The story of filtered coffee is said to have begun when a German lady named Melitta wanted to drink some coffee without getting grounds in her mouth. She obtained some ink blotting paper from her son, and filtered coffee was born. However, this method of preparing coffee, known as pouring over, is only one of the ways through which coffee is filtered for consumption today.
Some of them, like siphon filters, are quite dramatic and make for great icebreakers at parties. Every style of filtration comes with its own benefits, and we’ll go over all of them in this article.
We’ll briefly discuss some basics of filtering coffee and why you might want to consider it over instant coffee. Then, we’ll list four unique ways of filtering coffee that make drinking coffee so much more enjoyable in their own special ways.
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What is Filtering Coffee All About?
Filtering coffee essentially involves pouring hot water over ground coffee to extract its hidden flavors. The solid grounds are usually separated, and coffee is served fully liquid. There are many variables that go into producing a well-filtered coffee.
The time spent brewing, the size of the coffee grounds, and the extent of roasting all play a part in the taste of your final cup o’ joe. Besides the method of filtration that is used, the type of filter used in the specific machine can also play a part in the effectiveness of the process. Check out “Different Types of Coffee Filters” for a look at the options on filters for you.
But filtration undoubtedly enables one to enjoy the complex mixture of fruity, chocolatey, nutty, and aromatic notes that every pack of coffee beans is infused with. It improves the texture of the beverage as well, giving it a fuller body to compliment the flavors.
4 Different Types of Filtered Coffee
1) Pour Over
Pour-over coffee is a double-edged sword. It has a distinct advantage over immersive methods of preparation, such as the Siphon and French Press, in that it is better at extracting the flavors of your coffee beans.
However, pour-over coffee is also called manually brewed coffee, and the absence of machines in the process means that poor technique can produce a ruined cup. On the flip side, manual brewing can also be considered an advantage since it makes many feel that they have a greater influence over the final taste of their coffee.
With some effort and research, you will soon be able to produce richly textured and highly flavorful coffee that few other methods can compete with. Chemex, Melitta, and Kalita produce some of the most popular pour-over devices on the market. The Hario V60 has traditionally been another prominent name, but there have been reports of a decline in quality over recent years.
The Hario V60 has traditionally been another prominent name, but there have been reports of a decline in quality over recent years.
Check out our ongoing series “Coffee Inspector: Pour Over vs Chemex” and find out more about pour-over coffee.
2) French Press
Ironically, the ‘French’ Press actually originates in Italy, where it was patented in the early 20th century. However, it has become a popular method of preparing coffee across the modern world. While French pressed coffee is made through a process called immersion, pour over-rely on gravity to ‘drip’ coffee as it accumulates in a container.
A French Press usually comprises of a beaker, along with a lid and plunger. Warm water is poured on coffee grounds in the vessel, mixed, and then covered to allow for saturation. Once the requisite time has passed, the plunger is slowly pushed down to separate the grounds from the liquid. Voila! It is that simple. Want more? Take a look at our ongoing series “Brew Guide: French Press Coffee” where we analyze this brew in detail.
The chances of ruining your cup of coffee are slimmer when using the French Press as opposed to pouring over. If you grind your beans appropriately (not too fine, not too coarse), and allow immersion for an appropriate amount of time, you’re guaranteed to make some thoroughly enjoyable coffee. Take a look at our piece where we compare French Press coffee to drip coffee. Check out “French Press vs Drip Coffee: What’s Right For You?” for more info on French Press.
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3) Siphon Filter Coffee
This one is by far the most entertaining way of preparing your coffee. A typical siphon filter set looks straight out of the 19th century, and the retro vibe makes the process of drinking coffee feel austere and sophisticated. This sensory influence even before the first sip is taken profoundly impacts the way coffee tastes to us.
Siphon coffee is prepared by mixing finely ground coffee with warm water, which is then ‘siphoned’ through a tube with the help of gravity. This gives the coffee a unique aroma that isn’t derived from any other method. Though the set up can cost a fair bit, it is well worth the price, especially if you host guests often since the size of its parts means that one can brew large quantities easily.
Like the pour-over method, there is a great deal of personalization involved in preparing siphon filtered coffee. Many variables can and need to be determined by you, and this gives you the chance to make coffee exactly how you like it. Read more on siphon coffee with our ongoing series “Brew Guide: What is Siphon Coffee?“
4) Aero Press
The Aero Press is perhaps the most innovative way of filtering coffee on this list. Having been conceived of as recently as 2005, the Aero Press is a portable device that can produce good coffee at a speed much faster than methods like pour-over. Its assembly is more or less similar to that of a French Press. However, its plunger exerts much greater pressure than the one used in the latter.
This allows the oils of the coffee grounds to permeate the filter, giving your coffee some extra flavor. The convenience of the Aero Press comes with some costs, however. Its portability stems from its generally small size, but this also means that you can only produce so much coffee at one go. Keep going with our ongoing series “Brew Guide: Aeropress Coffee” where you can learn even more about this innovative way of brewing.
Thank you for reading with us today. Let us know in the comments below your preferred method of brewing coffee in the morning. Also, don’t miss out on related helpful content like “Interesting Facts About Coffee in Cultures Around the World” or “Coffee Filter Sizes You Need To Know“.
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