Origami Dripper: Our Extensive Guide with Recipes

Do you have an Origami dripper? Let's take a look at why this is a favourite dripper of mine, and walk through its origin story, pros and cons, and some recipes to give you optimal control over your coffee.

Origin & History

Origami pour over drippers were designed by Yasuo Suzuki, founder of Trunk Coffee and Origami Japan. Origami Japan was founded Mino-city, Gifu Prefecture, and the area is known for their long-standing manufacturing history in ceramics.

As increasingly more people are becoming interested in manual, pour over coffee, one of the best features of the Origami dripper is that you can use both wave-style filters and cone-shaped filters or conical filters. Designed to have 20 creases, similar to Kalita Wave filters, the Origami dripper allows for lots of control over brew speed and time. The Origami dripper has even been used in coffee competitions around the world, and it became more well-known when Jia Ning Du used it to win the 2019 World Brewers Cup in Boston (the recipe is included in this article too!).

The Origami dripper is currently available in the original Mino porcelain (ceramic) version, and an AS resin (plastic version, called Air S. Both versions come in different colours, and there are two sizes available for the ceramic version: S size and M size. The Air currently only comes in the S size, though is plenty big for a two-person serving.

With the design, the ridges help with the flow rate, supporting with the extraction process. Having this design helps you control all the little variables in coffee brewing.

Pros

  • Versatile to use both wave-style, flat bottom filters (e.g. Kalita Wave filters [both the 155 and 185 fit into the S size Origami dripper!], NotNeutral filters, etc.), as well as conical filters (Origami filters, Hario V60 filters, etc.).

  • Faster brew speed than other drippers.

  • The Air S is about 50% lighter than its ceramic counterpart, pretty much unbreakable (great for camping!), and the AS resin retains a lot of heat. The Air S has a slightly faster flow rate.

  • Many colour choices.

  • Dish washer safe. Hand washing is recommended for the Mino porcelain version.

Cons

  • Doesn't come with a dripper holder, and is a separate purchase if you need one (Origami Japan sells a clear resin or acacia wood holder or collar, and other companies have also designed similar holders for the Origami dripper). I find that the clear resin holder is better as it has ridges for the cone to perfectly fit in. The wood collar does not have ridges, so may be difficult to level.

  • No handle. The ceramic dripper can be quite hot to the touch after brewing. I don't quite mind personally, and prefer it without a handle, though can understand why some may.

  • Coffee brewed with the ceramic version tends to have slightly lower body than the plastic one. I prefer the versatility of the plastic one, and find that my plastic Origami dripper allows for better variable control. 

 

Recipes

Different recipes can be used with different coffees, resulting in a tailored experience for how you enjoy your coffee. I tested these recipes with many coffees, and they worked very well to amplify the good characteristics. Here are a couple of my own recipes based on light roast and medium roast coffees, and recipes by Jia Ning Du and Carlos Medina, the 2019 and 2023 World Brewers Cup Champions.

EQUIPMENT AND TOOLS YOU NEED:

  • Origami dripper

  • Wave-style paper filters, and/or V60 cone-style paper filters

  • Gooseneck Kettle

  • 320g of water

  • 20g of coffee

  • Coffee grinder

  • Carafe

Light Coffees

For lighter roasted coffees, I like more clarity and transparency in the coffee, and is usually achievable through a faster brew time:

  1. Set your Origami dripper on top of your carafe, place your V60 cone-style paper filter in.

  2. Heat up your water to 95C/203F.

  3. Grind your coffee at medium; or 34 clicks on Comandante; or ~1020 microns.

  4. Using hot water, start by wetting the paper filter in your Origami dripper, making sure the grounds are saturated.

  5. Load your dripper with the 20g of ground coffee, shaking gently to level the bed.

  6. Start your timer, pour 60g of the hot water in slowly and gently.

  7. At 0m30s, pour an additional 60g of water (to ~120g).

  8. At 0m45s, pour 60g of water (to ~180g).

  9. At 1m00s, pour 60g of water (to ~240g).

  10. At 1m20s, pour the remaining 60g of water (to ~320g).

  11. The coffee should drip through between 2m00s to 2m20s.

    *If the coffee tastes too diluted or drawdown is too fast, try grinding finer. If the coffee is too strong or the drawdown is too slow, try grinding coarser and pouring more gently.

Medium Coffees

For medium-roasted coffee, I usually prefer bigger body and lower acidity; these are for my throughout-the-day sippers!

  1. Set your Origami dripper on top of your carafe, place your wave-style paper filter in.

  2. Heat up your water to 92C/198F.

  3. Grind your coffee at medium to medium-fine; or 30 clicks on Comandante; or ~900 microns.

  4. Using hot water, start by wetting the paper filter in your Origami dripper.

  5. Load your Origami dripper with the 20g of ground coffee, shaking gently to level the bed.

  6. Start your timer, pour 50g of the hot water in slowly and gently, making sure the grounds are saturated.

  7. At 0m30s, pour an additional 50g of water (to ~100g).

  8. At 0m55s, pour 50g of water (to ~150g).

  9. At 1m20s, pour 50g of water (to ~200g).

  10. At 1m45s, pour 50g of water (to ~250g).

  11. At 2m05s, pour the remaining 70g of water (to ~320g).

  12. The coffee should drip through between 2m40s to 3m00s.

    *If the coffee tastes too diluted or drawdown is too fast, try grinding finer. If the coffee is too strong or the drawdown is too slow, try grinding coarser and pouring more gently.

Competition Coffees (Jia Ning Du in 2019, and Carlos Medina in 2023)

Jia Ning Du's winning recipe at the 2019 World Brewers Cup

  1. Set your Origami dripper on top of your carafe, place your wave-style paper filter in.

  2. Heat up 240ml of water to 94C/201F. To be very specific, Jia Ning rebuilt their water by adding 4ppm of Calcium, and 15ppm of Magnesium, to result in a water TDS (Total Dissolved Solids) at 80ppm.

  3. Grind 16g of coffee (ground once at coarser than desired grind, and then ground a second time at desired grind size; this allows for a more uniform grind size). To start, try using a medium grind size, or 26 clicks on Comandante; or ~780 microns.

  4. Using hot water, start by wetting the paper filter in your Origami dripper.

  5. Load your Origami dripper with the 16g of ground coffee, and use a toothpick or fork to loosen the grounds.

  6. Start your timer, pour 60g of water at 6g per second (g/s) for 10 seconds.

  7. Wait 8 seconds.

  8. At 0m18s, pour 80g of water at 4g/s for 20 seconds.

  9. Wait 18 seconds.

  10. At 0m56s, pour the remaining 100g of water at 5g/s to reach 240ml, this step should be complete at approximately 1m10s.

  11. The coffee should drip through between 1m40s to 1m50s, yielding approximately 190ml of coffee.

Carlos Medina's winning recipe at the 2023 World Brewers Cup

  1. Set your Origami dripper (Air S version) on top of your carafe, place your V60-style conical paper filter in.

  2. Heat up 250ml of water to 91C/196F. To be very specific, Carlos rebuilt their water by adding equal parts Calcium to Magnesium, to result in a water TDS (Total Dissolved Solids) at 65ppm.

  3. Grind 15.5g of coffee to medium-coarse. To start, try grinding at 28 clicks on Comandante; or ~840 microns.

  4. Using hot water, start by wetting the paper filter in your Origami dripper.

  5. Load your Origami dripper with the 15.5g of ground coffee.

  6. Start your timer, pour 50g of water.

  7. At 0m30s, pour an additional 50g of water (to ~100g).

  8. At 1m00s, pour 50g of water (to ~150g).

  9. At 1m30s, pour 50g of water (to ~200g).

  10. At 2m00s, pour the remaining 50g of water (to ~250g).

  11. The target total brew time is 2m40s.

 

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Written by Dustin Ryan Yu

Dustin is the Director of Coffee at The Roasters Pack, and has worked in coffee for over 6 years in green coffee sourcing, sales, and quality control. At The Roasters Pack, Dustin works with Canadian roasters to curate our subscription boxes, and has a focus on coffee education and brew guides. 

 

August 03, 2023 — Dustin Yu
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