CAFEC

The Cafec Flower Dripper is a cone-shaped brewer that got famous in Japan back in 2019 when Daiki
Hatakeyama used it to win the Japan Brewers Cup. He used this dripper again in the 2021 World
Brewers Cup to win runner-up.

Like most recipes for coffee competitions, Daiki’s recipe was made for the specific coffee he used. He
also used two different temperatures to brew his coffee – making his recipe difficult to replicate.

So, what recipe can you use to brew any coffee using this dripper? Read on to find out.

Recipe
Dose (g): 12
Total amount (ml): 200
Ratio: 1:16
Filter size: cup1 size
Grind size: medium fine
Water temperature: 96°C / 205°F
Pouring pattern (ml): 40 – 80 – 80
Pouring intervals (minutes to seconds): 40s bloom, do the next pour and finish around 1:00. Let it
drain and do the last pour around 1:20 and finish by 1:40
Total time (minutes to seconds): Between 2:35 to 2:50

Dose and brewer size

With cone brewers, I tend to prefer using the smaller sizes to get a wider coffee bed. That said, a
smaller brewer size will require a smaller dose.

The same amount of coffee on a larger cone will have a narrower coffee bed. This means more
uneven extraction since the layer on top is wider than at the bottom.

That isn’t exactly a bad thing though since that can contribute to more complexity in the cup. With
that, though, it’s harder to be as consistent from one brew to another.

Grind size
Similar to a V60, the Flower Dripper encourages finer grind sizes for pour over. But the right grind
size for the Flower Dripper isn’t identical with the V60.

Referencing some common grinders, settings would be:

1zPresso JX – 54 to 60 clicks
Comandate C40 – 18 to 20 clicks
Baratza Encore – 10 to 12
Wilfa Uniform – 18 to 20
Take note though that these are just ballpark settings. Different grinders will be calibrated a little
differently, even if it’s the same model. Different coffees will also have different particle sizes, even
when ground on the same setting.
Pouring pattern
 Since the Flower Dripper is still a cone dripper, my approach to it is still similar to how I’d
brew with a V60. But with some tweaks to adjust to the dripper’s own quirks.
 Like most of our recipes, start with a 40ml bloom and wait for 40 seconds to let the coffee
degas. Grab the brewer and swirl the coffee bed to make sure the water hits all the coffee
grounds.
 After the bloom, pour 80ml (target at 120ml on the scale). Pour 70ml in a circle and the last
10ml down the center for a more accurate pour. This pour should be done at the 1 minute
mark.
 After pouring, do another swirl. Agitating at this part of the brew helps extract more
vibrancy. It also helps slow down the flow rate.
 Let the coffee drain for 20 seconds and do the last pour at 1 minute and 20 seconds (1:20).
For easy remembering, it’s 1:20 at 120ml.
 Pouring will be identical to the previous one. 70ml in a circle and the last 10ml in the center.
Target reading on the scale is at 200ml.
 This pulse should finish by 1 minute and 40 seconds (1:40). No need to swirl the coffee bed
after this pour. Otherwise, the coffee would take too long to drain.
 Let the coffee drain and serve. Total brewing time should be between 2 minutes and 30
seconds (2:30) to 2 minutes and 50 seconds (2:50), depending on the coffee you have.
 Don’t be too worried if the final coffee bed isn’t flat after the coffee draws down. It’s more
important to get the coffee bed to be even at the start of the brew than at the end since
that’s when most of the flavors get extracted.