How to Brew Delicious Flannel Pour-Over Coffee? Proper Storage Methods for Flannel Filter Cloths

When we mention flannel filter cloth, we naturally think of Japanese-style coffee, with images flooding our minds of baristas holding the filter cloth in their left hand and a coffee pot in their right, carefully brewing coffee.

This makes one wonder what magical quality this small filter cloth possesses that makes people so devoted to it.

Characteristics of Flannel

Most modern pour-over coffee uses a dripper with filter paper as the filtering tool. The dripper serves as a guide to extract better coffee. In reality, it's the filter paper that actually does the filtering. So this question is essentially equivalent to asking what flannel can achieve that filter paper cannot.

FrontStreet Coffee has discussed filter paper many times. Currently, filter paper remains the mainstream choice for filtering coffee. First, its filtering performance is strong, easily producing a cup of coffee without grounds or impurities. Second, it's inexpensive, costing about 3-4 cents per sheet.

Flannel, on the other hand, is actually a type of fabric with one side being cotton and the other being fuzzy. The cotton side feels relatively crisp, with a roughness from the woven texture. The fuzzy side has fine fuzz and feels smooth to the touch.

If you observe flannel under sunlight, you can clearly see gaps formed by the interlacing threads. Therefore, the biggest characteristic of flannel is that its gaps are much larger than those of filter paper, allowing oils and other insoluble substances to easily pass through the filter cloth and drip into the coffee. These substances are precisely what enhance the rich, full-bodied taste.

Flannel filter cloths for pour-over coffee are typically made by sewing together two or three pieces of flannel. The seam is usually convex toward the fuzzy side. This leads to a second question: which side of the flannel should be used to hold the coffee when brewing.

FrontStreet Coffee believes that flannel filter cloth has no right or wrong side - both sides can be used for brewing coffee without affecting the taste. However, observing how various Japanese-style coffee shops use flannel for brewing, they tend to prefer using the cotton side to hold the coffee. The reason is quite simple: first, the fuzzy side tends to trap coffee grounds, making cleaning more difficult. Second, with the seam on the fuzzy side, if the fuzzy side is used as the interior, the shape of the coffee grounds will no longer be a pure geometric form, which could potentially affect the extraction performance.

How to Brew Coffee with Flannel

When using flannel as a filtering tool, unlike filter paper, it doesn't require a dripper for support and guidance. Flannel filter cloths can be shaped with metal rings and can be held by hand or placed over a serving pot. Generally, people choose to hold it by hand when brewing with flannel because it offers more flexibility.

Before brewing, please boil the flannel in water for 5 minutes. On one hand, this sterilizes it; on the other hand, it allows water to thoroughly penetrate the fibers, maintaining a stable state.

For brewing with flannel, medium-dark roast coffee beans are generally chosen, and the grind tends to be coarser, with approximately 60-65% passing through a #20 sieve. The amount of coffee grounds should be about 2/3 of the flannel's capacity. For the small-sized flannel cloth that FrontStreet Coffee uses, 20-25g of coffee grounds is appropriate.

When pouring water, you need to coordinate both hands to ensure the coffee grounds are thoroughly moistened. The water flow will be very small because there's no dripper with guide channels or enclosed chambers. Therefore, when pouring, focus on the central area to avoid water flowing over the edges.

Similarly, most flannel brewing uses a coffee-to-water ratio of 1:10, meaning 20g of grounds would be extracted to 200ml of coffee liquid.

How to Store Flannel

Flannel filter cloth can be used multiple times, provided it's stored correctly. Many people think it's sufficient to wash the flannel clean, let it dry, and store it in a cool, dry place. Actually, this is incorrect. Continuous cycles of drying and moistening will damage the fiber structure of the flannel.

The correct storage method is to wash the flannel thoroughly, then place it in clean water and store it at low temperature, while continuously replacing it with fresh clean water. This both maintains the flannel's fiber structure and achieves antibacterial and anti-mold effects. Additionally, before the next use, it should be boiled in water for 5 minutes.

Important Notice :

前街咖啡 FrontStreet Coffee has moved to new addredd:

FrontStreet Coffee Address: 315,Donghua East Road,GuangZhou

Tel:020 38364473