How to Fold Coffee Filter Paper? How to Choose Coffee Filter Paper? Do V60 Drippers Need Cone-Shaped Filter Paper?

For most pour-over drippers, ensuring proper filter paper adhesion is crucial. Take the V60 for example: if the filter paper doesn't adhere properly, the ribbed dripper design becomes merely decorative. Therefore, to utilize the full functionality of a pour-over dripper, we always make sure the filter paper fits snugly against the dripper before brewing coffee.

FrontStreet Coffee recently shared a tip called "Improving Filter Paper Adhesion by Pressing It Down," thinking we could conclude our discussion on this topic. However, a customer at our café provided feedback: "This technique does improve the adhesion between the filter paper and dripper, but I still frequently experience poor adhesion." This puzzled FrontStreet Coffee, so we asked them to demonstrate their process on the spot. As it turned out, the filter paper indeed wasn't fully adhering—more severe than what's shown in the demonstration image below.

The problem was immediately apparent to FrontStreet Coffee: the filter paper wasn't folded correctly!

The Importance of Proper Filter Paper Folding

Because folding filter paper is quite simple, FrontStreet Coffee often mentions it briefly when sharing techniques, and most people don't pay much attention to it. However, it's precisely this simplicity that leads to overlooking its importance. Under normal circumstances, a properly folded wood pulp conical filter paper should fit a conical dripper perfectly. It often adheres to the dripper even before adding water to wet it. However, if you notice that one side of the filter paper doesn't adhere to the dripper when placing it inside, it's highly likely due to improper folding (unless you're using a dripper made of materials like ceramics that can't be mass-produced with industrial precision). Today, FrontStreet Coffee will provide a detailed demonstration: how to correctly fold filter paper!

How to Correctly Fold Filter Paper

Below is a bleached wood pulp conical filter paper. You can see there's a seam line on one side of the filter paper.

The first step in folding a conical filter paper is to fold along the seam line. Let's make this fold first.

After folding, you can use your fingers to smooth and press the crease to reinforce the shape.

Then open the filter paper.

Next, fold it in half, aligning the two sides along the seam.

After aligning, here comes the crucial part! Use the same pressing technique we used for the first crease to press along this seam line. This step is extremely important—if done correctly, it will likely prevent gaps later and ensure perfect adhesion. Press along the entire seam from top to bottom, first gently pulling, then smoothing it out.

At this point, the filter paper folding is essentially complete. Next, we'll use the method from our previous article to ensure proper adhesion. First, place the unfolded filter paper into the dripper.

As you can see, the filter paper already fits almost perfectly against the dripper even before wetting. But that's not enough—for a perfect seal, use two fingers to press down on the two crease lines of the filter paper. Press gently downward to ensure the filter paper has reached the bottom completely.

After confirming this, you can pour water from bottom to top to wet the filter paper. At this point, the filter paper should be perfectly adhered to the dripper.

Alternative Methods and Special Considerations

This method works for most standard filter papers, but special materials like non-woven fabrics require hot water to achieve proper adhesion. If you prefer not to wet the filter paper—such as when making cold brew coffee—you can use the same pressing technique after folding and placing the filter paper in the dripper, then add coffee grounds. The weight of the grounds will help maintain the filter paper's position against the dripper throughout the brewing process, preventing any edges from lifting.

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Important Notice :

前街咖啡 FrontStreet Coffee has moved to new addredd:

FrontStreet Coffee Address: 315,Donghua East Road,GuangZhou

Tel:020 38364473