The Story Behind the V-Fold Tool

Every craft begins with a question.
Ours was simple: Why are the first and last Kalita filters never quite the same?

At Vihi Design, we spend hours observing how coffee flows through paper, how each fold affects extraction, and how small imperfections change taste. What started as curiosity slowly became a quiet pursuit of precision.

Designing for Symmetry

Traditional Kalita-style filters often show a 5°–8° deviation in their fold geometry. That small variance affects how water distributes during brewing — resulting in subtle imbalances in flavour and flow rate.

The V-Fold Paper Molding Tool was created to correct that variance. Built through high-precision 3D printing with ±0.1 mm tolerance, it reshapes each filter into an ideal 58° geometry, bringing the paper back to a consistent, repeatable shape.

Once the filter is moulded, it sits more evenly in the dripper, the base makes fuller contact, and water is encouraged to flow in a calmer, more balanced way. The result is not a stronger cup, but a more honest one.

A Tool Born from the Love of Craft

Unlike mass-produced accessories, every V-Fold is carefully modelled, printed, and tested in our studio in Guangdong, China. Each version — White, Green, Brown, Yellow, Pink and Black — reflects the understated, modern aesthetic that defines Vihi Design.

We believe a coffee tool should not only work well, but also look at home on your counter or coffee bar. The V-Fold is designed to be picked up every day: the proportions are compact, the grip is comfortable, and the silhouette feels as considered as the cup it helps you brew.

For many people, it is a small object. For us, it is a quiet celebration of balance, patience, and design.

Beyond the V-Fold

The V-Fold is only the beginning. We are continuing to develop a family of precision coffee tools — including the upcoming G-Flow Hopper, designed to slow the feeding of beans into the burrs, improve grinding consistency and gently reduce fines.

Whether it is paper geometry or grind distribution, the idea is the same:

“To help coffee lovers rediscover the beauty of making.”

About Vihi Design

Vihi Design is an independent design studio based in Guangdong, China, devoted to creating thoughtfully engineered coffee tools for everyday use. We work with 3D printing, small-batch production, and careful hand–finishing to bring quiet, precise objects to life.

From our studio to your brewing routine, we hope each piece helps you enjoy not only better coffee, but a calmer, more deliberate moment in the day.

Designed and made by Vihi Design Studio.