Anna Dripper, A Love Letter You Can Brew

Not every creation is born in a studio with whiteboards and grand strategy. Sometimes it begins with frustration over a paper filter that just won’t sit right, quiet late night tinkering, and someone who stands beside you through every half-formed idea. 

HUDES | Worldwide Digital Magazine for Manual Coffee Brewers

This is The Anna Dripper by Daryl Bueno from Philippine. Its name isn’t symbolic of design philosophy or concept. It’s simply dedicated to the person who made its creation feel possible. Lets follow our conversation with Daryl.

Photo by Daryl Bueno

Congrats again on the launch of the Anna Dripper! How’s it been seeing people actually brew with something you created, Daryl?

It is an ecstatic feeling once people message me and tag me with their posts using the Anna Dripper. When I ask them for their feedback, they all said the same thing, it brews good coffee and is really easy to use. (Which were my original goals for the dripper)

Let’s start from the beginning where did the idea for the Anna Dripper first come from?

It was a looming idea in my head for years. It all started with the V6o. When I first started brewing manually, I only had a V6o. I wasn’t doing content back then and all I had to talk and discussed with was my best friend. We always talked about our different observations with the V6o. 

How the paper never sit right on the walls, you have to adjust the fold of the paper slightly to an angle to make it sir perfectly and I hated it. Ever since then I wanted to make a negative ribbed V6o so the paper would sit flushed to the walls.

Photo by Daryl Bueno

I remember buying a lot of V6o and modifying it with a Dremel tool (mini grinder), to create different versions of it. At some point I had to stop that part of the research when I realized I was spending and wasting so much money and effort. So the idea of the negative ribbed v60 was just stuck in my mind with no execution plans whatsoever. 

Was there a specific “aha” moment that made you decide to actually build your own dripper?

Yes there was. When the UFO Dripper came out. I hated myself for not acting too soon. I wanted a negative ribbed V6o and I did not do anything to develop it and the UFO dripper came out. I told myself, had I not stopped developing the idea years ago then it would’ve been me to have made that negative ribbed dripper. 

What were some of the biggest challenges you faced during the design or prototyping stage?

One of the biggest challenge was how to actually manufacture and test out the design. 

I don’t know anything about pottery, I don’t know anything about glass making not even basic sculpture. I only knew graphics, branding, photography, videography, editing, motion graphics and 3D modelling, but what can graphics do?

How long did it take from your first sketch to the final version we see today?

Countless. Hahaha! If we count the earliest ideas of the dripper I don’t know anymore but from the very first 3d printed version, it took me 27 different versions and prototypes before the final version. The V1 is actually the 28th prototype.

How did you test it, lots of brewing, trial and error, late nights, maybe a few frustrations?  

In reality the prototyping took me two whole months to finally perfect it to No.28. Not a lot of brewing really, more like perfecting the design and print. Once I have printed a new version, I brew with it once and I can immediately tell what is wrong with it. I then go back to the drawing board and try to fix it. Yes a lot of frustrations, during the course of perfecting the design, I had to rebuild the design from scratch countless times because I made an irreversible design change to it.

The name Anna Dripper sounds personal, is there a story behind it? Some people are guessing “Anna” might be inspired by your wife’s name is that true? Or does it carry a different kind of meaning for you? 

Yes. I had the questions, do I want it to sound cheesy, or very manly, or girly, or fantasy-ish, or just plain cute, when I was deciding on the name of the dripper or just about any other big decision I was about to make, I always consulted my wife. And yes she would share the burden with me always. There was a moment when I just thought she is the one who’s always been there for me in all of my endeavors. So it was the easiest decision to dedicate my very first dripper to her. 

How does that name connect with the spirit or philosophy of the dripper itself?

There is no connection really of the name to the design philosophy of the dripper. It is really a dedication of hardwork and inspiration to my wife. 

The Anna Dripper can use both cone and wave filters that’s a really clever feature. What made you decide to combine those two styles?

One of the visions of the channel when I started making videos was to find cheaper alternatives for making really good coffee. When I started designing the dripper this was one key characteristic that I set and I achieved it by making the dripper function as two different brewers at the same time. If this is your first dripper then you don’t have to buy another one to brew with a flat bottom dripper anymore. 

When designing it, were you thinking more about functionality, user experience, or the feeling of brewing itself?

I was thinking mainly of the functionality and user experience. Main considerations were, If people are going to buy the Anna Dripper, I don’t want them to spend anymore than they’re supposed to and I want it to be very easy to use as to not give burden to the users. No special folding of paper, no need to buy a different paper than what you already have and very little learning curve that you can use it immediately after buying it. 

What kind of cup profile did you imagine the Anna Dripper would create?

If I were to best describe the cup profile of the Anna Dripper in conical mode. I would say it creates a high extraction rate brew. Hence you get more intense flavors. More complex brews. In flat bottom mode. It highlights the sweetness of the cup while giving a little bit of depth and complexity due to its forced center extraction and wave bypass. 

If you had to describe the soul of this dripper, what would it be?

If I had to describe Anna Drippers soul, it would be “nurturing”. The Anna Dripper’s main selling point is its ability to keep bypass (conical mode) to a minimum while maintaining its fast and non clogging draw down. Making it very friendly to both new brewers with little knowledge in pouring techniques and advanced brewers with high level of technique. 

How did it feel to finally hold your own dripper for the first time?

Honestly I did not feel anything significant until another person held it. When I finally completed the brewer it was mostly relief and contentment that I feel that it is the final version, but it did not compare when somebody else held it and got curious and asked about it. It felt like asking about a baby that I recently gave birth to. Ahahaha.

Did this project teach you anything about patience, creativity, or maybe even love?

Creating something has been an integral part of my being. The creation of the dripper is not something very new to me. Even so, I think the best answer to this question would be. I’ve learned NOT to love my designs too much, because no matter how good a particular design is, someone will always try to bring you down. Simply put you can’t please everybody and I’ve learned this lesson long ago. There was a particular project I did long ago and I really loved it. It broke my heart when people did not like it. 

Was there an emotional moment like when you thought it wouldn’t work, or when you finally realized “this is it”?

I only have the “this is it” moment. It was right after printing the 28th prototype. It came out the printer perfectly and at that point I wouldn’t change anything to it. The funny thing is when I was checking for the filename, I did not realize that I was already at Mark 8.2b and 28th version. I’ll tell you the significance of the numbers in a bit. So the way the prototypes are marked was I used a whole number for major design changes plus the decimals for smaller revisions within the major design change. So there was a 1.1, 1.2, 1.3 and then I changed the design completely to 2.1 and then 2.2 until I reached 8.2b. The significance of the number is coincidentally I was born on August 2 and 28 is our wedding anniversary. 

Its like it is really meant to be perfect at that stage. I couldn’t ask for a more perfect ending. 

Do you see this as more than just a coffee tool maybe a representation of Filipino creativity or identity in coffee?

I wouldn’t say this is a representation of Filipino creativity or identity of Filipinos in coffee because I’m just 1 person and I made this out of love and passion for the art of coffee. If eventually Filipinos would love the Anna Dripper then that is just a bonus for my hardwork. 

What’s your hope or vision for the Anna Dripper going forward?

I hope people would recognize the vision in it. The Anna Dripper is born out of countless experimentations from different drippers and applying everything I learned thus far.

Do you see yourself continuing to design other brewing tools or innovations?

Of course! This is just a beginning. I’ve already made a lot different coffee tools and accessories with Tenen Industries and will continue to do so. The Dripper maybe the biggest product design so far and we will not stop there. 

How do you want people to feel when they brew with the Anna Dripper?

I want people to stop worrying about all the variables. I want people to feel carefree and relaxed when they brew with the Anna: Dripper. Home brewers and competitive brewers nowadays stress too much on different variables in making every cup the perfect cup. I’d like to say this again. There is no point in making a perfect cup because the fun lies in the surprise of every cup being different from one another. 

And lastly if you could tell your past self one thing back when this was just an idea, what would it be?

Don’t let other people bring you down. If you have an Idea work towards it because there will always be people who doesn’t believe in you and will bring you down. 

(Hudes Magazine)