New filtered coffee methods invade SP with a modern and gourmet look

German Melitta Bentz was 35 years old when she decided to use a sheet of paper to make coffee. It was 1908, and the world’s first paper coffee filter was born.

For a century, filtered coffee reigned supreme in Brazilian homes – whether with Dona Melitta’s filter or with the very Brazilian cloth strainer.

But when Brazilians began to discover coffee shops, things changed. Outside the home, in specialized establishments, espresso was king. Going to a coffee shop was synonymous with drinking espresso or its variations, such as ristretto, cappuccino, etc. Filtered coffee was meant to be drunk at home.

It was. Recently, the traditional preparation has gained a modern look and has started to take center stage in coffee shops. The discovery of lighter and more acidic roasts has led consumers to opt for filtered preparations, which make the drink smoother.

With this change in behavior, Hario, a Japanese brand that produces various coffee utensils, became absolute king with its V60 filter, present in all the coolest coffee shops at the time.

The method became popular and was introduced to the homes of gourmets, who began to turn their noses up at the old Melitta (a cloth strainer, therefore, is a source of ridicule for the more snobbish).

But those eager for new and increasingly different experiences were not satisfied. And it didn’t take long for even the V60 to become too “ordinary” for coffee enthusiasts.

With that, numerous filtering methods began to invade the coffee shops and homes of the self-proclaimed coffee lovers. Many of the methods have minimal differences between them. You can choose between a conical shape or one with a flat bottom; sides with grooves or deeper grooves; one, two or even three holes to drain the liquid; and even a siphon to supposedly maintain continuous pressure on the powder.

All this to ensure the same thing: perfect contact between the powder and water. This is because the final result of a coffee depends on many variables. However, considering that the ingredients are the same (same water, same powder and same grind of the beans), what will differentiate one preparation from another is basically the contact of the water with the powder.

Therefore, manufacturers focus on designs that allow water to flow well through the filter and wet the powder evenly.

This myriad of types of filter has, on the one hand, the advantage of providing coffee lovers with a series of possibilities, which may (or may not) produce different results with the same ingredients. On the other hand, it gives a veneer of exaggerated gourmetization to a product as popular as filtered coffee.

The truth is that although there are indeed differences in results depending on the preparation method, the most important elements are still the ingredients. Filtered water and good coffee are already more than half the battle. With this in hand, regardless of the filtration method, you will probably have a good filtered coffee.