Longtime friends David Lee Wai Hong and Leng Chee Fai have always shared the same love for coffee. As home baristas and enthusiasts, the pair has always been eager to try the newest coffee tools and gadgets. When they discovered the Origami Dripper, they were captivated by its wide range of color selections and the flexibility to brew coffee using either cone or flat-bottom filters. However, Lee and Leng found that the Origami, while ingenious, was—well—wobbly. The conical device doesn’t come with a built-in “base” to stabilize it (like the Hario V60), and thus the brewer can tilt when atop a vessel, affecting extraction. The coffee friends had a solution, however. Lee—a professional 3D visual artist—started sketching prototypes for a 3D-printed Origami Dripper holder, while Leng helped source printing vendors for first prototypes.
After months of research and development through countless prototypes, the ROSA (Royal Origami Stand Accessories) line was released, and the coffee duo was so satisfied with it that they decided to sell the product, and add-ons for other coffee tools, through the brand name Broken Gooseneck.
ROSA is a chic, beautiful add-on to the already aesthetically pleasing Origami Dripper, its design inspired by Sakura cherry blossoms. But the wow factor isn’t just aesthetics: the ROSA base will ensure the Origami sits firmly on top of your brewing carafe, without fuss. It also includes a small gap to allow space for heat to escape the vessel during brewing process, and for “optimizing water flow from the dripper to the carafe,” says Leng.
The Broken Gooseneck team chose to use PETG (polyethylene terephthalate glycol-modified) for the 3D-printed material, the plastic commonly found in water bottles, which makes the ROSA entirely food-safe, high-temperature-tolerant, and extra tough. But according to Leng, PETG has some inevitable aesthetic weaknesses such as irregularity and occasional markings on the printed surface, therefore the team needs to “work tirelessly for continuous improvement, hand-finish and test each product before it is packed and shipped out to customers.”
Following the release of the ROSA, Broken Gooseneck slowly added some other products to their line-up: QUADX and POP-KORN—grinding chamber lids for Comandante and Kinu hand grinders to prevent beans spilling during grinding, Yoki-Mimi—a cute cat-face-shaped edition of the ROSA, and most recently, STUPD, an integrated digital thermometer for the Fellow Stagg.
Broken Gooseneck’s production process always begins with the team identifying areas in which a coffee tool could be improved, and finding solutions, then coming up with 3D-modeling, prototype printing, intensive testing, and production plans. Their products target cafe owners, baristas, and home enthusiasts who are constantly looking for a better experience with their coffee tools without compromising looks. Their products are affordably priced—from approximately $7 to $28—depending on what you choose to get, and can perk up your home brewing setup during pandemic times, or anytime.
Tung Nguyen is a freelance journalist based in Vietnam. Read more Tung Nguyen for Sprudge.
All photos courtesy of Broken Gooseneck
