What Coffee Beans Are Suitable for Origami Dripper: Is the Origami Dripper Good and Brewing Guide

There is a dripper with a very distinctive shape, its clear angular lines making it look as if a sheet of paper had been folded into a dripper. This is the Origami dripper, designed by Mr. Yasuo Suzuki. Since "origami" means paper folding, the device is also called the paper-folding dripper.

Walk into a coffee equipment shop and browse the dripper section, and the Origami always catches your eye, drawing a second look. In coffee shops you often see it in use, too. So what is the magic that makes the Origami so popular?

Starting with Appearance

Who can resist a beautifully designed dripper? The Origami looks like a circular sheet of paper folded 40 times to form a conical dripper, with 20 folds each on the inside and outside, creating a flow-guiding effect.

The dripper has no integrated base or handle, presenting a symmetrical, simple conical structure with crisp angular lines and a strong Nordic minimalist feel. The ceramic material gives it a premium quality, and with its bright, vibrant colors it resembles a blooming flower seen from above. The range of color choices leaves no excuse to refuse it. Many of FrontStreet Coffee's friends bought theirs purely for the looks.

Celebrity Effect

FrontStreet Coffee believes the dripper's popularity has a lot to do with celebrity promotion - and the celebrities here are stars of the coffee world. The World Brewers Cup (WBrC) is a major industry event, drawing the attention of coffee enthusiasts every time it is held.

The champion of the 2019 World Brewers Cup was Du Jianing of China, who used the Origami dripper in competition. A Chinese competitor taking the world title made us pay closer attention to the event, and the equipment used - including the dripper - drew attention and imitation. The Origami aroma cup also gained fame in the same competition.

Versatile Brewing Methods

Of course, products that rely on appearance and promotion alone do not stay popular for long. The most important core of a dripper is practicality.

Compared with other drippers, this one has a major advantage: it accommodates both conical filters and flat-bottom filters. That means a single dripper can deliver two different brewing experiences - double the pleasure for the price of one.

FrontStreet Coffee ran a comparison using Costa Rican Las Lajas Geisha with both conical and flat-bottom filters, using identical brewing parameters:

Dose: 15 grams
Ratio: 1:15
Grind size: 80% pass through a #20 sieve
Water temperature: 91°C
Method: Three-pour technique

Conical filter: Very intense blueberry fruit aroma with slight fermented wine notes. The taste reveals blueberry and mint candy flavors, with distinct layers and high clarity.

Flat-bottom filter: Intense blueberry fruit aroma with rose floral notes. The taste reveals blueberry gummy candy and fermented fruit wine, with very noticeable sweetness and a full mouthfeel.

When the Origami is paired with a conical filter, the dripper's 20 internal ribs provide support and flow guidance. Compared with the V60, the Origami has a faster flow rate, which better highlights a coffee's aroma, acidity, and clarity.

When paired with a flat-bottom filter, the folds of the paper fit the Origami well, increasing the dripper's immersion capability. Because flat-bottom filters have a flat base, the coffee bed is more evenly distributed than with a conical filter, which better showcases mouthfeel while enhancing sweetness and aftertaste. Both extraction yield and fault tolerance are also higher than with a conical filter.

So the Origami offers high versatility and can be paired with many brewing methods to reach new heights in coffee exploration.

Shortcomings

The Origami does have its shortcomings. For aesthetic reasons, the dripper has no base or handle, so you need to buy a separate base. For appearance's sake, many people prefer the wooden base, but the original wooden base lacks teeth to secure the dripper, making it hard to keep level during brewing. If you want a better brewing experience, it is better to buy the resin version of the base.

The second point is that the Origami's size sits between a V60 #01 and #02, making it hard to pour water with less than 15 grams of coffee. The ideal dose is 18-20 grams.

Although FrontStreet Coffee's stores also have Origami drippers, they are rarely used for service. Considering the dripper's delicacy, heat retention, cost-effectiveness, and durability, FrontStreet Coffee prefers resin drippers for service.

This year, though, Origami has launched a resin version of the dripper, so equipment collectors seemingly have another item to add to their display.

FrontStreet Coffee Recommendation

Since the Origami shines with fruit-forward coffees, FrontStreet Coffee recommends FrontStreet Ethiopia Sun-Dried Huakui. Its tropical-fruit aroma of strawberry, passion fruit, jackfruit, and lychee, with clear sweetness and very low bitterness, pours beautifully through either a conical or flat-bottom filter.

For a brighter, tea-like cup, FrontStreet Washed Yirgacheffe Gunding Cooperative delivers jasmine florals, citrus and lemon acidity, and a clean finish that shows off the Origami's clarity.

To explore a bolder fruit profile, FrontStreet Colombia Papayo comes from Finca La Frontera at 1,650-1,800 meters and uses a double anaerobic natural process with a medium-light roast, bringing passion fruit, blueberry, grape, and apricot juice notes with a lasting cocoa finish.