Thoughts on April Brewer and Kalita Wave Hasami

Been using April brewer (April) and Kalita Wave Hasami (Wave) recently, just realized that I haven’t really talk about this dripper since I purchased it. So in this article I will share some of my opinions of April by comparing it to Wave.

1. The bottom circle area of April is larger than Wave (not big difference though), so technically, the coffee bed in April should be lower than wave under same amount of coffee.

2. Wave has a real flat bottom with three small holes, so the coffee liquid from filter will gather and mix in the bottom before they flow out from the holes. That’s why we feel coffee flavour from Wave is rounded and intense. While April has a custom “conical” bottom with a single large hole (relatively), so the coffee liquid will drop from the filter directly to hole then to the server or cup, if you usually use Origami with Wave filter, you will have a better understanding. And that’s why we think the flavour from April is more layered and clear.

3. Wave can clog sometime (ceramic clog less than steel, not sure glass), April has the same problem, not completely stop, but pretty slow. I checked the filter on April before and after brew, the bottom of filter still has some distance from the hole, so the bottom support works pretty well. The problem is on the fines and over stir, as I mentioned before, the more you stir, the faster the fines will sink in the bottom. In this regard, Wave will has less effect than April due to the bottom design, and that’s why I personally pour slow and gentle when I use April.

There is no definitive good or bad in these two drippers, you can choose them based on your brewing habits and flavour preferences.

If you are looking to try the Kalita Wave Hasami, please see here