Cafec Flower

Equipment notes

The Flower Dripper is a cone dripper from CAFEC, the brand of Sanyo Sangyo, a Japanese paper-filter maker founded in 1973 that describes itself as the developer of the world's first cone-shaped paper filter. The dripper is the company's answer to a question it had long studied as a filter maker: what shape lets the paper perform fully. The ceramic version is made of Arita porcelain from Japan's historic pottery region, and resin versions are also available. Petal-shaped grooves carved into the inner wall hold an air layer between paper and dripper, so the coffee bed can swell freely, much like in a nel drip, and form a deep filtering layer. Brewed coffee leaves through a single large outlet at the bottom, and the design is intended to bring out sweetness and body rather than to push the flow through as fast as possible. Its 60-degree cone takes standard 60-degree cone filters, including CAFEC's own papers, so filters are easy to source, and CAFEC promotes its Osmotic Flow technique of pouring a thin stream at the center without disturbing the bed. Aimed at a cup with sweetness and balance, it suits intermediate and advanced brewers looking for a fresh take on the classic cone.

Filters that fit

• Cafec FlowerDefault