When Starbucks Reserve first opened their stores in the Philippines, they started brewing their exquisite selection of reserve coffee using the pour-over method. This pour-over brewer, manufactured by Melitta, was first invented by Melitta Bentz in 1908 and is one of the first pour-over brewers developed in the world.
If you are considering this pour-over for you home, then this review is exactly for you.
I was captivated by the pour-over brewing method practiced by the Starbucks Reserve baristas that I immediately bought a Starbucks Melitta Pour-Over Brewer and Mug for Php1,295. It also comes with 5 pieces of unbleached filter. The Melitta #2 filters themselves can be bought at the local supermarkets (the cheapest ones I found at Landmark Supermarket.
I started my exploits with specialty coffee with this exact pour-over brewer. Since then, I gradually expanded my coffee gear this particular brewer was left to gather dust. I don't use it anymore, and currently alternate between an Aeropress or a Hario V60 Brewer to make my morning brew.
You can purchase a Hario V60 Bundle from Lazada.com.ph.
There are a couple of design aspects that made me choose the Kalita 102 Brewer over the Starbucks Melitta Pour-Over. The first design the fact that the Melitta Brewer only has one hole in the middle, while the Kalita 102 has three. This affects the flow rate from the brewer to the cup, and therefore if you are trying to brew coffee at around the 3 minute optimal level, then it's going to be more difficult to do that with the Melitta brewer given the restriction in water flow.
This design difference on the hole also affects how well you can clean the brewer. I found that even though I thoroughly cleaned the Melitta brewer, some of the coffee still gets stuck inside the hole is released only when I pre-infuse the paper filter with water. This obviously affects the quality of your brew because stale coffee isn't removed from the brewer and goes into your new batch of coffee.
Another key difference is the compatibility with different mugs, since the Kalita can be used with any mug while the Melitta can only be used when it comes with the Starbucks mug it's in, which isn't really ideal if you want to brew coffee for a number of people.
It's also worth noting that the Kalita 102 only costs Php550, less than half of what the Starbucks Melitta Pour-Over.
Here are the brewing instructions if you want to still plan to get a Starbucks Melitta Pour-Over Brewer. Although, I would follow the instructions here instead. I recommend you purchase a Hario V60 Pour-Over Brewer rather than the Melitta.
Further reading you might like:
- Coffee Gear That Every Serious Coffee Drinker Needs to Have
- Enjoy the Best Freshly-Roasted Coffee Beans Delivered Straight to Your Door
- Coffee Maker Inventions That Reveal a New Level of Coffee Culture Crazy
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Cheers,
Chef Jay
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