# Cloth Filter Pour-over

Source: https://dailyextraction.com/methods/cloth-bag-pour-over/
Last updated: 2026-10-20

> Put a reusable cotton filter, such as a CoffeeSock, in your V60, Chemex or other dripper and brew as with paper. One reviewer used 20 g of coffee to 300 g of water just off the boil: a 50 g bloom, then two pours, finishing in about 3:30. Afterwards, empty it and rinse it in hot water, without soap.

## At a glance

- Ratio: 1:15 (20 g coffee : 300 g water)
- Grind: Medium-coarse
- Brew time: about 3:30
- Category: Cloth, Sock & Cultural Filter (Percolation)
- Difficulty: Beginner
- Origin: Global & Modern
- Also known as: cloth bag pour-over, reusable cloth coffee filter, cotton coffee filter, CoffeeSock

## Steps

1. **Fit the cloth filter**: Put the cloth filter in your dripper over a cup or server. If it’s brand new, boil it in plain water first, as CoffeeSock suggests, to tighten the weave and wash out the starch sizing.
2. **Add the coffee**: Add 20 g of coffee and level the bed. CoffeeSock recommends a medium-coarse to coarse grind.
3. **Bloom**: Start a timer and pour 50 g of water just off the boil, wetting all the coffee. Wait just over 30 seconds.
4. **First main pour**: Pour slowly in circles to 180 g, about 60% of the water, then let it drain.
5. **Second pour**: Just after 2:00, pour the remaining 120 g to reach 300 g. Give the brewer a swirl to pull grounds off the cloth walls.
6. **Let it drain**: Let it drip through, aiming to finish at about 3:30. If it finishes much sooner, grind a little finer next time.
7. **Empty, rinse and dry**: Turn the filter inside out, knock the grounds into the compost, rinse it in hot water without soap until the water runs clear, then store it as its maker says.

A **cloth filter pour-over** is an ordinary pour-over, in a V60, Chemex, Kalita Wave or similar dripper, brewed through a **reusable cotton filter** instead of paper. The best-known example is the **CoffeeSock**, made in Austin, Texas, in shapes for most popular drippers. Unlike the traditional cloth methods, there's no special stand or ritual: you keep your usual brewer and recipe, and swap the paper for cloth. Here's what changes in the cup, a recipe to start from, and how to look after the filter.

## The short version

- **Swap the paper for cloth** in the dripper you already own. CoffeeSock makes Chemex, Hario V60 and Kalita Wave shapes, among others.
- **A starting recipe:** 20 g of coffee to 300 g of water (1:15), just off the boil, finishing in about **3:30**.
- **Expect a faster flow** than paper at first: grind a little finer if it runs through too quickly.
- **Boil a new filter** in plain water before you use it: the weave tightens and the starch washes out.
- **Never use soap.** Rinse in hot water, then dry it or keep it wet, as your filter’s maker says.
- **Replace it after about 9 to 12 months**, says CoffeeSock, and compost the old one.



## How is a cloth filter different from paper and metal?

All three filters hold back the grounds. What differs is how much of the coffee’s **oils** and finest particles, the **fines**, get through, and that’s what you taste as body and clarity.

| | Paper | Cloth (cotton) | Metal mesh |
| --- | --- | --- | --- |
| Oils | Holds back the most, CoffeeSock says | More than paper, less than a French press, CoffeeSock says | Lets all the oils through, CoffeeSock says |
| Sediment | Catches the grounds | Catches most fines; CoffeeSock measures its wet weave at about 50 microns | Lets fine particles through, CoffeeSock says |
| Body | Lightest, by CoffeeSock’s account | In between | Heaviest |
| Flow | The baseline | Faster than paper at first; slows as oils build up | Not compared by these sources |
| Waste | One filter per brew | One filter for months | Reusable |
| Care | Throw it away | Rinse, no soap, boil now and then | Rinse after use |

A few of those claims come with caveats worth knowing:

- **CoffeeSock’s oil claim is based on observation and taste tests**, and the company says no lab testing has been done.
- **CoffeeSock gives its pore size** as 70–100 microns when dry, closing up when wet to behave like a 50-micron filter.
- **Reviewers don’t all taste the same thing.** Eight Ounce Coffee, which sells the CoffeeSock, says cloth gives more body. Alexander Howe, testing one for CoffeeGeek in 2021, found that the sweetness and brightness held up but noticed **slightly less body** than his paper brew.
- **Health:** CoffeeSock says it can’t confirm whether its filters reduce cafestol, the oily compound that can raise cholesterol, and that it assumes the level sits between paper and metal. A 2020 Brazilian study (Wuerges and colleagues) compared cloth-filtered, paper-filtered, espresso and instant coffee made from the same beans: every brew was low, with **0.11 to 0.14 mg of cafestol per 50 ml**. The cloth brew had fewer dissolved solids but more diterpenes per gram of those solids.

*General guidance only, not medical advice.*

## How much coffee and water should I use?

No cloth filter maker I found publishes an exact recipe: CoffeeSock’s guide simply says to brew as you normally would, with water just off the boil, poured slowly in circles. So here’s a tested starting point from CoffeeGeek’s review, brewed in a #2 wedge dripper.

| | Amount |
| --- | --- |
| Coffee | 20 g |
| Water | 300 g, just off the boil |
| Ratio | 1:15 |
| Bloom | 50 g, for just over 30 seconds |
| First pour | To 180 g (about 60% of the water) |
| Second pour | The last 120 g, just after 2:00 |
| Target finish | About 3:30 |

Use the [brew ratio calculator](https://dailyextraction.com/brew-ratio-calculator/) to scale it to your dripper. The method is the same as a paper pour-over: if you already have a favourite V60 or Chemex recipe, start there and adjust the grind.

## What grind size should I use?

**Sources differ, so let the drain time decide.** CoffeeSock’s FAQ recommends **medium-coarse to coarse**, because fine grounds block the cotton’s pores, and says a coarser grind gives a richer brew. Its brew guide says medium. Eight Ounce Coffee, on the other hand, says brews run 20–30 seconds faster through a CoffeeSock than through paper and you may need to grind a little finer.

That’s what CoffeeGeek found too: at the same grind as the paper baseline, the first cloth brew finished in 2:30 instead of 3:30, and a quick grind change brought it back.

![Chart of coffee grind sizes from extra fine to extra coarse, with medium-coarse highlighted for cloth filter pour-over](https://dailyextraction.com/diagrams/grind-size.svg#medium-coarse "CoffeeSock recommends medium-coarse to coarse; move finer if the brew runs much faster than with paper.")

## How do you brew with a cloth filter, step by step?

1. **Fit the filter** in your dripper. Boil it first if it’s new (see below).
2. **Add 20 g of coffee** and level it.
3. **Bloom** with 50 g of water just off the boil, and wait just over 30 seconds.
4. **Pour slowly in circles to 180 g**, then let it drain.
5. **Just after 2:00, pour the last 120 g** to reach 300 g. Howe found a firmer swirl than usual helps pull grounds off the cloth walls.
6. **Let it drain**, aiming for about 3:30.
7. **Turn the filter inside out**, knock out the grounds and rinse it.

Brew mode on this page times each stage for you.

## Does a new cloth filter need boiling?

**Yes, for a CoffeeSock.** The company explains that the fabric is woven with organic corn-starch sizing, most of which is washed out at the factory, and that **the first boil removes the rest**. The boil also **tightens the weave**: the cotton shrinks slightly over the first few uses, so the flow starts fast and settles. CoffeeGeek reported the maker’s advice as **10 minutes** in boiling water before first use.

After that, CoffeeSock says no pre-rinse is needed before each brew, unlike paper. One buyer in Eight Ounce Coffee’s reviews mentions a slight off-flavour in the first few brews that faded with use and rinsing.

## How do you clean and store a cloth coffee filter?

This is where makers disagree, so follow the instructions for your filter.

**CoffeeSock: rinse, hang, dry.**

- **Empty it soon after brewing.** Oil build-up increases the longer the grounds sit in the cloth.
- **Rinse in hot water** until it runs clear. No soap, washing-up liquid or washing machine: detergent leaves a taste.
- **Hang it up to dry fully** somewhere airy. Don’t store it damp or in an airtight container.
- **Deep clean every 6–8 weeks**, or when the flow slows: boil it for 10 minutes in fresh water, with a teaspoon of baking soda or distilled vinegar to freshen it. CoffeeSock says its filters work wet or dry and don’t need the fridge.

**Hario Woodneck cloth: keep it wet.** Hario UK says to wash the cloth and store it **wet, in a little water in the fridge**, and never to let it dry out, to avoid odours. That’s the flannel tradition covered on the [nel drip](https://dailyextraction.com/methods/nel-drip/) page, which goes into the Woodneck in detail.

## What if the filter smells or the flow changes?

| Problem | Likely cause | Fix |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Brew runs much faster than with paper | A new filter that hasn’t tightened yet, or a grind set for paper | Boil the new filter first; grind a little finer |
| Flow gets slower over weeks | Coffee oils building up in the cotton, or a finer grind | Boil 10 minutes in fresh water; repeat if heavy; go coarser |
| Cup tastes thin or weak | The brew is draining too quickly | Grind finer until it finishes near your paper time |
| Stale or musty smell, black specks | The filter was left wet and enclosed | Boil 10 minutes with baking soda, change the water, then boil again with white vinegar |
| Cup tastes off after cleaning | Soap or detergent residue | Boil in plain water and rinse well; use no soap |
| Fabric looks thin or worn | The end of its life | Replace it and compost the old one |

The specks-and-smell fix is CoffeeSock’s own two-boil method. It also notes that **brown specks** in new fabric are harmless bits of cotton plant, and a **greenish band** that appears after brewing comes from the coffee, not the filter.

## How long does a cloth filter last?

CoffeeSock suggests replacing its filters after **9 to 12 months**, and its care page says anywhere from several months to over a year, depending on how often you brew. Its warranty assumes a 9-month lifespan. Replace one sooner when the fabric thins or the coffee starts to taste off.

At the end, cotton filters are **compostable**: CoffeeSock says cutting one into 1-inch pieces speeds it up.

## Is a cloth filter better for the environment?

**That’s the makers’ main pitch, and the numbers are theirs.** CoffeeSock says one filter replaces **500+ paper filters**, and its FAQ estimates that each one replaces 4–12 boxes of paper filters a year. Its own yearly cost comparison puts a CoffeeSock at $15, against $20 for the cheapest paper filters, $72 for premium paper and $60 for a metal filter. Its filters are unbleached, **GOTS-certified organic cotton**, grown in Texas, India and Pakistan and sewn in Austin. None of these figures has been independently checked, so treat them as the company’s claims.

The trade-off is a few minutes of rinsing and the occasional boil, instead of throwing a paper filter away.

## Who makes cloth pour-over filters?

- **CoffeeSock**, a family business started by **Robert and Corina Guillory** in Austin, Texas, in late 2011. Their story is that they ran out of Chemex filters and, inspired by an old Costa Rican [chorreador](https://dailyextraction.com/methods/chorreador/) sock, sewed an organic cotton filter for the Chemex. They now make shapes for the Chemex, Hario V60, Kalita Wave, AeroPress, Espro, Stagg and other brewers, plus drip-machine, cold brew and tea filters.
- **Hario** sells cloth filters for its **Woodneck** drip pot, the home version of Japanese flannel drip. See the [nel drip](https://dailyextraction.com/methods/nel-drip/) page.

Cloth filters are nothing new: Costa Rica’s chorreador, Brazil’s [coador de pano](https://dailyextraction.com/methods/coador-de-pano/) and the Caribbean [colador](https://dailyextraction.com/methods/colador/) all brew through a cloth bag. What’s modern here is the fitted shape: a filter sewn to match a specific dripper, so you don’t need a stand.

*General guidance only. Take care with hot water when brewing and boiling filters, and follow your filter maker’s care instructions.*

## Cloth filter pour-over vs other methods

- **[Nel drip](https://dailyextraction.com/methods/nel-drip/):** Japanese flannel pour-over, with a slow pour and a filter kept wet in the fridge.
- **[Chorreador](https://dailyextraction.com/methods/chorreador/):** Costa Rica’s cloth bag on a wooden stand.
- **[V60](https://dailyextraction.com/methods/v60/):** the same cone, brewed through paper.
- **[Chemex](https://dailyextraction.com/methods/chemex/):** thick paper for a very clean cup; CoffeeSock’s first filter was made for it.
- **[Metal mesh cone filter](https://dailyextraction.com/methods/metal-cone-filter/):** the other reusable option, with more oils and fines in the cup.
- **[Kalita Wave](https://dailyextraction.com/methods/kalita-wave/):** a flat-bottomed dripper that also has a CoffeeSock shape.

Explore every cloth-filter method in the [cloth chapter](https://dailyextraction.com/methods/cloth-filter/).

## Words used in this guide

- [Pour-over](https://dailyextraction.com/glossary/pour-over/): Pour-over is a way of making filter coffee by hand: you pour hot water over ground coffee in a filter cone and let it drip through into a cup or jug.
- [Fines](https://dailyextraction.com/glossary/fines/): Fines are the very small, dust-like particles that every grinder produces alongside the main grind.
- [Body](https://dailyextraction.com/glossary/body/): Body is how heavy and textured coffee feels in your mouth, from light and tea-like to thick and syrupy.
- [Metal filter](https://dailyextraction.com/glossary/metal-filter/): A metal filter is a fine stainless-steel mesh that holds back coffee grounds, as used in a French press plunger and some reusable pour-over filters.
- [Acidity](https://dailyextraction.com/glossary/acidity/): Acidity in coffee is the bright, lively, juicy quality you taste on the tongue, like the tang of fruit.
- [Cafestol](https://dailyextraction.com/glossary/cafestol/): Cafestol is a natural oil compound (a diterpene) found in coffee beans that can raise LDL cholesterol when consumed regularly in large amounts.
- [Bloom](https://dailyextraction.com/glossary/bloom/): The bloom is the first small pour of water in a brew, usually 2–3 times the weight of the coffee, followed by a 30–45 second pause.

## FAQs

### Does a cloth filter make coffee taste different from paper?

Usually, yes. CoffeeSock says cloth lets more oils through than paper, for a fuller body, but fewer than a French press, based on taste tests rather than lab tests. Not everyone agrees: a CoffeeGeek reviewer found the sweetness and brightness held up but noticed slightly less body than his paper baseline.

### Do you need to boil a new cloth coffee filter?

CoffeeSock says the cotton weave tightens in the first boil and that the boil removes leftover corn-starch sizing from manufacture, and CoffeeGeek reported the maker recommending 10 minutes before first use. Flow is faster at first and settles after the first boil or a few brews.

### Should I store a cloth filter wet in the fridge or let it dry?

It depends on the maker. CoffeeSock says to rinse, hang it up and let it dry fully, and not to seal it away damp. Hario says its Woodneck cloth filters should be kept wet in a little water in the fridge and never allowed to dry out. Follow the instructions for your filter.

### How long does a cloth coffee filter last?

CoffeeSock suggests replacing its filters after about 9 to 12 months, and says some last a year or more. Replace one sooner if the fabric wears thin or the coffee starts to taste off. Cotton filters can go in the compost at the end; cutting them into small pieces speeds it up.

### Can I wash a cloth coffee filter with soap?

No. CoffeeSock advises against soap, washing-up liquid and the washing machine, because detergent residue flavours the coffee. Rinse it in hot water instead, and boil it in plain water, with a teaspoon of baking soda or white vinegar if needed, to shift oil build-up.

### Do cloth filters remove cafestol like paper?

Not proven either way. CoffeeSock says it can’t confirm how much cafestol its filters hold back. A 2020 Brazilian study found low cafestol in both cloth- and paper-filtered coffee, at 0.11 to 0.14 mg per 50 ml across the brews tested, though the cloth brew carried more per gram of dissolved solids.

## Sources

- [Brew and care](https://coffeesock.com/brew-and-care)
- [FAQs](https://coffeesock.com/faqs)
- [Brew guides](https://coffeesock.com/brew-guides)
- [Why cloth?](https://coffeesock.com/why-cloth)
- [Our story](https://coffeesock.com/about)
- [A cloth tiger: brewing with the Coffee Sock](https://coffeegeek.com/blog/new-products/a-cloth-tiger-brewing-with-the-coffee-sock/)
- [CoffeeSock Hario V60-02 filter](https://eightouncecoffee.com/products/coffeesock-hario-v60-filter)
- [Hario cloth filters for Woodneck drip pot](https://www.hario.co.uk/products/hario-cloth-filters-for-drip-pot-woodneck-1-cup)
- [Kahweol and cafestol in coffee brews: comparison of preparation methods](https://periodicos.ufc.br/revistacienciaagronomica/article/view/88791)