can use them. The Dwell’s wide appeal will ensure that coffee brew-at-home newbies and seasoned coffee snobs will both get a lot out of it.

The $25 price makes it a great gift for someone in your life who wants to brew better coffee at home. I also suggest getting them a great bag of fresh whole bean coffee and, if they don’t already have one, a good coffee grinder. The Dwell Dripper is something that will last you for years and is well worth the low upfront cost.

If you’re looking for more great values this holiday season, here are the best Black Friday deals.