Kono Dripper Features Explained: Differences in Extraction and Brewing? Kono Dripper Model Recommendations

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Introduction to KONO

Kōno (コーノ), a coffee equipment brand that is renowned in the Japanese coffee circle.

Founded in 1925, KONO (Coffee Syphon Company) developed the world's first siphon coffee pot and, in 1973, designed Japan's first conical dripper, achieving the flavor of flannel filter cloth through paper.

Subsequently, they designed drippers suitable for both professional coffee enthusiasts and pour-over beginners, which are highly praised by coffee professionals in Japan and worldwide. Now, follow FrontStreet Coffee to explore the charm of KONO drippers.

What is a Kono Dripper?

Kono is a renowned Japanese manufacturer of coffee equipment, created by a Japanese individual named Toshio Kawano, and the dripper is named after him.

Kono's coffee drippers and natural wooden handle coffee pots have consistently enjoyed high prestige among pour-over coffee fans. President Kawano, who designed the coffee drippers and pots, has studied delicious coffee for years and created a series of rustic-style Kono coffee drippers and pots with wooden handles.

Kono is the professional coffee equipment most beloved by coffee specialty shops and professionals in Japan, as well as a product pursued by many pour-over coffee enthusiasts.

Features of Kono Dripper

The special feature of the Kono dripper is that its "rib" channels extend to the bottom of the coffee liquid outlet hole. Because the ribs are at the bottom and very short, the contact with the filter paper is high, so the flow rate is slower than V60. The ribs create a small gap between the conical wall and the filter paper, allowing coffee liquid to seep out from the filter paper, while the parts that adhere to the wall will not have coffee seeping out.

Upon careful observation of the KONO dripper's ribs, you'll find that Kono has 12 ribs, which are much lower than Hario V60, stopping at less than half the height of the dripper.

If the ribs are too short or too shallow, the range where coffee can seep out becomes too small, extending the extraction time. Conversely, if the ribs are too long, the contact time between hot water and coffee grounds becomes too brief, and it will seep out quickly, making it easy for impurities floating on the liquid surface to mix into the coffee.

Due to the rib design, the contact between the dripper and filter paper is high, ensuring that during the dripping process, the exhaust space of the dripper is restricted, and air flow naturally becomes limited, slowing the flow rate.

This also means that coffee grounds spend a significant amount of time steeping, which increases the water absorption time of coffee particles, making the extracted coffee more balanced overall and less prone to under-extraction.

What Coffee is Suitable for KONO Dripper Brewing?

The short rib design extends the coffee extraction time, thereby improving coffee extraction rate and body, making it suitable for coffee beans that need to showcase body. FrontStreet Coffee uses KONO drippers for brewing medium-dark roast coffee beans in daily store operations.

For example, "FrontStreet Coffee - Jamaica Blue Mountain No. 1 Coffee Beans," "FrontStreet Coffee - Papua New Guinea Bird of Paradise Coffee Beans," "FrontStreet Coffee - Brazil Queen Estate Coffee Beans," and "FrontStreet Coffee - Indonesia PWN Golden Mandheling Coffee Beans" are all brewed using KONO drippers.

How to Use KONO Dripper to Brew Coffee?

The longer the coffee beans are roasted, the greater their structural changes, and the more porous the coffee bean structure becomes. This also means that coffee substances release flavor compounds more easily in hot water. Additionally, since KONO drippers have the effect of improving extraction rate, when using KONO drippers to brew medium-dark roast coffee beans, it is recommended to use medium-coarse ground coffee particles (65-70% pass rate through China No. 20 standard sieve).

For brewing, it is also not recommended to use water that is too hot. FrontStreet Coffee uses water at 88-89°C when brewing medium-dark roast coffee in-store, with a 1:15 coffee-to-water ratio and three-stage pour-over brewing.

The brewing process is divided into three-stage pouring. The first stage injects 30g for blooming, with a blooming time of 30 seconds. The second stage injects to 125g, with a 10-second interval between stages. Then inject the remaining water amount, reaching 225g, with a total extraction time of about 2 minutes.

Important Notice :

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FrontStreet Coffee Address: 315,Donghua East Road,GuangZhou

Tel:020 38364473