CAFEC Abaca Coffee Filters
A premium abaca (Manila hemp) and wood-pulp blend filter paper favored by specialty pour-over brewers for its strength and fast, even flow - plastic-free by construction, oxygen-bleached rather than chlorine.
The verdict: Plastic-free
Abaca (Manila hemp) fiber blended with wood pulp - no plastic anywhere. The standard line is refined/oxygen-bleached to white rather than chlorine-bleached; CAFEC hasn't published independent PFAS testing, and none was found from a third party, so treat that specific question as unconfirmed either way rather than settled.
What it's made of
| Part | Material | Food contact |
|---|---|---|
| filter paper abaca (Manila hemp) and wood pulp blend, refined/oxygen-bleached to white on the standard line | Paper | Yes primary 🔥 |
| seam | Paper | Yes primary 🔥 |
CAFEC, made by Japan's Sanyo Sangyo, blends abaca (Manila hemp) fiber into its wood-pulp filter paper - abaca fiber is notably stronger than wood pulp alone, so the paper can be made thinner while staying tear-resistant, which specialty pour-over brewers use for faster, more even drawdown than a standard cone filter. It's FSC-certified for the fiber sourcing and sold in V60-style cone and Kalita-compatible trapezoid shapes.
Pros
- Abaca fiber blend drains faster and more evenly than standard wood-pulp filters
- Thinner paper with less papery taste, a common complaint about thicker filters
- FSC-certified fiber sourcing
- Available in cone (V60-compatible) and trapezoid (Kalita-compatible) shapes
Cons
- No independent PFAS testing found for this brand - not confirmed clean or contaminated
- Standard line is oxygen-bleached white, not unbleached - a natural/brown abaca option isn't clearly documented
- Costs noticeably more per filter than basic wood-pulp filters
- Limited to specialty retailers and Amazon in the US, not typically stocked in grocery stores
Common questions
Does the CAFEC Abaca Coffee Filters have plastic in it?
No. Nothing that touches your food on the CAFEC Abaca Coffee Filters is plastic or silicone — the food path is paper.
What is the CAFEC Abaca Coffee Filters made of?
Part by part, the CAFEC Abaca Coffee Filters is: filter paper — paper; seam — paper.
Is the CAFEC Abaca Coffee Filters BPA-free?
No plastic touches your food on the CAFEC Abaca Coffee Filters — the food path is paper — so BPA, which comes from polycarbonate and epoxy plastics, is not in play here.
Categories: Paper Coffee Filters
Sources
Every material claim above is backed by these. This is the scattered info we centralized.
- manufacturer https://cafec-jp.com/products/filterpaper/ official Sanyo Sangyo (CAFEC) product line page describing the abaca/wood-pulp blend
- manufacturer https://cafecusa.com/products/cafec-abaca-coffee-paper-filter-for-specialty-coffee US distributor product page; abaca fiber strength, refined/oxygen-bleached white paper, FSC certification claims
- reddit https://www.reddit.com/r/pourover/comments/1u3xw1h/are_we_ruining_our_plasticfree_setups_with/ r/pourover thread where multiple users independently name CAFEC Abaca as a trusted, oxygen-bleached (TCF) pick with a noticeably faster, more even drawdown than standard filters
Spot a mistake or something out of date? Let us know — corrections are how this stays accurate.