OREA Brewer Version 4
Details
| V4 NARROW | V4 WIDE | |
| Recommended brewing range | 12g - 28g (200ml to 460ml) | 12g - 36g (200ml to 600ml) |
| Include | - V4 Narrow funnel - 1 x CLASSIC Flat Bottom - 1 x OPEN Flat Bottom - 1 x FAST Flat Bottom - 1 x APEX Bottom - 1 x BASE - Guides |
- V4 Wide funnel |
| Applicable to Negotiator | V4 Negotiator Narrow | V4 Negotiator Wide |
| Applicable filter paper |
With Negotiator tool ↴ Without Negotiator tool ↴ |
With Negotiator tool ↴ Without Negotiator tool ↴ |
| Material | FDA & EU Approved Polypropylene (BPA-Free) + Stainless Steel Base |
FDA & EU Approved Polypropylene (BPA-Free) + Stainless Steel Base |
| Origin | Made in Taiwan | Made in Taiwan |
V4 is a coffee filter cup with interchangeable brewing bases.
During the development of V4, a large number of candidate brewing bases appeared. The OREA team worked hard to eliminate these excessive brewing bases because they only wanted to keep the best and most unique designs to make V4 the best brewing system.
1 System
The V4's modular system allows you to assemble and replace different brewing bases. The connection point is set relatively high on the filter cup, which allows you to change small parts to achieve big changes in brewing results.
2 Geometries
The V4 is a new product with options. The previous generation, the V3 Brewer, was released in two sizes: 155 (small) and 185 (large). With the V4, we've focused on two geometries: Narrow and Wide. Both are available in the "Large/185" size. We're currently moving away from the idea of a small brewer, as we prefer the flexibility of a slightly larger cup with the same geometry. The flow rates and effects of the two geometries are very different—yes, you'll need to seriously explore them.
73° Narrow
While the filter bowl looks a bit different on the outside, the internal geometry of the V4 Narrow is the same as the V3 and V2, classic geometry.
65° Wide
Yes, this is a new geometry for OREA drippers. It's narrower than most flat-bottomed coffee drippers, but wider than any other OREA dripper. We've found that 65° is the sweet spot that really makes a difference for brewing coffee, giving a slower flow than the Narrow, but not quite becoming a slow-flowing dripper. It's a width we're happy with, and it provides a very unique profile.
3 Each geometry has 3 different flat bottoms
The 2 angled dripper stems (narrow & wide) can be freely matched with 3 different flat-bottom brewing bases. You may notice that they are very similar to other coffee drippers from OREA, which is no coincidence because those products are also excellent.
The Classic V4 features the same performance and flavor profile as the V3-MK2 base. This base provides some restraint while keeping the bed perfectly flat. OREA's classic brewing base is a favorite worldwide, winning championships at the World Coffee Brewers Championship and numerous national and regional competitions.
The Open shares the same design as OREA's glass drippers and Porcelain Brewer, but features a V4 plastic body, which creates a different profile for your coffee. This base creates a focused flow for your brew and produces a completely different flavor profile—a truly interesting area worth exploring.
The Fast design takes all the ideas from OREA's Big Boy Brewer and brings them to the V4 system. Possibly OREA's fastest-flowing and clogging-free design – giving you new options for exploring finer grinds, larger water volumes, or using a variety of filter papers.
4 Brewers in 1
In addition to the three flat bottoms, both stems can be swapped out for a unique APEX bottom—OREA's "conical" version. The APEX is a shape worth exploring, somewhere between a conical and a flat bottom. Simply follow the filter paper folding guides, and the APEX bottom can accept conical filter papers like the V60/Cafec. The use of flat filter papers with the Negotiator tool was a huge hit in the V3 Brewer, and it's sure to continue in the V4. They feature special APEX tips to manipulate the cone shape. The APEX bottom elevates both brewing systems by adding a conical filter cup to the lineup, but APEX brewing also brings something new to the table. In fact, you could say it's more than four breweries in one—depending on how you use it. But to avoid driving everyone crazy, we'll keep it simple for now.
Narrow vs Wide
The two different filter stems will affect your extraction and brewing experience. Although both are V4, there are some differences between the two.
Volume & Capacity
The Wide is about 20% larger than the Narrow due to its wider shape. As a result, the Wide brews slightly larger amounts, up to 36 grams (two cups), while the Narrow can handle about 28 grams (two smaller cups). Both use the exact same filter paper size (185/large).
Speed
The flow rate of a NARROW coffee brewer will always be faster – but that doesn’t mean the flow rate of a WIDE coffee brewer will be slower. Given the same brewing conditions, a NARROW coffee brewer will probably brew about 30 seconds faster.
Taste profile
Both angles of the pipette produce excellent brewing results. The Wide angle is more conducive to achieving better body and balance, while the Narrow angle is more conducive to achieving good brightness and intensity. Of course, the results are greatly influenced by technique, base, paper, and grind.
APEX brewing experience
The NARROW is used with a more rounded APEX base than the WIDE, which requires a sharper tip due to the size of the hole and the different angle of the stem. If you're looking for clean, bright acidity, we recommend the NARROW. If you're looking for a balanced and bright cup, we recommend the WIDE.
Consistency
There's no one difference between these drippers; they're all consistent, giving you delicious cup after cup of coffee with less variation than other coffee drippers.
APEX Brewing
The APEX™ brew is a new dimension in filter coffee—a conical shape combined with a flat bottom. OREA is the first and leading company to fully explore this. We've been blown away by the quality of our early tests of this new "conical" brew.
Why is it called APEX Brewing?
It's called APEX™ because we're manipulating the conical shape of the APEX—the APEX is the tip. Using different Negotiator APEX tips (Bean Belt will be available at a later date), we're able to manipulate the APEX curve, softening or sharpening it to control how conical the shape is and how the coffee forms within it. Traditional conical filters can be too sharp—we don't like filter paper that way anyway. It tends to impart a strong acidity, which we've never really enjoyed. With our APEX method, you can choose to round it off more or less (depending on your preference) and truly precisely control how the water interacts with the coffee bed. With our more rounded APEX tips, we get better coffee with clarity, rounded acidity, and the sweetness and body we love in a flat-bottomed filter. However, you might prefer a sharper APEX tip—and that's totally fine! What we can promise is that even small changes will make a huge difference in your cup, and that's always our motivation.
A huge hole, with airflow
The hole in the bottom of the APEX is incredibly large. In fact, you can't brew the same way you would with a Hario V60 in an APEX system because the hole is too small and the filter ribs get in the way. You'll never get the same results with these devices, which is probably why they never explored these ideas themselves.
Channels rather than ridges
OREA's APEX base features channels rather than protruding ribs to create airflow and space. We noticed that the use of ribs (like the ridges in the V60 or Kono) alters the internal geometry. This seemed problematic, as we prefer a simple, consistent surface. Instead, we used a series of small channels around the base of the APEX, maintaining the precise geometry of the inside of the brewer at 73 or 65 degrees.
Flat walls for lower bypass
We continue to use a flat cup wall and use faster geometry and smart airflow to bring the same extraction concepts from the V3 / V3-MK2 to the tapered experience of the APEX.
Can I use a V60/Cafec filter in the bottom of an APEX?
Yes - you can use traditional tapered filter papers in the APEX base with a simple fold. The fold needs to follow our unique geometry, as OREA's filter bowl isn't a traditional 60° cone. We do recommend these traditional papers for WIDE, as they're a bit too long and pointed for our NARROW - but feel free to explore.
Is the V4 with the APEX bottom just a conical coffee filter?
That's not the case—but it might be for many people. This is our specific interpretation of the cone method, but we prefer it with our specific APEX tips, flat filter paper, and negotiator. As a new method, it's more exciting than the traditional cone method—which, of course, works!
Modular without the modular feeling
When we took on the challenge of creating a modular coffee dripper, we really didn't want it to feel modular. Sometimes, modular products can feel too ... modular. We didn't want this to feel gimmicky in any way. Every time you configure it, it looks and feels like a regular dripper — nothing modular. If you prefer to use a base most of the time, you'll never think of the dripper as a modular object, like a specific brewer. All connection points are solid threads that interlock with hidden connections in the base. Every combination feels amazing in its own right, which was so important to us that it's hard to convey in words alone. The V4 doesn't feel modular — it feels like a solid dripper with multiple options when you need them.
A full-metal base
The stunning metal base, machined from stainless steel, holds the entire filter together. It's a nice choice between the metal V2 (if you own one) and the plastic V3, especially for its nostalgia factor. It has a nice, premium heft to the filter, which we absolutely love.
High-impact Polypropylene
The plastic portion of the filter (both the body and the base) is made of high-strength polypropylene, which is BPA-free and approved by the FDA (US Food and Drug Administration – a government agency) and EU standards for food safety. This is the same material as the V3-MK2 and Big Boy.
A matte-black finish
Currently, the V4 is only available in matte black, sharing the same durable matte finish as the Big Boy and V3-MK2 drippers.
Guides in the box
As usual, you'll find helpful brewing recipes in the box with the V4, tailored for the different bases in your system. We'll also be rebuilding our guides section to better support the new versatility before these products ship.