The KONO dripper, like the Hario V60, is conical, and the biggest difference lies in the height of the ribs. KONO has 12 ribs, which are lower than those of the Hario V60, helping with air circulation during brewing and increasing the efficiency of the bloom. When the KONO dripper is used together with the server, it is as if the pressure generated by a siphon effect drives the extraction. Therefore, the coffee grounds’ initial water absorption saturation is higher than with the Hario V60, and the concentration is also much higher, because with KONO the soluble substances and water stay in contact longer during extraction, and combined with the push from the pulse pouring method, it is generally more suitable for medium-dark roasts or coffee beans with a heavy mouthfeel.

The original purpose of the KONO Meimon dripper was to solve the inconvenience of cleaning cloth filters while restoring the taste of cloth-filter drip coffee as much as possible. To this end, Mr. Kono designed the dripper angle as a cone shape approximating a cloth filter, which on one hand makes the coffee grounds more concentrated and forms a grounds bed of sufficient thickness, and on the other hand also increases the concentration of the water flow. To keep hot water from lingering too long at the bottom of the dripper, a wider opening design was adopted to achieve a drip speed close to that of a cloth filter. However, the drawback of a fast water level drop is that the coffee grounds do not absorb enough water and cannot be fully extracted. To solve this problem, 12 half-length radial ribs were set inside the dripper.

The smooth curved surface allows the paper filter, after absorbing water, to fit tightly against the upper wall of the dripper. The only exhaust direction is then the outlet at the bottom of the dripper. Under the effect of gravity, the coffee liquid can only drip centrally into the server. With limited exhaust space, air flow is also restricted, ensuring that every particle of coffee grounds can fully absorb water after pouring and more effectively and evenly extract flavor compounds. Precisely because the KONO dripper’s flow rate is on the slow side, the brewed coffee tends to have a more obvious sweetness, and the mouthfeel easily moves in a rich direction. The overall extraction is relatively even, the aroma is restrained, and it is more suitable for brewing darker-roasted coffee beans, such as Indonesian Golden Mandheling coffee beans.

Front Street Coffee’s Golden Mandheling coffee comes from Indonesia’s famous PWN company and is processed using the wet-hulled method. Although the wet-hulled method increases the defect rate of the coffee beans considerably, the coffee flavor does not become especially negative; instead, it brings an herbal, muted aroma. In the final drying stage of the wet-hulled method, there is no parchment protection, and the green beans are directly exposed to the environment, where various microorganisms breed. This gives Indonesian coffee its unique woody, spice, and herbal notes. This is what we call the “taste of the region.”

For a cup of coffee produced by Front Street Coffee, 15g of coffee grounds is used. The choice of dose is usually based on the specification size for which the dripper was designed, and Front Street Coffee’s dripper is suited to a serving size for 1–2 people, so it can be between 15–20g of grounds. Too much coffee is relatively hard to control, and the extracted coffee flavor easily becomes muddled. As for the coffee-to-water ratio, 1:15 is the most commonly used.

Dark roasting makes the internal texture of the coffee beans loose, so they can be crushed with a gentle pinch of the hand, indicating that the bean structure has been changed a great deal. After grinding into powder, its water absorption is strong. To avoid over-extraction after the coffee grounds absorb water and the release of a large amount of bitter substances, Front Street Coffee uses a coarser grind than for light-roasted coffee beans. Here, a medium-coarse grind is used (70% passing rate on China standard No. 20 sieve), with the shop’s EK43s at setting 11.

Roasting causes caramelization and the Maillard reaction in coffee beans. As the roast degree deepens, more non-enzymatic browning occurs as monosaccharides and amino acids interact and decompose under heat, making it easier to release large-molecule bitter and burnt substances. To avoid extracting too many off-flavors, Front Street Coffee lowers the water temperature a little. The brewing water temperature for light-roasted coffee is 91–93°C, while for dark-roasted coffee beans Front Street Coffee recommends 87–88°C.

The brewing method uses a three-pour technique. Dividing the pouring into three stages better expresses Golden Mandheling coffee’s full-bodied mouthfeel and caramel sweetness.

Rinse the KONO dripper to make the paper filter fit the coffee dripper more closely. After pouring out the water in the server, add 15g of ground coffee. Bloom with 30g of water for 30s. This pour fully wets the coffee grounds and allows them to degas, so that the coffee’s flavor compounds can be better extracted afterward. Some friends, when extracting light-roasted coffee beans, extend the bloom time to 45 or 50 seconds to enhance the aroma of the coffee’s front end. However, if dark-roasted Mandheling coffee is bloomed for too long, it easily releases too much of that woody taste and off-flavors, so Front Street Coffee chooses to bloom for 30 seconds.

For the second stage, begin pouring hot water slowly in a small stream in circles from the center, keeping the flow steady, until reaching 125g before starting the next stage.

Wait until the coffee grounds bed drops to the halfway point of the dripper and the bed is exposed, then begin pouring the second stage in the same manner until 225g. Once all dripping is complete, remove the dripper. The extraction time is two minutes, with a margin of 10 seconds either way. Finally, swirl the coffee liquid in the server to mix it evenly, and you can begin tasting the hand-brewed Golden Mandheling black coffee.

The ground Golden Mandheling coffee has the aroma of nuts and toasted bread, and during brewing you can smell the sweet fragrance of caramel. The brewed Mandheling coffee enters the mouth with spice and dark chocolate notes; the mouthfeel is full-bodied yet clean, with obvious sweet aftertaste and a lasting finish.

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The above content is compiled by CoffeeHunters, a coffee news website.