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| Weighing the right amount of coffee --> 12 gr. |
The perfect cup of coffee is a road trip through many variables, that should be considered - because tiny things could destroy the entire cup. If you are one of the smarter people, who have invested in the Hario v60 or Chemex, you might think that its a clear sky from there - but you may not realize that the paper filter, used in brewing coffee have a taste (a pretty disgusting taste, actually ... like chewing on newspaper) and beside the papery taste a very dry aftertaste is also applied.
You are properly wondering how much flavor a paper filter could add to your cup and if it could really ruin the entire cup? Well, having tried the method which neutralize the paper filter taste, you don´t want to go back! Paper filters have soluble solids in them which are extracted during the brew process and this papery taste makes it into your cup. We are so used to the taste that we don't even notice it in our coffee anymore.
BUT, if this filter taste was removed, we would notice the lack of paper taste in our brew, and we could get that much closer to attaining the perfect cup of coffee.
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| Water flow through the filter --> dry filter draws the yellow coffee color |
The removal of the papery taste can be done quite easily, so don't worry at all. The best way, if using a drip-brew machine, is to place your filter in the coffeemaker (Don't add any coffee grounds yet), add some water to the machine and start the brew cycle. You can use a small amount of water, about half a cup to a cup should remove the paper taste perfectly. The goal is to get some very hot water running through the filter to remove the paper taste; dump the water after it cycles and start brewing your coffee like normal.
If you on the opposite hand are brewing by hand, meaning the use of a v60 or Chemex - just pour some water onto the paper filter, without having added some ground coffee and let the water rinse through the filter. Dump the water and add the grounds to the soaked filter and start your brewing ritual.
In this experiment, some of the variables have been excluded, because I have used the same coffee bean and amount to brew both cups and its also brewing at the same brewing method, with same temperature and amount of heated water. I have adjusted 12 gr. per cup, considering 60 gr. of ground coffee per. liter of brewed coffee.
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| Filter view of the different methods |
NOTE: Cold water does not work, because the filters soluble solids (fibers, etc.) much like ground coffee beans, have a quicker extraction time the hotter the water is - example; a french press filled with hot water takes about four minutes versus filled with cold water, the brew time is about 8-12 hours.
I usually use the Hario v60, when producing a cup of filter coffee and when I pour hot water onto the filter, I can clearly see that the water that drips into my mug has a yellow tint and tastes very papery. Sometimes I forget to rinse the filter, especially when I just woke up - and when I toss the brew and get it right second time, I can taste a huge difference. Try this for yourself - make a cup of coffee the usual way and then do the rinse and make note of the yellow tint in the water. I bet if you use this rinsing technique you will experience a big different in taste regarding your own home brewed cup of coffee.
In the following days, I will publish a post regarding why its important to preheat your cup before extracting coffee into it - but for now this rinse method both clears the filter flaws and preheats the cup, perfect!
// Hendrup
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