Kono Meimon Dripper

The Kono Meimon is a Japanese cone dripper first released in 1973 by Kono’s Coffee Syphon Co. At first glance it looks like a V60: a cone with one large hole. The difference is the ribs. On the Kono, they only run part of the way up the cone, so the paper filter clings to the smooth upper walls, which slows the flow. It’s closely tied to a slow, patient, drip-by-drip way of pouring. Here’s a recipe to start with and how it differs from a V60.

The short version

• A cone with one large hole and short ribs low in the cone.
• The paper seals higher up, slowing the flow.
• Project Barista’s recipe: 12 g of medium coffee to 190 ml at 93°C.
• About 2:30 to 3:00 with that recipe; much longer with a drip-by-drip pour.
• Released in 1973 as a simpler alternative to the nel cloth filter.

How does the Kono work?

Most of the water flows out through the single large hole at the bottom, as in a V60. But where the V60’s ribs run the full height of the cone, the Kono’s are shorter, so the upper part of the paper seals against the wall. Water can’t escape around the sides as easily, so more of it goes through the coffee bed, and the flow is slower and more controlled. Kurasu counts twelve ribs on the Meimon, running from the bottom to the middle of the cone. Project Barista notes that other Kono versions, such as the Classic, have longer ribs, so check the one you buy.

The Meimon is made of acrylic resin. The common two-cup model, the MDN-21, measures about 12 × 10.3 × 8 cm.

How much coffee and water should I use?

Project Barista’s Kono recipe:

	Amount
Coffee	12 g, medium to medium-coarse
Water	190 ml at 93°C (see the note on heat below)
Ratio	About 1:16
Pours	30 ml bloom, then 50, 55 and 55 ml
Total time	About 2:30 to 3:00

What grind size should I use?

Medium, or a touch coarser. Because the Kono’s flow is slower than a V60’s, many people grind a little coarser than they would for a V60.

How do you brew with a Kono, step by step?

1. Rinse a cone filter in the Kono and pour the water away.
2. Add 12 g of medium coffee.
3. Bloom with 30 ml at 93°C for 30 seconds.
4. Pour 50 ml slowly in the centre.
5. Pour 55 ml, before the bed drains fully: Project Barista leaves 2–3 cm of water above the coffee.
6. Pour the last 55 ml, to 190 ml.
7. Let it drain, finishing at about 2:30 to 3:00.

Brew mode on this page times each pour for you.

What is the Kono drip-by-drip method?

The Kono is closely linked with a very slow pour. As Coffee Chronicler describes it, the kettle is held as close to the coffee as possible, and small drops of water are poured continuously into the centre of the bed. It’s the same technique used with the nel cloth filter. It takes practice and a kettle with fine control, and it’s very different from the circular pours usually used with a V60.

Kono vs V60

	Kono Meimon	V60
Ribs	Short, low in the cone	Spiral, full height
Paper	Clings to the upper walls	Free to vent all the way up
Flow	Slower, more controlled	Faster
Typical pour	Slow, central, often drip by drip	Circular pulses
First made	1973	2004

Where does the Kono come from?

Kono’s Coffee Syphon Co., founded in 1925 and long known for its siphon brewers, released the Meimon in 1973 after about five years of development. According to Ayanoma, a café that uses it, the dripper was developed with the coffee researcher Makoto Inoue, to make the flavour of nel flannel filters, then the standard in kissaten, simple for anyone to reproduce. Project Barista says the first version was called the Drip Meijin. Some sources call it the first Japanese cone with a large hole and ribs, but others are more cautious, so I wouldn’t rely on the “first”.

General guidance only. Take care with hot water. Kurasu says the supplier rates the resin Meimon to 90°C, and Project Barista notes it tends to crack above that, even though its recipe uses 93°C. Kurasu keeps using cracked ones as long as they don’t leak, but check the care instructions for yours.

Kono vs other methods

• V60: the fully ribbed cone.
• Nel drip: the flannel method the Kono was designed to simplify.
• Kalita Wave: a flat-bottomed dripper with three small holes.
• Origami dripper: a ceramic cone with deep folds.

Explore every pour-over method in the pour-over chapter.