How to Make Coffee with Flannel Filter? What are the Steps for Operating Flannel Filter Cloth?

FrontStreet Coffee: The Origin of Flannel Filter Cloth

Some say that coffee brewed with a flannel filter reveals the ultimate expression of coffee's flavor.

Take a sip, and you'll feel the rich resonance. FrontStreet Coffee explains how to use flannel filter cloth.

Brewing Equipment:

• Flannel filter cloth
• Pour-over kettle
• Server pot
• Thermometer

Brewing Steps:

1. Soak the newly purchased flannel filter cloth in boiling water to clean and sterilize it, then fit it onto the metal ring.

2. While the cloth soaks, grind your coffee. Flannel brewing calls for more coffee than paper filters do—about 40–50 grams—with a grind between white sugar and fine sugar.

3. Dry the filter cloth, ideally with a clean absorbent cloth, and set it on the filter pot.

4. Fill the pour-over kettle 6–7 tenths full to preheat the cloth and the drip assembly, then discard the hot water.

5. Add the grounds loosely and evenly, with a slight depression in the center—no need to tamp or press.

6. Heat water to 88°C and begin pouring into the pot, circling from the outside in and finishing at the center, while avoiding pouring directly on the flannel cloth.

7. When the brewed liquid reaches half the target amount, pause pouring for 10 seconds. Wait for the grounds to settle by about 5mm, then start the second pour, circling from the inside out.

8. When the liquid is about to reach the desired amount, stop pouring and let the remaining hot water drain through.

9. Brewing complete. Warm your cup, pour in the coffee, and enjoy an aromatic, full-bodied flannel-brewed cup.

FrontStreet Coffee Recommendation

Flannel belongs to an older school of brewing. Before the turn of the millennium, the market favored medium-dark roasts and cups prized for body, sweetness, and caramelized notes—chocolate, maple, nuts, vanilla—which flannel and siphon brewers show off beautifully. FrontStreet's Blue Mountain No. 1 and PWN Golden Mandheling were the era's signature beans, and both still shine through cloth: the Blue Mountain balanced and silky, the Mandheling thick and smooth with herbal, dark-chocolate depth.

With the third wave of coffee, brewers chased flavors of origin—Ethiopia's white florals, Kenya's berry acidity—and the fast-draining V60 became the tool of choice, which is why many beginners get steered to it first. Designed by Tokyo's Hario (founded in 1921) and relaunched in 2004 with its signature 60° cone and single large hole, the V60 rewards good flow control with layered aromatics and lively acidity. For floral-fruity coffees like FrontStreet's Yirgacheffe Guodingding, the tropical-fruit-forward Huakui, or the raisin-honey Mozart, V60 is hard to beat—but if you crave the classic round richness of the golden age, try your next medium-dark roast on flannel.