I bought the Origami dripper back in November 2020 and have used it nearly everyday since. It has also slowly taken over most of my posts and stories on my Instagram but can you blame me when it looks so good?

So I wanted to share a few things about the Origami Dripper as it has become incredibly popular and caught the attention of speciality coffee lovers globally.

1. The best looking pour-over brewer

Without a doubt, the Origami dripper is the best-looking piece of coffee equipment and dripper you will find. It has become an Instagram favourite because of its striking appearance and how good it looks in photos. You can take a photo with poor light, bad angle or a bad camera but if the Origami Dripper is in it, it will still look amazing.

It is made from Mino Porcelain, one of the best Japanese potteries with 400 years of history. The 20 folded ribs of the dripper is a homage to the traditional and whimsical art of Origami which literally means ‘Folding Paper’. It is quite the craftsmanship.

You can also buy a wooden or plastic place holder as on its own it can be slightly awkward to keep it level when on top of a carafe. I would pick the wooden one as it looks much higher quality but do note that it normally sold separately.

2. Comes in 9 beautiful colours

Sticking with the aesthetic, the Origami Dripper is available in 9 different and very beautiful colours. There is not another brewer that offers colour variety like the Origami. In all honesty, the hardest decision I had to make was picking which one I wanted. I spent over a week at least going back and forth between the colours.

The navy and red looked great to me and the pink was really pleasing to the eye even though its not my usual choice. In the end I went for turquoise as it caught my eye first. But in all honesty, I would have been more than happy if I got any other colour as they all look great.

It’s also available in 2 sizes from a Medium (M), which brews 2 – 4 cups. Then there is a Small (S) version which is for 1 – 2 cups. The price difference can be from £2 to £5 depending on which country you are buying from.

3. Not just a pretty brewer…

The design of the Origami Dripper is not just for looks but for functional purposes too. As I mentioned there are 20 folding ribs inside the brewer which create air channels and that is meant to increase the flow rate. This allows the brewer to have better control over the brew.

The top of the brewer is a lot wider compared to other brewers and it also has a wide hole at the bottom. This again allows you to have a faster brew that can produce sweeter cups. You can also expect more balanced cups with the Origami and I found I got great results from naturally-processed coffees.

4. You can use either a conical filter paper or flat-bed papers

One of the biggest advantages of having the Origami Dripper is that you can use the V60 conical papers or Kalita Wave flat-bed filter papers. Considering how both filter papers are completely different from each other, it makes the Origami very versatile.

There is a debate which filter paper is actually better suited for the Origami Dripper but in all honesty, both filter papers work really well. The conical papers produce a quicker draw down compared to the V60 which can lead to sweeter and juicier cups as mentioned on the previous point. I did prefer using the Origami’s own conical filter papers over the V60 papers. I noticed more flavourful brews with consistent draw down speed.

Comparing it to the Kalita Wave with the flat bed papers, then you can expect two different tasting brews. Origami will product less body then the Kalita but you can expect more sweetness and flavour. So its probably comes down to a matter of personal preference. For me, you probably need less precision with the Kalita Wave than the Origami especially when it comes to extraction. I found it is much easier to get over-extracted coffee with a dry tasting finish with the Origami.

An interesting thing to note, I have seen some people use the Chemex papers to brew on the Origami. It seems strange considering how big those papers are but speaking to them they have said it works. I have yet to try it myself but it would be interesting to see how the coffee tastes from the thicker Chemex papers.

5. Its popularity grew after the World Brewers Cup in 2019

The Origami really became popular when it was used in the World Brewers Cup in 2019 by Du Jianing of China who ended up winning the competition. Not to take anything away from her flawless technique, but the Origami was presented in such a beautiful way that it was not a surprised it attracted so many people to it.

Since then, the Origami has become really popular due to its looks but has also attracted some criticism if it actually makes much difference compared to the V60 and Kalita Wave. Although people are always going to compare, I think there is a lot of room to experiment with the Origami in terms of types of coffee it is suited to and different styles of brewing techniques. That is evident from Du Jianing’s method where she used varied speeds of pouring to get the best results. I think generalising by using traditional pouring methods from other brewers is the wrong approach and a little bit of ‘out of the box’ approach is required. That’s the reason I was drawn to the Origami because its potential to produce different tasting coffee.

So there you have it, 5 things you should know before you buy the Origami Dripper. If you are into your coffee rituals and aesthetics then the Origami is just going to enhance that coffee making experience. If you don’t have a V60 or Kalita then buying the Origami gives you the option to use both the conned shaped and flat bed filter papers. I think that is a big plus going for it.

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