In Italy we are used to connecting the image of a good coffee to the classic espresso or mocha, without taking into account all the other preparation methods. Filter coffee is the most widespread extraction technique, 80% of the coffee consumed in the world is extracted with this methodology.
This method was created in Germany at the beginning of the 20th century. The invention of paper filters is attributed to Melitta Betz, a German housewife who, tired of the bad tasting coffee she drank at the time, patented this technique in 1908.
Mrs. Betz created this method, innovative for the time, by making holes in a brass pot, then using a paper filter to retain the ground coffee and pouring hot water over them. Before then, coffee-based drinks were constantly characterized by the presence of particulates, i.e. coffee residues that were found in the cup due to the type and material used for preparation. The application of a paper filter resulted in a radical change: “clean” cups, bright coffee and clearer flavor.
Filter coffee is extremely popular in the United States and Northern Europe, so much so that it has become a symbol of the North American lifestyle. This drink is also called filtered, long or American coffee. Not to be confused with American coffee, which is different both in terms of ingredients (type of coffee, roasting and grinding) and preparation technique. American coffee is a classic espresso to which hot water is added.
Filter coffee, on the other hand, is made through percolation which occurs thanks to the force of gravity. The process occurs by slowly dripping hot water through a bed of carefully ground coffee placed in a paper filter. By percolating the water, it dissolves the water-soluble substances contained in the coffee powder, transforming them into the drink, while the remaining unsolved part will remain retained by the filter.
For a greater understanding of the topic we can divide filter coffees into two macrogroups:
- Filter coffee prepared using automatic machines, known as “Drip coffee”;
- Filter coffee prepared with manual systems by an operator, called "Pour Over".
In automatic percolators the machine will automatically take care of the extraction of the coffee.
The operator will only have to: prepare the coffee, load the water, set the operation of the device, select the extraction temperature and activate the machine. The advantages that can be highlighted by using this methodology are mainly that of having a drink always available at the customer's request because it is kept warm in a thermal coffee maker or placed in a carafe placed on a plate.
Filter coffees made with manual systems require an active role of the barista, especially during the coffee extraction phase.
The operator will have to take care of the preparation of the ground coffee, he will have to decide on the recipe by identifying the best ratio between the quantity of coffee and water, the extraction temperature and the best system for extracting the chosen coffee.
After having prepared the ground coffee in the desired filter, the barista will carry out the extraction, giving rise to a ritual in which gestures combined with the possibility of customizing the parameters make these coffees highly sought after by coffee enthusiasts all over the world.
In Italy it still remains uncommon, but people are learning to love and appreciate it. There are many who continue to believe in the prejudice that filter coffee is just "dirty water", we are certain that with time and with the new generations this ancient concept will gradually be lost.