Origami Coffee

These single-serving pour-over coffee packs arrived from Japan recently. They are as beautifully designed as they are fun to use.

The shiny foil packaging just falls open at your command. There is a little half-slit in the seam on the back. When you tug opposing corners the foil gently rips open, lengthwise, like a wallet. I would like to see what the same designers could do with those horrible tetra-pack cartons for juice and UHT milk.

The filter mouth is lightly sealed and opens easily. The coffee smells good, but not very strong.

Intelligent use of the cardboard keeps the frame sprung open. Why is "PUSH" written in English? Foreign words still have a stylish appeal in Japan.

These tabs go inside the cup, stabilizing the frame on the rim.

The instructions say to pour a trickle of boiling water as though you were writing the letter の ("no") repeatedly. Things like that make us miss Japan.

A little hot milk. The experience was more fun than the coffee was good. It is almost worth using your own fresh-ground coffee instead of the stuff that comes with it . But if you do that you may as well use your own filters. This is more about convenience and fun. And, since you just throw the whole thing away afterward, guilt.