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Turning Coffee Filters into Art
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Turning Coffee Filters into Art

  • July 8, 2025
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Zenya Toyama: Coffee filters are painted with colorful butterflies.Zenya Toyama: Coffee filters are painted with colorful butterflies.

The Tokyo, Japan-based artist shares the inspiration behind upcycling used coffee filters into canvases for striking artwork.

BY VASILEIA FANARIOTI
SENIOR ONLINE CORRESPONDENT

Photos courtesy of Zenya Toyama

I first came acrossย Zenya Toyamaโ€™s artwork in an event space in Tokyo, Japan. At first glance, it looked like a scientific illustrationโ€”delicate butterflies pinned to paper. But the โ€œcanvasesโ€ turned out to be used coffee filters, and each butterfly came from a coffee-growing region. The stains, the colors, the origins โ€ฆ they all told a deeper story. I sat down with Zenya to talk about the connection between butterflies and coffee, visual flavor, and how art can reshape how we experience whatโ€™s in our cup.

A photo of artist Zenya ToyamaA photo of artist Zenya Toyama
Meet Zenya, the creative turning used coffee filters into artwork inspired by origin.

Vasileia Fanarioti:ย How did the idea of painting butterflies on coffee filters first come to you?

Zenya: One day, while making pourover coffee at home, I looked at the used filter and was struck by the intuitive beauty of the stained coffee tones. Over time, the interaction of materials created subtle patterns that reminded me ofย wabi-sabiโ€”the Japanese aesthetic of impermanence and imperfection. That moment sparked the idea of using disposable coffee filters as a canvas for expression.

Why butterfliesโ€”and why those from coffee-producing regions? What do butterflies symbolize for you in the context of coffee?

I wanted to convey more than just the flavor of coffee. I wanted to express the landscapes and communities behind it. Butterflies, as endemic species with singular beauty, were a perfect fit. Theyโ€™re also known as indicator speciesโ€”very sensitive to environmental changes, just like coffee. By painting butterflies from coffee-producing regions, I aim to evoke the invisible nature and spirit of the land that lives inside each cup.

Zenya Toyamaโ€™s art: paintings of butterflies on used coffee filters.Zenya Toyamaโ€™s art: paintings of butterflies on used coffee filters.
Zenya employs used coffee filters as canvasesโ€”each one stained naturally during a pourover.

Youโ€™ve mentioned that the structural color in butterfly wings reminds you of the shifting flavors in coffee. Can you elaborate on that connection?

Structural color is produced by microscopic surfaces that reflect light differently depending on the angleโ€”creating a sense of movement and depth. That reminds me of how coffee flavor evolves as it cools. What might start as a deep chocolate note could become citrusy or spicy. Just like a butterfly wing, coffee reveals its layers with time. That connectionโ€”between color and tasteโ€”is central to the project.

Also, research likeย โ€œCup colour influences consumersโ€™ expectations and experience on tasting specialty coffeeโ€ย helped me explore how visual perception shapes flavor. That was a big inspiration, too.

The reference to triangular specimen envelopes is a beautiful detail. What meaning do you intend by replacing them with coffee filters?

Traditional triangular envelopes used to preserve butterflies symbolize distance, journey, and the unknown. In my work, coffee filters take on that role. Like butterflies, coffee travelsโ€”across borders, cultures, and hands. By painting butterflies on filters, I try to build a sensory bridge between โ€œa land where someone once wasโ€ and โ€œthe moment here and now.โ€ Itโ€™s a way to ask viewers to reconsider consumption, nature, and their place in the cycle.

Zenya Toyamas paintings on coffee filters Zenya Toyamas paintings on coffee filters Zenya Toyamas paintings on coffee filters
โ€œLike butterflies, coffee travelsโ€”across borders, cultures, and hands,โ€ Zenya says, when asked about the choice of butterfly imagery.

Youโ€™ve created 161 butterflies so farโ€”how were the species chosen? Does the number have a special meaning?

Thereโ€™s no symbolism behind the numberโ€”161 just represents the number of physical prints Iโ€™ve been able to complete so far. Itโ€™s a technical process: Capturing the nuanced colors of butterfly wings requires fine adjustments and deep dialogue with print technologies. So 161 is more like a snapshot of a journey in progress. My goal is 300 color variations, each matched to a sensory coffee experience. Right now Iโ€™m focused on Ethiopian species, but Iโ€™ll expand into Central and South America, and Southeast Asia next. You can see the visual and barista matching processย on my portfolio site.

Zenya Toyama: framed coffee filters painted with butterflies Zenya Toyama: framed coffee filters painted with butterflies Zenya Toyama: framed coffee filters painted with butterflies
So far, Zenya has completed 161 butterflies, and aims to finish 300 in the near future.

You collaborated with baristas to match butterfly colors with coffee flavors. How did that process unfold? Any surprises?

It started with a simple question: โ€œIf this butterfly were a flavor, what would it taste like?โ€œ I expected totally different answers. But surprisingly, many baristas had similar responsesโ€”maybe because we share a common flavor vocabulary from cupping. Still, everyone added personal nuance. Some baristas linked flavors to travel memories; others recalled customers or cafรฉ moments. That blend of shared language and individual story became one of the most touching parts of the project.

I hear youโ€™re also collecting environmental sounds from coffee farms. What kind of experience are you hoping to deliver in future exhibitions?

I want to create a multisensory experience that fuses butterfly ร— taste ร— sound ร— space. Imagine: Youโ€™re standing in front of an Ethiopian butterfly illustration, hearing the forest at dawn, and sipping a cup that mirrors the colors. I want to move people from passive tasting to immersive feeling. If the work leaves behind a memoryโ€”one thatโ€™s more than tasteโ€”Iโ€™ll feel I succeeded.

Zenya Toyamaโ€™s artwork (butterflies painted onto coffee filters) hangs on a white wall above a wooden box filled with art supplies.Zenya Toyamaโ€™s artwork (butterflies painted onto coffee filters) hangs on a white wall above a wooden box filled with art supplies.Zenya Toyamaโ€™s artwork (butterflies painted onto coffee filters) hangs on a white wall above a wooden box filled with art supplies.
Zenya shares that future exhibitions will include sound recordings from coffee farms alongside the artwork.

This is clearly a deeply collaborative project. How do you see co-creation with people outside the art world?

Traditional painting often highlights beauty as a final product. But this project is more about experienceโ€”highlighting traces of time, place, and material. That canโ€™t happen alone. So, I work with people from different fieldsโ€”baristas, producers, technologists, even musicians. It reflects the journey of coffee itself, from grower to cup. To me, co-creation is a quiet form of world peace. A gesture of mutual respect.

Finallyโ€”whatโ€™s next? Are there new senses or directions youโ€™d like to explore?

Iโ€™d love to bring the project into real-life spacesโ€”cafรฉs and galleries where people can encounter the artwork and coffee together, organically. I also want to visit coffee origins and collect sensations firsthandโ€”landscapes, butterflies, voices, air. Ultimately, I hope the project becomes a place for people who love coffee to taste, learn, speak, and feel togetherโ€”where art connects humans not just to each other, but to the land itself.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Vasileia Fanariotiย (she/her) is a senior online correspondent forย Barista Magazineย and a freelance copywriter and editor with a primary focus on the coffee niche. She has also been a volunteer copywriter for the Iโ€™M NOT A BARISTA NPO, providing content to help educate people about baristas and their work.

Subscribe and More!

As always, you can readย Barista Magazineย in paper byย subscribing or orderingย an issue.

Read the June + July 2025 Issue for freeย with our digital edition.ย 

For free access to more than five yearsโ€™ worth of issues, visit ourย digital edition archives here.



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