How do Coffee Filters Affect the Taste of Your Brew?

Your choice of coffee filter affects both how you prepare your coffee as well as how it will taste.

Here’s an easy guide to choosing the coffee filter that is best for you.

What is a coffee filter?

A coffee filter separates coffee grounds from the coffee you will drink.

It helps to control how quickly the water flows through your grounds, which determines the amount of flavour extracted from your coffee grounds.

Cotton Coffee Filter 

Cotton coffee filters catch all the coffee grounds, yet allow the aromatic coffee oils to pass through. The resulting cup is a clean, crisp coffee with robust flavours and acidity. A cotton filter is reusable. It is best to rinse it well after each use. 

• Dose per cup: 2 tablespoons or 24 grams
• Grind size: Cotton filter grind (coarse grind)
• Flavour profile: Aromatic, clean, bright
• Perceived acidity: Moderate, due to the passage of oils into the cup
• Waste: Low

Paper Coffee Filter

Paper filters are the most commonly-used filter as they are convenient and disposable. Tightly woven and absorbent, paper filters strain off most of the coffee oils and micro-grounds. This results in a lighter and cleaner-tasting coffee.

• Dose per cup: 2 tablespoons or 24 grams
• Grind size: Paper filter grind (fine grind)
• Flavour profile: Light, crisp, clean
• Perceived acidity: High, due to the lack of oils or sediment in the cup
• Waste: High

Metal Coffee Filter 

A metal filter does not filter your coffee as finely as a paper or cotton filter. The metal filter facilitates the coffee’s natural oils to pass through unhindered, allowing micro-coffee grounds to end up in your cup. This results in a bolder, fuller-flavoured coffee.

• Dose per cup: 2 tablespoons or 24 grams
• Grind size: Metal filter grind (finer grind)
• Flavour profile: Rich, bold, heavy
• Perceived acidity: Low, due to the passage of oils and sediment into the cup
• Waste: None

Understanding how each coffee filter works helps you to find the one that delivers your coffee the way you like it. Bacha Coffee’s signature coffees are brewed using cotton filters to give you a much fuller and flavourful cup.