ideometric

I like this idea from a temporary cafe in Japan: you get what the person in front of you ordered. As a concept it’s fun, but working something like that into a normal brick and mortar cafe might be tougher — generally you’d just want to go in and get whatever you want, no hassle. But I could see it working at specific low-volume times as a quirky way to encourage interaction with strangers in line and pop the antisocial laptop bubbles people get stuck in.

I like the design of this Melitta pot for pouring water over a manual drip coffee filter. You’d buy something like this for the spout design, which makes it easier to control and maintain a steady pour over the coffee grinds.

So far I’ve only been able to find a wood-handled version for $90 in Korea, and a synthetic handled one for $45 in Japan. Maybe if I’m feeling spendy I’ll get one someday.

“Hand-drip” coffee is really popular in Korea and Japan, but less so in the American cafes I’ve visited. Instead, machines like the Clover or siphon pots have gotten the most attention from both customers and press.

However, there’s something about the performance of drip coffee that I find appealing, especially when taken to the extremes of technical fanaticism that the Japanese (and subsequently Koreans) have gone. Most coffee geeks here in Asia seem to obsess over the intricacies of pouring methods, timing, etc. as if this is the height of coffee production. It is indeed more active and engaging than a french press, and the careful pouring styles have a finesse and theatricality that I appreciate in the coffee ritual – even if it might be a bit superfluous to the results in the cup.