Is the Origami Dripper Good? What's the Difference Between Origami and V60 Drippers? How to Make Hand-Ground Coffee

The Attractive Design of Origami Dripper

When shopping for coffee drippers, have you ever been captivated by a vibrant, angular design with a distinctive Nordic style? That would be the Origami dripper, designed by Yasuo Suzuki, one of the founders of Japan's TRUNK COFFEE BAR.

The Birth of the Origami Dripper

The name "Origami" comes from the Japanese word 折り紙, meaning paper folding. The design concept was to create a dripper as lightweight as paper, allowing coffee to exhibit clear and refined flavors just like various origami artworks. Mr. Suzuki utilized the traditional ceramic craftsmanship "Mino-yaki" from his hometown of Gifu Prefecture, Japan. The ceramic material provides excellent heat conduction and insulation properties.

Although made of ceramic, the texture is remarkably lightweight, and combined with colorful glaze, this flower-like blooming dripper quickly gained the favor of many coffee enthusiasts! Of course, its appeal isn't just about looks!

The Extraction Principle of the Origami Dripper

FrontStreet Coffee observed that the Origami dripper creates a 60° conical shape through twenty 60° angled ribs arranged in straight vertical lines. From its appearance, this dripper's design combines the characteristics of a conical dripper's 60° angle with a trapezoidal dripper's straight vertical ribs.

The conical structure allows coffee grounds to bloom more fully during the pre-infusion stage, resulting in richer aromatic expression. The straight vertical 60° angled ribs extend to the bottom, enabling more effective air discharge between the dripper and filter paper, ensuring stable extraction throughout the brewing process. The large hole design at the bottom allows you to control extraction time by adjusting water flow.

Origami Dripper Compatible with Different Filter Paper Shapes

From what we've learned, conical drippers can only be paired with conical filter papers, and flat-bottom drippers only with flat-bottom filter papers. However, the Origami design excellently accommodates both conical and flat-bottom filter papers. Using different filter papers with the same dripper provides more versatility in flavor development.

When using conical filter paper, the angles form deeper grooves, allowing water to pass through the coffee grounds more quickly. This enables aromatic molecules to fully release while reducing excessive extraction of flavor compounds. The resulting coffee exhibits rich aromas and clean, distinct flavors.

Using flat-bottom filter paper provides better contact with the ribs, slowing down water flow through the coffee grounds and creating an immersion process. Additionally, the flat-bottom structure of the filter paper results in more even distribution of coffee grounds thickness compared to conical shapes. The brewed coffee highlights sweetness and aftertaste more prominently, with a relatively fuller body. For beginners, flat-bottom filter paper offers a higher margin for error.

FrontStreet Coffee also used both types of filter paper to brew Panama Deborah Estate Savage Series Anaerobic Natural Geisha coffee beans. We used 15g of coffee grounds with a 1:15 coffee-to-water ratio, brewing water temperature of 91°C, and a grind size similar to fine sugar (77% pass-through rate with China No. 20 standard sieve).

The coffee brewed with conical filter paper displayed rose floral aromas, citrus acidity, and subtle fermentation notes. The palate revealed sweet and tart pineapple and grape flavors, honey sweetness, oolong-like tea finish, with a smooth and light mouthfeel. The coffee brewed with flat-bottom filter paper showed full rose floral aromas, with green grape sweet and tart notes on the palate, pineapple honey juice flavors, creamy smoothness, oolong tea sensations, and a full, substantial mouthfeel.

Origami truly combines beauty with intelligence!!

Important Considerations When Purchasing

Owning an Origami dripper means you have both a conical and flat-bottom dripper in one—truly one choice, three surprises!

However, as this dripper grows in popularity, many imitations have appeared on the market, so be sure to keep your eyes sharp when purchasing! Authentic Origami drippers have consistent rib angles, smooth glaze on both outer and inner surfaces without roughness, and feel lightweight when held (approximately 131g). Since the ribs extend to the bottom, the circular hole at the bottom appears gear-shaped. The "ORIGAMI JAPAN" text on the outer wall is covered with a thin colored glaze, so the font color appears slightly dispersed. The dripper's price is around 200 RMB.

Important Notice :

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