Products · Coffee makers & gear · Kalita
Kalita Wave 185 Stainless Steel Coffee Dripper
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A stainless steel pour-over dripper with a flat bed and a paper filter. Kalita says it is stainless steel, made in Japan and dishwasher safe. We found no test, and Kalita does not say how its filters are bleached.
Best for Anyone who wants a pour-over without a glaze to worry about and does not want a breakable dripper.
- Our rating
- Good (3.6 of 5)
- Price range
- Budget
- Size
- Two to four cups; flat-bottom bed with three small holes; takes Kalita Wave 185 filters
- Made in
- Made in Japan (per Kalita USA)
approx. $42 for the dripper; Wave 185 paper filters approx. $13 for 100
See it on Kalita’s site → (opens in a new tab)We are not affiliated with Kalita. This link goes to the maker’s own page, with no tracking code. How we're funded.
Also sold at Amazon ($39), Seattle Coffee Gear ($40), Prima Coffee ($42) .
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Your review
Reviews are personal experiences, not research, and they never change our quality ratings. Every review is read by our team before it appears.
How we evaluated it
How it scores Our rating, metric by metric
- What touches the water and coffee 45% of the rating 4 of 5
Stainless steel and paper only: no glaze, plastic, seal or electronics. Minor gaps: Kalita does not give the steel grade or say how the white filters are bleached.
- Independent testing 10% of the rating 1 of 5
We found no test of this dripper or of Kalita’s filters, from Kalita or anyone else.
- Durability 20% of the rating 4 of 5
A single piece of steel that cannot break or wear out and goes in the dishwasher. Kalita’s page states no warranty.
- Trust 10% of the rating 3 of 5
No recall or Prop 65 notice names Kalita, and it names the material and origin. It says little more: no steel grade, no test and no warranty on the page.
- Value 15% of the rating 4 of 5
About $42 for the dripper and $13 for 100 filters, a little more than a ceramic dripper and a steel dripper that will not break.
The rating, 3.6 of 5, is the weighted average of these scores. See how we rank coffee makers & gear and our standard.
Where to buy Stores and the prices we saw
- Amazon (opens in a new tab) approx. $39. Size 185, stainless steel. Sold by Japanique Living, a third-party seller, not by Kalita. Ships from Amazon. The listing also sells the 155 size, so check the selection.
- Seattle Coffee Gear (opens in a new tab) approx. $40. Choose size 185 (the 155 is about $35). Low stock when we looked: five left.
- Prima Coffee (opens in a new tab) approx. $42. Choose Size: Large, Material: Steel (the page also sells glass and ceramic). Item KW185SS.
Prices as we saw them on October 23, 2026. They change often. These links carry no tracking code and earn us nothing.
What it’s made of What touches your food, water, skin or air
- Dripper: stainless steel, made in Japan, dishwasher safe (Kalita USA: “Made of stainless steel”). The grade and finish are not stated, and no coating is mentioned.
- Kalita Wave 185 paper filters: white paper, FSC certified, made in Japan (Kalita USA). The bleaching method is not stated.
What people ask Worries raised online and elsewhere, and what we found
- Is it plain stainless steel, with no coating?
- Kalita says only “Made of stainless steel” (Kalita USA (opens in a new tab)). It gives no grade and mentions no coating, and we found no test. Hario’s steel dripper, by comparison, says “Stainless Steel, No Coating” on its page.
- What about the paper filters?
- Kalita’s Wave 185 filters (opens in a new tab) are white, FSC certified and made in Japan. Kalita does not say how they are bleached, and we found no PFAS or other lab test of them, so we cannot compare them with the PFAS marker an independent lab found in Chemex’s Natural filters.
- Does a metal dripper change the cholesterol picture?
- No. You still brew through paper, which removes the diterpenes (cafestol and kahweol) that raise LDL cholesterol (our coffee page). A metal filter would keep them, as a French press does.
- Is the 185 the right size, and which one is the steel one?
- Kalita makes the Wave in two sizes (155 and 185) and in glass, ceramic and steel, and several stores sell all of them on one page. The 185 holds more (Kalita says 2 to 4 cups) and needs the Wave 185 filters. Check the size and material you select before you pay.
Why we chose it What put it on our list
- Steel and paper, and nothing else. Kalita says the dripper is “Made of stainless steel” and made in Japan, and it needs only a paper filter.
- No glaze to worry about and nothing to break, unlike a ceramic or glass dripper.
- Kalita says it is dishwasher safe, and the prices are posted: $42 for the dripper and $13 for 100 filters.
- Brewing through paper still removes the diterpenes that raise LDL cholesterol.
Trade-offs What to weigh before you buy
- Kalita gives no steel grade, no test and no warranty on the page, and does not say how its white filters are bleached.
- It needs Kalita’s patented Wave 185 filters, sold separately.
- A flat-bed dripper with three small holes brews differently from a cone, so expect to adjust your grind and pour.
What to know Details worth knowing first
The Kalita Wave is a pour-over dripper with a flat bed and three small holes, and this version is a single piece of stainless steel. Hot water from your own kettle runs through a paper filter and the steel cone, and that is all it touches. There is no glaze to ask about, as there is with a ceramic dripper, and nothing to break.
Our coffee page recommends paper-filtered coffee because the filter removes the diterpenes (cafestol and kahweol) that raise LDL cholesterol, so the paper is part of the case for it. Kalita says its Wave filters are white, FSC certified and made in Japan. It does not say how they are bleached, and we found no PFAS test of them. An independent lab found a PFAS marker in Chemex’s Natural filters in 2023, which is why we ask.
Everything here is Kalita’s own description: stainless steel, made in Japan, dishwasher safe. It does not give the steel grade or any warranty, and no one has published a test. It rates 3.6 on our scale, with the gaps stated above. Use it with a stainless steel or glass kettle.
What we checked Each claim, and how sure we are of it
| What we checked | What we found |
|---|---|
| Inert materials in the hot path Maker’s claim | Stainless steel dripper and paper filter. Hot water also touches your kettle. Stated by Kalita. |
| Lead-free brass Maker’s claim | Not applicable: the dripper has no brass or other non-steel metal parts. |
| No PTFE or PFA in the water path Maker’s claim | No coating or seal is described: the dripper is a single stainless steel piece. |
| Filters you can name Maker’s claim | Kalita Wave 185 paper filters: white, FSC certified, made in Japan. The bleaching method is not stated. |
| Built to last Maker’s claim | A single piece of stainless steel, dishwasher safe. No warranty or care rules beyond that on the page. |
| Independent testing Not verified | None found for the dripper or the filters. |
| California Prop 65 notices Verified | No notice naming Kalita in the California Attorney General’s 60-day notice database (searched 2026-10-23: no matching records). |
| Recalls Verified | No Kalita recall in the US Consumer Product Safety Commission recall database (title search, 2026-10-23). |
What the labels mean
- Verified We opened an independent record that confirms it: a certifier’s listing, a regulator’s list or a lab report. It is linked under Sources.
- Maker’s claim The maker says so on its own page or label. We read it but found no independent record.
- Not verified We looked and could not confirm it, or the maker does not say. Treat it as unknown.
Sources Where our facts come from
- Kalita USA: Kalita Wave 185 Stainless Steel Coffee Dripper. Maker’s page. Source for the material, origin, dishwasher note and price. Open ↗ (opens in a new tab)
- Kalita USA: Kalita Wave 185 Coffee Filters, 100 count. Maker’s page. Open ↗ (opens in a new tab)
- Hario USA: V60 Metal Coffee Dripper 02. Maker’s page. Cited only for its “No Coating” wording, as a comparison. Open ↗ (opens in a new tab)
- Mamavation: Chemex Natural coffee filters, PFAS indicator test results (2023). Test report. A lab test of a different brand’s filters, cited only as the comparison. The site earns affiliate income. Open ↗ (opens in a new tab)
- California Attorney General: Prop 65 60-day notice search, defendant name “Kalita”. Certifier or regulator listing. Open ↗ (opens in a new tab)
- CPSC recall database, title search for Kalita. Certifier or regulator listing. Open ↗ (opens in a new tab)
Alternatives Other options to compare
- Hario V60 Metal dripper 02 About $40.50. A stainless steel dripper that Hario describes as “Stainless Steel, No Coating”, with a silicone holder that does not touch the coffee.
- Hario V60 ceramic dripper About $30.50. Porcelain with a glaze that nobody has tested, in our searches.
- Chemex Classic Six Cup About $50. Borosilicate glass and paper, with a larger batch size.