Delicate tongues know that a good brewer is crucial for enjoying quality coffee. A high-quality coffee powder will only go to waste if you use the wrong brewer that doesn’t provide the right moisture, concentration, and taste. This is ultimately true if you’re brewing for a cold drip coffee.
Cold drip coffee brewers are rare. It’s even rarer to find ones that do the work fast. Even so, one product that we’ve heard about is the Yama Cold Drip Tower. This product is a cold drip brewer that uses at 3 glass accessories to do the work, After using, we gave this product an overall rating of 4 stars. Finish reading this Yama Glass Drip Tower Review to know why.
What We Like About Yama Glass Drip Tower
- A traditional cold drip tower that doesn’t use electrical and plastic components
- All accessories (except the filters) for brewing are made out of non-toxic borosilicate glass
- Allows for easy assembly without using special tools
- The glass accessories and wooden frame look very presentable after assembly
- Can be used to brew normal coffee or tea aside from cold drip coffee
What We Don’t Like About Yama Glass Drip Tower
- Doesn’t come with permanent filters
- Dishwasher-safe but washing with dishwasher is inefficient
- Bulky and can’t be carried from place to place
- The base is poorly designed
The Parts of Yama Cold Drip Tower
Ensure that all of these accessories are inside the package:
- Water Container and Adjustable Drip Spout – these are the topmost part of this product
- Glass center (coffee container) and Glass Coil – these are are the middle part of this product
- Decanter – this is the bottom portion of this product
- Paper Filter and Ceramic filter- these parts are placed inside the Glass Center
- Wooden Frame
Notable Features of Yama Cold Drip Tower
Borosillicate Glass Material
All accessories (glass lid, glass top, glass center, and decanter) of Yama Cold Drip Tower are made out of heat resistant non-porous borosilicate glass material. Borosilicate glass material brings several advantages. First, it preserves the natural taste of the coffee. Second, it prevents the cold drip coffee from tasting acidic. And third, it provides the glossy appearance that makes Yama Cold Drip Tower very presentable.
Wooden Frame
The wooden frame-ups the presentability of the Yama Cold Drip Tower. Also, it packs a bit of weight. Thus, it provides the stability that prevents this product from tipping over. The wooden frame is a very crucial part. It holds all the accessories so that Yama Cold Drip Tower can function well.
Quick Cold Drip Brewing
The adjustable drip spout allows for quick cold drip brewing. We appreciate that manufacturers gave us the liberty to decide how fast or slow the drip will be. Slow drip allows for a very concentrated cold drip coffee. On the other hand, we fast drip provides the opposite result.
Nevertheless, the average brewing time was only 3-5 hours regardless of the drip spout’s adjustment.
Heat-Resistant
All the glass accessories that comprise Yama Cold Drip Tower are heat resistant. That said, you can also opt to brew coffee and normal heat temperatures with this product. However, we suggest that you adjust the water spout to slow drip to take care of the center coil.
Lots of Varieties To Choose From
The one that we bought has a brewing capacity of 6-7 cups. Nevertheless, Yama Cold Drip Tower is also available in larger sizes that are suitable for brewing up to 25 cups of cold drip coffee. This feature is minor. Nevertheless, we think that variety is important because it’s useful for preventing unnecessary purchases.
Our Experience With Yama Glass Drip Tower
Initial Set-Up
We bought the small version of this product so we’re expecting it to be fully assembled. However, this was not the case when the packaged arrived. There’s no problem with this though.
Upon opening, we saw that the inside was neatly lined with styrofoam. Furthermore, a thick bubble wrap caressed the glass accessories. That said, we give the manufacturers a big thumbs up. After all, cracks and breaks are the greatest potential issue that Yama has.
The set-up was easy. However, we can’t say that it’s quick or self intuitive. If you already bought this product, remember to assemble in this order; First, place the decanter at the base of the wooden frame. Second, place the middle part of the wooden frame at the top of the base then place the center glass and center coil afterward. Finally, put the topmost part of the wooden frame then place the water container and drip spout.
Yama weighs a bit after we assembled it fully. Carrying it felt like we were lifting a 12-kilogram coffee brewer. This isn’t an issue for adults. Nevertheless, Yama’s weight doesn’t make it very portable. Of course, the user can opt to disassemble. Nevertheless, he or she will need a large bag to store all the accessories.
Yama is easy to assemble and doesn’t require tools. However, we had to follow a specific order assembling. This took time for us to figure out. Thus, we give this product 4 stars in terms of set-up.
Build
The combination of the glossy borosilicate glass and black wooden frame makes Yama Glass Drip Tower look like an everyday coffee brewer from cafes. That said, we love the fact that it doesn’t look too out of place. Manufacturers did a job well done in giving a Yama natural look that goes well with kitchens or staff rooms.
Yama Glass Drip Tower sits tall. Even the smallest version reaches up to the chest when placed on a table, This is pretty remarkable since it allows the dripping mechanism to work efficiently. There’s more pressure at the drip spout when it’s up high. As a result, it can do a better job of keeping the coffee powder at the glass center moist without a lot of adjustments.
Even so, we find the height of this product an issue too. Pouring water at the water container is quite difficult. This is very true for short users. This is only a minor issue. Putting Yama on a small table or the floor are some solutions.
We find the design of the glass center quite remarkable. It has this moderately long and narrow constitution. It stores the coffee powder tightly. This allows moisture to settle evenly and provide a very concentrated brew.
In connection, the glass coil just beneath the glass center is also great. It allows the brew to travel slowly towards the decanter. This results in a very consistent drink.
The dishwasher safe feature of the glass accessories is quite useless. The inside of the glass accessories is deep. That said, the dishwasher can’t reach some spots. This is especially true when cleaning the decanter with a dishwasher. For a thorough clean, we opted to wash by hand.
Finally, we feel that Yama Glass Drip Tower might have been more stable if the manufactures designed a broader base or installed it with rubber feet. This product is prone to tipping on a wobbly surface especially when the water container at the top is full.
All in all, this product looks very natural and manufacturers designed the accessories for function. That said, we give Yama Glass Drip Tower 4 stars in this category. We subtracted 1 point because of stability and cleaning issues.
Functionality
We used Yama Glass Drip for brewing coffee in normal heat temperatures. We found out that it shows an okay performance after doing so. The drip spout still works the same. However, the water container and decanter didn’t do well in retaining heat. The final brew was just plain warm and needs reheating.
Brewing tea is also possible. We haven’t tried doing so. However, the same principle applies to brewing and brewing coffee. Still, brewing might be quicker or slower because tea extract is different from coffee extract.
Alternative For Yama Glass Drip Tower
Nispira Iced Coffee Cold Brew Dripper Maker Wooden
This product works in the same way as Yama Glass Drip Tower. Furthermore, it also produces brews with the same quality. One advantage that this product has is its cheaper price. Nevertheless, we don’t love the build of this product very much because the accessories have a very thin construction.
Hario Slow Drip Coffee Water Dripper
This one has a modern feel to it. The frame for this product is made out of plastic. Nevertheless, the accessories that are crucial for brewing are still made out of glass. You might like this product better because it’s lighter. However, Hario’s lightness makes it prone to tipping over. Further, its plastic frame is prone to cracking.
Final Verdict: Is Yama Glass Drip Tower Worth It?
Of course, you should know that Yama Glass Drip Tower isn’t cheap. So does this product justify a hefty investment? We think that the answer is yes. Yama Glass Drip Tower excels in design, appearance, build, and functionalities. That said, this might be part of the best drip towers in the market today.
Nevertheless, you can opt to buy the alternative that we listed if you’re not willing to spend much. Both Hario and Nispira work great. However, you might be experiencing some issues with them which Yama doesn’t have.
Finally, share this Yama Glass Drip Tower Review if you find it useful!