The Orea dripper is a notoriously fast flowing coffee dripper with steep walls and a flat bottom. We thought we would pair it with the brand new Aji Circle Filter for a unique style of coffee that is fast flowing and has a thick syrupy mouthfeel.
What is the Aji Circle filter?
The Aji Circle Filter is the newest coffee filter to come from Aji Coffee Tools, it hasn't been released just yet but promises a universal size thats suited for conical and flat bottom drippers in 01, 02, 155 and 185 size.
The Aji Circle Filter is made from a hand-loomed cotton sourced through a social enterprise and is durably designed to last up to 2-3 years. The Aji circle Filter has can be easily manoeuvred into multiple drippers and tastes different when brewed in each.
The Aji Circle Filter has a unique flavour profile, this is due to the large hole sizes in the filter which lets the perfect amount of coffee oils and fines pass through resulting in a super creamy and textured cup of coffee and higher overall extraction.
Other paper filter options for the Orea dripper
The Orea V3 Dripper can suit multiple filters, the main one being the Kalita Wave 185 filter papers, the Orea Circle Filter Papers and of course the Aji Circle Filter.
Each of the papers interact differently with the Orea V3 and results in a completly different flavour profile and brews.
How to set the Aji Circle Filter in the Orea Dripper
The Aji Circle Filter is surprisingly easy to set into the Orea V3 Dripper, there are a couple of different approaches.
Method #1
The first method doesn't require any other tool, simply lay the Aji Circle Filter flat on top of the Orea dripper and centre it. Then push down on the centre until your finger meets the bottom of the dripper, work your way around the base of the dripper and then manoeuvre the filter into place around the walls working your way up to the top of the dripper.
Method #2
The second method requires an Orea Negotiator Tool, place your Negotiator upside down and put the Aji Circle Filter on top. Centre the filter and shape it by folding the edges evenly to make 4 even folds, place the Orea dripper on top then invert everything and remove the Negotiator tool.
This second method has best results but both methods work great, especially with a little practice.
Brew #1 Recipe
We used the Orea Basalt V3 Dripper to brew our Colombian El Indio coffee. Paired with the Aji Circle Filter we first had to set the filter and grind our coffee.
- 20g dose (Comandante 15 clicks)
- 300g water at 96ºc
- 3x pours of 100g
- WDT agitation after bloom
Brew #1 Results
Tasted full bodied, vibrant and still heaps of acidity but with some bitterness present.
Using the R2 Refractometer we were able to read this coffee had a 1.95 TDS and an Extraction of 23.45% This translates to a bitter and very high extraction for pour over coffee and matches what we found when tasting the cup of coffee.
Brew #2 Recipe
After receiving a super high extraction on our first go we changed just the grind size from 15 clicks on the Comandante up to 20 clicks to see how much of a change this would give us.
- 20g dose (Comandante 20 clicks)
- 300g water at 96ºc
- 3x pours of 100g
- WDT agitation after bloom
Brew #2 Results
The results are in, we were blown away by the taste and while it did taste well balanced and full of flavour after these two results came back we presume a grind size of around 22-23 clicks would taste fantastic.
Brew #2 had a TDS of 1.63 and an Extraction of 20.54%
