Varia FLO

Equipment notes

FLO is a collaboration between Varia founder Ramsey Gyde and Yozo Otsuki of Kurasu in Kyoto. It starts from the idea that flow rate should be something you choose outright rather than something that merely results from grind and pour, pairing Varia's patented design and manufacturing with Kurasu's brewing experience. The aim is to let the brewer itself, not only the coffee and the grind, steer the direction of the cup. The body splits into a funnel and a base, with an interchangeable perforated screen seated between them on a silicone gasket. What sets drawdown speed and the path water takes is that screen's perforation pattern rather than the shape of the bed. The Fast screen spreads slots across several concentric rings to cut resistance, while the Slow screen opens only a small cluster of central holes, converging the flow and lengthening contact time. Twin-wall insulation keeps the brew temperature steady and the exterior cool to the touch, which is why there is no handle. It takes flat-bottom wave paper filters. The maker's baseline is the Medium screen with a medium grind, poured in stages roughly every thirty seconds and finishing a little past two minutes. When you swap screens, move the grind with them: slightly finer on Fast, slightly coarser on Slow. The cup changes character sharply depending on the screen, from bright and light to sweet and weighty. It is a dripper for anyone who wants to push one coffee in several directions and see for themselves how flow rate reshapes the cup.

Filters that fit

• Kalita Wave 185Default
• HIFLUX Purity Wave 185Compatible
• HIFLUX Wave 185Compatible
• Kalita Wave 185 (Unbleached)Compatible
• Orea Wave (V4)Compatible
• Sibarist B3 Flat MCompatible
• Sibarist B3 Wave MCompatible
• Sibarist FAST Flat MCompatible
• Sibarist FAST Wave MCompatible