Phin Filter Coffee
Vietnamese Phin Filter Coffee is where Nǎm Sông all started. Sat on the side of the road on little plastic stools taking in the madness of mopeds flying around is where we tried our first glass. Strong, bold black coffee mixed with dreamy sweetened condensed milk. It was the best coffee we’d never had.
(Keep scrolling for more info/brew guides!)
Our goal at Nǎm Sông is to spread the word of Phin.
But what is so special about the Phin Filter is that it can be used with any coffee. It’s deceptively simple—but its design produces a brewed beverage that sits between filter coffee clarity and espresso-like body, making it a standout in home brewing. It might be time for you to embrace the Slow Drip, Slow Life.
Most home brewers trade convenience for waste: made from heavy moulded plastic, single-use paper filters, parts that wear out. The Phin Filter flips that equation. It’s made from stainless steel (fully recyclable), and– thanks to its reusable gravity tamp and filter plate – you skip the daily paper waste. That doesn’t just feel better; it is better for the planet.
Phin Filters are a zero bypass brewer, meaning they have straight sides and a flat bottom so that there is no space for the water to flow past the bed of coffee. This ensures that every drop of water is forced to interact with the coffee grounds, leading to higher extraction rates compared to traditional pour-over methods, resulting in more complete extraction of flavour from the coffee grounds.
The Phin Filter combines remarkable versatility, simplicity, sustainability and taste. It doesn’t ask you to become a barista—it enables you to enjoy specialty-level cups at home and on the go.
Pick up your own Nam Song Phin on our online shop
A common question that we get from people who are new to the Phin is “why isn’t my Phin Filter dripping?” and if this is the case for you, don’t worry, as there are some easy fixes that you can do if you’re not getting that consistent drip drip drippppp:
• Amount of Coffee: We recommend using 18g of Coffee for every brew with one of our 8oz Phin Filters. If you use more coffee than that then the finished drink will be stronger, but it will take a lot longer to brew through. 18g ground correctly will give you the perfect 3-4 minute brew time you’re looking for. But what’s the correct grind size you ask?
• Grind Size: If you have a bucket of rocks and a bucket of sand, and you pour water through it, which one will the water flow through quickest? The rocks! That’s because the particles are bigger with more space for water to flow through between them. This is the same for brewing coffee as well. So for a Phin Filter you want a very coarse grind of coffee. If the coffee is ground too fine (like you would use for an espresso) then the water will take way too long to brew through so if your Phin is taking too long to drip through then maybe consider making the coffee coarser!
• Gravity Press: You need to make sure that you’re gravity press isn’t pressed down too hard as this may compact the coffee grounds in the Phin Filter so much that it stops the water from dripping through. All it needs is a light push down before adding water. We always recommend adding a little bit of hot water in first (called a bloom) and then waiting 30 or so seconds for it to start dripping through. If it takes much longer than than then you can adjust the gravity press to loosen it and speed up the flow. Once you’re happy with how quickly the initial bloom is dripping through, then you can fill the chamber all the way up to the top and leave it to enjoy the slow drip
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