Vietnamese Traditional Coffee Filter (Phin) 15 Ounce 2-Pack, Gravity Insert

I used 22 grams of Peruvian beans ground to medium, with 16 oz of boiling water---the same recipe I use when using the pour over method. The water completely drained in about 3 minutes. The resulting coffee tastes identical to pour over, but the phin has some advantages:1: you can add all 16 oz of the water in the first 40 or 50 seconds and don't have to stand there tediously pouring for 3 minutes. If you were using only 12 oz of water, you should be able to add it all immediately.2: it's a bit easier to clean and should be less prone to clogging than a pour over cone. All the drain holes are on flat uncurved surfaces and can be rinsed or quickly wiped with a sponge as needed.3: it retains heat quite well as it drains with the lid on. You shouldn't have to give it a 10 or 15 second blast in the microwave to boost the temp up a few degrees as you might have to with a pour over.I don't have any issues with the gravity tamper. I pretty much just set it on the dry grounds without any pressure and then let the coffee bloom for about 20 seconds with an ounce or two of water. Then added the rest of the water within another 20 seconds.Finer grinds can be a problem. I tried some Cafe Bustelo Espresso grind just to see what would happen. Drain was very slow (10 minutes for 16 ounces), but that stuff is nearly as finely ground as flour.One warning: you might get some overflow into the spanner and possibly out onto the counter top as the coffee may be reluctant to flow through the spanner drain holes into the mug--the last filter. The instruction sheet mentions this. It's apparently related to a vacuum created by too tight a seal between the bottom of the spanner and the top surface of your mug.To resolve that, try one of these methods:1: insert something thin like a toothpick or the edge of an index card between the top of the mug and the bottom of the spanner---just enough to break the vacuum.2: When pouring water into the phin, keep the water level below about halfway in the phin so as to put less weight on the spanner and thereby reduce the strength of the seal between the spanner and mug. Pour in stages.

Simple to use, pretty slow process, but you get a fantastic cup when it's finished. No grit, very smooth. Love it!

This thing is amazing. The design is so simple that there is no way to really mess this product up. I roast my own coffee, blah blah but I find that Cafe Du Monde (~$7 at any Asian Market for a big can) tastes great with this maker and some condensed milk. The chicory adds a great flavor too and any staleness is covered by the copious amount of sugar in condensed milk.Pros:-Stainless Steel-Everything is solid and this fits most coffee mugs/cups-Doesn't seem to have any sharp holes-Large capacity. 15 oz of coffee plus condensed milk/ice fills my venti Starbucks cup.Cons:-Now I want to buy another one-Make sure there is some sort of ventilation between the cup and phin. Sometimes there can be some backing up and leaking with the plastic reusable starbucks vent cups.

So yeah...I like coffee. A lot. Probably too much. Anyhow, a coworker mentioned the extra strong coffee common to her culture (Vietnamese) and I was intrigued. She got me a set of two of the typical sized phin, 6oz and 8oz I'm guessing, as well as some coffee from her friend that own a Vietnamese restaurant locally. These are the screw down types, rather than the gravity feed. While she was there, she also got me a traditional iced coffee drink. Oh yeah, one sip and I was in love. She gave me the brief run down on how to make it, and I was ready to go. Some experimenting later, and I was able to produce the same results. The only problem was that there was *so* little per brewing cycle. I'd end up using both just to fill my cup! Then I found this 15oz, which I thought should do the job.Unlike the other two, this is a gravity feed model, where you just drop the screen insert down atop the coffee grounds. Another difference is that that the saucer at the bottom section detaches from the tank. In doing so, the design allows for double filtering of the output. The metal itself feels a bit thinner than the other two, and the filter holes are rough drilled (you'll poke yourself when cleaning it, and it will shred a dishrag/sponge). Heirloom Coffee includes a set of instructions on how to use the Phin for both hot and cold coffee. The instructions are clearly written, leaps and bounds better than the half an index card worth of instructions the others came with. They really put some effort into the writing, teaching not just how to use the Phin but also how to figure out what to change of the coffee doesn't come out right, and suggestions on the best coffees to use. Coffee selection is important, something I found out rather quickly. In brief, you use ~2 tablespoons worth of *GOOD* coffee with this model. What I found was that the amount varied quite a bit, depending on the coffee one uses. While I didn't have the suggested Trung Nguyen on hand, I did have the french stuff my coworker got me (mentioned in the instructions as not so good), as well as some espresso beans from a less than stellar brand (not Starbucks or Peets, which is are a suggested substitute). With these not so great coffee, the taste produced wasn't great (weak) until I was using ~4 tablespoons. Following the rest of the instructions given produces a good cup of joe consistently.Though I thought the construction and materials could have been better, I really like my new giant sized Phin and will likely get a couple more to add to the collection.

Easy to clean as well. Makes great coffee.

This is a good product. works well and easy to use. It does not fit a conventional size cup. The base is too large.

Bought this to make regular coffee at work. I use filters & don't push the coffee down. Better than plastic pour-over coffee makers & works better than the glass pour-over one that was over $20. It stays hotter with the lid, & am able to fill I with more water after the initial pour over (to let the coffee bloom). Happy with the purchase.

No need to stand over a filter, slowly pouring. You put the coffee in, drop a perforated cover over the grounds, and fill it with hot water. The water drips through at the right speed, into your cup. Hassle-free, no filters to buy and it's easy to clean.