The Torch Donut Dripper, made by Japanese brand Torch, uses an unusual geometry: a ring-shaped coffee bed with an open centre column, rather than a conventional cone or flat bed. Water poured into the centre spirals outward through the annular bed and drains through a folded trapezoid (wedge) filter at the bottom.
The donut shape solves one of pour-over's subtle frustrations: the centre of a cone or flat bed sees much more water flow than the edges, which causes uneven extraction. A ring bed has no centre — every grain is roughly the same distance from the flow path, so extraction tends to be extraordinarily even. The cup is unusually clean and balanced, with a delicate sweetness that pairs well with light roasts.
A starting recipe: 18 g of coffee to 280 g of water (1:15–1:16), medium grind, water at 93–95 °C, three pours concentrated near the centre in 2:45 to 3:30. Uses folded trapezoid (wedge) filters — Kalita 103 or Melitta 1x4 (smaller Kalita 102 / Melitta 1x2). The Donut is a dripper for brewers who want even extraction without the technical demands of a competition flat bed — it does the centring work for you.
