# Brazilian Coador de Pano Source: https://dailyextraction.com/methods/coador-de-pano/ Last updated: 2026-10-19 > A coador de pano is a Brazilian cloth coffee filter on a ring with a handle. For cafezinho, heat water to just off the boil, often with sugar dissolved in it, then stir in fine coffee, about 8 to 10 g per 100 ml, and pour it through the cloth into a pot. Some families add the sugar to the grounds instead. Serve it small, strong and sweet. ## At a glance - Ratio: About 1 heaped tbsp per cup - Grind: Fine - Water temperature: Just off the boil, about 93–95°C - Category: Cloth, Sock & Cultural Filter (Percolation) - Difficulty: Beginner - Origin: Brazil - Also known as: coador de café, cloth strainer coffee, cafezinho, Brazilian coffee sock ## Steps 1. **Rinse the cloth**: Rinse the coador with hot water and hang it over a pot or jug. 2. **Heat the water**: Heat the water to just off the boil, about 93–95°C. Many families dissolve sugar in it now, to taste. 3. **Add the coffee**: Take the water off the heat, add finely ground coffee, about 8–10 g per 100 ml, and stir well. 4. **Pour through the cloth**: Pour the coffee through the coador into the pot and let it drip through. 5. **Serve**: Serve straight away in small cups. 6. **Rinse and dry**: Rinse the cloth well, without soap, and let it dry fully. The **coador de pano** is Brazil's traditional coffee filter: a **cloth bag** on a wire ring with a handle, hung over a pot or jug. It's how generations of Brazilians have made **cafezinho**, the small, strong, sweet coffee offered to guests and after meals. Hot water and fine coffee go through the cloth, which holds back the grounds but lets more of the oils through than paper, for a **full-bodied** cup. Here's how it's done. ## The short version - **A cloth filter on a ring**, hung over a pot. - **Fine coffee**, about a heaped tablespoon per cup. - **Water just off the boil**, about 93–95°C: don't boil the coffee itself. - **Sugar is traditional**: dissolved in the water, or added to the grounds. - **Served small, strong and sweet.** ## How does a coador de pano work? The coador is a simple **cotton or flannel bag** on a **wire ring with a handle**. It's hung over a pot, or set in a stand, and the coffee is poured through it. The cloth catches the grounds and lets the coffee through. Because cloth is more open than paper, more of the coffee's **oils** pass through, giving a **heavier body**. ## How do you make cafezinho, step by step? There are **two common ways**, and families differ. This is the most common: 1. **Rinse the cloth** with hot water and hang it over a pot. 2. **Heat the water** to just off the boil, about **93–95°C**, often with sugar dissolved in it, to taste. 3. **Take it off the heat**, add **finely ground coffee**, about **8–10 g per 100 ml**, and stir well. 4. **Pour it through the coador** into the pot. 5. **Serve** straight away in small cups. The other way, described by Caffe Atlas, puts **sugar on the dry grounds** in the cloth, about 1 to 2 teaspoons per cup, then pours the hot water through, so the sugar dissolves as it brews. ## How much coffee should I use? Recipes vary. Caffe Atlas gives **8–10 g of coffee per 100 ml** of water, served in cups of **50–80 ml**. Brasa Brazil uses about **4 tablespoons for 2 cups (480 ml)**, and notes that the 3 Corações brand prints **4 to 5 tablespoons per litre** on its bags. Homegrounds' recipe uses **43 g of coffee for 4 cups** of water with a tablespoon of brown sugar or **rapadura**, unrefined cane sugar. Cafezinho is meant to be **strong**. ![Chart of coffee grind sizes from extra fine to extra coarse, with fine highlighted for the coador de pano](https://dailyextraction.com/diagrams/grind-size.svg#fine "Cafezinho uses a fine grind.") ## Should the water boil? **Not the coffee.** Brasa Brazil pours water at about **93°C** over the grounds and warns that boiled coffee tastes **scorched**, and that's "not cafezinho". Other recipes boil the water and sugar first, then add the coffee off the heat; Caffe Atlas lets boiled water stand for 30 seconds, to about 95°C. Traditions differ, but the coffee itself shouldn't boil. ## How do you look after the cloth? - **Rinse it** in plenty of water after every brew, **without soap**. - **Dry it fully**, so it doesn't go mouldy or taste stale. - **Replace it** when it stays stained or smells off. ## Coador de pano vs other cloth filters | | Coador de pano | [Chorreador](https://dailyextraction.com/methods/chorreador/) | [Colador](https://dailyextraction.com/methods/colador/) | | --- | --- | --- | --- | | Country | Brazil | Costa Rica | Puerto Rico and the Caribbean | | Holder | Ring and handle | Wooden stand | Ring and handle | | Method | Coffee stirred into water, then strained | Water poured through | Water poured through | | Sugar | Traditional | Optional | Optional | *General guidance only. Take care with hot water and sugar syrup, which holds its heat, and dry the cloth fully between uses.* ## Coador de pano vs other methods - **[Chorreador](https://dailyextraction.com/methods/chorreador/):** Costa Rica's cloth filter on a wooden stand. - **[Colador](https://dailyextraction.com/methods/colador/):** the Caribbean coffee sock. - **[Kopi sock](https://dailyextraction.com/methods/kopi-sock/):** Malaysia and Singapore's cloth-filtered coffee. - **[Turkish coffee](https://dailyextraction.com/methods/turkish-coffee/):** another small, strong, often sweet coffee. Explore every cloth-filter method in the [cloth chapter](https://dailyextraction.com/methods/cloth-filter/). ## Words used in this guide - [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. ## FAQs ### What is a coador de pano? A cloth coffee filter used in Brazil: a cotton or flannel bag on a wire ring with a handle, hung over a pot or jug. It's the traditional way to make cafezinho. ### How do you make cafezinho? Heat water, often with sugar, to just off the boil, stir in fine coffee, then pour it through a cloth coador into a pot. Serve it small, strong and sweet. Some households add the sugar to the dry grounds instead. ### Should the water boil? Not the coffee. Brasa Brazil pours water at about 93°C over the grounds and warns that boiled coffee tastes scorched. Other recipes bring the water and sugar to the boil, then add the coffee off the heat, so traditions differ. ### Why use a cloth filter? Cloth lets more of the coffee's oils through than paper, so the coffee is heavier-bodied. It's also reusable. ### How do you clean a coador de pano? Rinse out the grounds in plenty of water, without soap, and dry it fully, so it doesn't go mouldy or taste stale. ## Sources - [Brazilian coffee after barbecue (cafezinho)](https://brasabrazil.com/cafezinho-after-churrasco/) - [Cafezinho: origin, taste and serving guide](https://caffeatlas.com/coffee/cafezinho) - [Cafézinho (coffee Brazilian style)](https://ineedcoffee.com/cafezinho-coffee-brazilian-style/) - [Exploring traditional Brazilian coffee culture](https://club.atlascoffeeclub.com/exploring-traditional-brazilian-coffee-culture/) - [Cafezinho recipe](https://www.homegrounds.co/cafezinho-recipe/)