Chemex is a high-quality brand that’s established a lot of brand loyalty over the years. Their reputation has inspired plenty of knock-offs, but don’t fall for it or skimp on cost — you want the real deal.

Part of Chemex’s Classic Series and weighing in at 1.9 lbs, this pour over has thinner glass than the vintage Chemex models.

As far as the filter goes, you can choose paper or stainless steel, and there are pros and cons to each as detailed above.

You could use a stainless steel filter lined with a paper filter and get the best of both worlds, but obviously that’s a little more expensive (and complicated).

Plus, can we also agree that Chemex pour over brewers are beautiful works of art? And I just love the wood collar for a soft touch to an otherwise classy, elegant sculpture.

Just be careful not to get the wood collar wet when washing. The Chemex isn’t difficult to wash — just swirl with hot water and clean weekly with soap and a soft-bristled brush — but don’t get that collar wet.

Any complaints one would have about this pour over coffee maker are complaints they’d have with any pour over coffee maker: the time it takes to brew and the precision required to master your coffee.

At just 240 mL in volume, the Hario Drip Pot is the smallest pour over coffee maker on our list — it makes just one 8-oz cup.

While that’s a significant drawback for a high-volume coffee drinker like myself, it may not be a negative for you. If you’re OK with the single-cup capacity, you just might enjoy the Hario Drip Pot.

This pour over coffee maker has a defining feature: It comes with a cloth filter.

Never used a cloth filter before and unsure whether it’s right for you?

Think of cloth filters this way: They’re basically reusable paper filters. They do a great job keeping fine sediment out of your coffee but you can wash them for extended use.

Cloth filters do stain from coffee oils, but you can clean this easily with bleach every few months.

Be warned, though: Hario recommends a lot of maintenance. You aren’t supposed to let it dry and it shouldn’t be cleaned with soap.

Instead, Hario suggests boiling it after use to remove any residual flavors. For storage, consider keeping it in a Tupperware container of water in your refrigerator, or to take up less space try sealing it in a Ziploc bag in the fridge.

In reality do you need to do all of those things? No, you don’t need to, but I’d recommend boiling it every few uses and at least storing it in a Ziploc bag.

Similar in design to the Chemex Classic Series, the Bodum Pour-Over is a sleek and beautifully designed option for those who prefer manual drip brewing.

The Bodum brewer comes in three different sizes and 10 different silicone color combinations — one of which is just cork and not actually silicone — for a comfortable, temperature-resistant grip that resists water.

This is an important distinction between Bodum and Chemex as the above Chemex brewer has a wood collar that you have to be careful not to get wet.

The Bodum comes with a permanent mesh filter made of stainless steel mesh and a BPA-free plastic cage. It isn’t the best filter, though, and makes coffee that tastes and feels a little like French press coffee. I’d suggest getting a better mesh filter or, if you prefer paper filters, placing a paper filter in the permanent filter.

A word of caution: Be careful when handling this brewer. The glass is pretty thin. The 34 oz Bodum weighs 1.6 lbs compared to 1.9 lbs for the 30 oz Chemex. Some of that will be the weight difference between the silicone and wood collars, but some of it is the Bodum’s thinner glass.

Unlike fully self-contained pour-over models like the Chemex Classic Series, the Hario V60 functions by sitting on top of your collecting vessel (fancy phrase for a mug).

The Hario V60 comes in three different sizes — 10 oz, 20 oz, and 30 oz — and comes in either ceramic, glass, plastic or metal.

Note: Not all size options offer each material, so check out the Amazon listing to see what’s available.

I also want to make a couple notes about the design differences between specific materials within the Hario V60 line:

• Ceramic: Fully made of ceramic, no concerns
• Glass: Glass body with plastic base, which sits on the mug
• Plastic: Fully made of plastic, some report cracking around 1 year
• Metal: Metal body with silicone base, which creates vacuum seal over mug and can cause issues with air displacement as mug fills with coffee

All sizes are compatible with mugs up to 4 inches in diameter, which is pretty darn big. The 20 oz model (size 02) is the standard size used in coffee shops. I wouldn’t get the 10 oz (size 01) unless you prefer thinner coffee or are OK with 8-10 oz cups.

See that ridged, vortex shape in the cross-section of the Hario V60? Those ridges stop the paper filter from sticking to the side of the cone, which prevents a vacuum from forming and ensures a constant, smooth flow.

This means you, the user, truly controls the brew speed as you manually pour hot water over the grounds.

The Bee House Ceramic Coffee Dripper comes in 9 different colors and functions a little differently than the above pour overs.

Instead of having a coffee filter positioned directly over a large opening to a bottom chamber or coffee mug, the Bee House has a flat bottom with 2 holes from which coffee drips into your mug.

With its flat-bottom design, the Bee House Dripper takes single-use standard paper #2 filters, though you can also get by with a standard #4 coffee filter. This pour over coffee maker also is dishwasher safe, which makes it a ton easier to maintain than the Hario Drip Pot above.

Compared to the Hario V60, which is compatible with mugs up to 4 inches in diameter, the Bee House Dripper is compatible with mugs from 2.75-3.75 inches.

Oddly (and annoyingly) the base of this coffee maker is oval, which makes it a little less steady than the Hario V60.

Add in this coffee maker’s extra weight (the 14.4 oz Bee House weighs twice the Hario V60) and balancing it on top of your mug can be a little bit…unnerving.