Filter Papers: Most Overhyped Variable?

In this episode, I share the conclusion of a months-long filter paper experiment, and the answer might surprise you. I tested slow, medium, and fast filters across different coffees and roast levels, and what I discovered is that filter paper is probably the least important variable in the cup. No matter which filter I picked up, I found myself adjusting grind size and recipe on the fly, and the coffee still came out great. The specialty coffee industry pushes us to obsess over paper, but the honest truth I landed on is that we are adjusters. Adjusters do not need ten filters to brew good coffee.

You will also hear my practical recommendation for how many filter papers you actually need, which ones to pick if you want to cover the full spectrum, and why grind size remains one of the most powerful variables you can actually control. If you have ever wondered whether the right filter paper is what is standing between you and a better cup, this episode will give you a clear and direct answer.

Transcript

[0:00] The industry tells us that filter papers matter. Hario, Kalita, Sibarist. Everybody has a difference of opinion.

[0:10] I'm starting to think that it might be the least important variable in the cup.

[0:17] Let me explain.

[0:21] I did an experiment for the past couple of months.

[0:27] It's been going fine. I was going to do this versus this. I thought about the different variables and all that.

[0:37] I didn't start using the papers right away.

[0:42] I was like, this is going to be a good battle.

[0:47] Then I just ripped the bandage off and started to use the paper filters for what they were.

[0:56] They're different. Some are a little bit faster than others. Some tend to hold water a lot more.

[1:04] The way they feel, the material and everything. It's interesting how you can really get geeky about paper.

[1:13] As I kept using them and trying to understand them, I just hit a block around how I was actually going to execute this whole experiment.

[1:25] Somebody asked me not too long ago, when I put up that video about the protocol and the things I was going to do, they brought up a really good point. They asked, how are you really going to do this?

[1:41] There are a lot of paper filters.

[1:44] How are you really going to do this? What are you really going to get out of it? Because this versus this, it is what it is.

[1:55] But something started to happen as I started to do this experiment. When I was testing this paper, that paper, and whatever else I was doing at the time.

[2:13] No matter what I was using, the first thing I do when I make coffee is decide on the paper filter. I decide on whether it's going to be a flat bed, whether it's going to be a cone, whether it's going to be the UFO dripper that uses a totally different type of filter. A lot slower if you really look at it. You can't use a Sibarist filter on it.

[2:45] Then I start picking out the coffee. Depending on the paper filter, depending on the coffee, the roast degree and all that, I'll change my grind size.

[3:00] For the most part, it all worked.

[3:04] Shocker. It all worked.

[3:08] Did I taste different things out of different coffees, depending on the method and the recipe I was using? Sure. But the paper filter wasn't a big deal.

[3:20] It wasn't the critical thing I needed to master in order to actually understand coffee.

[3:33] With lighter roasts, using the Sculptor 78 and the ZP6, it didn't make that big of a difference. You can go a lot finer and get more nuance. It gave a different type of feel and taste compared to the other filters. But for the most part, I was changing and adjusting on the fly.

[4:04] I was making it work for the situation I was in. Sometimes I used a dark roast with a fast filter. Sometimes I used a slower filter and went a little bit coarser.

[4:27] One thing I realized through this whole thing is that I was adjusting. I was doing things on the fly.

[4:36] It wasn't that I was worried that if I didn't have a particular filter, my coffee was going to be bad. It was never the case.

[4:49] As I sit here and try to give you something worthwhile, probably paper filters are not that big of a deal.

[5:00] The reason I'm saying that is that we're adjusters. If we have what we have on deck, we can get to the promised land. We can taste that coffee and understand it more, because we know the variables. We know what the mechanics of a given filter are going to do for a given coffee.

[5:38] If you don't understand that, that's fine. There's still a lot of noise in this whole game of paper filters.

[5:50] What do you do about it if you don't really know what you're missing? The industry tells us one thing. But if we sit down honestly and analyze it for what it is, we just need a couple. Two, three max.

[6:05] If you want to go to the extremes, get a slow Hario filter. Get a medium Quebec-style filter. If you like flat-bed brewers, get an April filter. It's not super fast, but it's fast enough to represent the coffee the way you want.

[6:34] And get some Sibarist paper. It's fast. It's interesting. It's something where you will probably taste a difference in the coffees. The reason I say get on the extremes of the spectrum is because that's where you can really taste whether it matters. But truthfully, for years, I was using the Hario V60 slow filter.

[6:58] I didn't even realize it was slow. I didn't realize that it was making my coffees a little bit different depending on the grind size. I didn't realize I didn't always have to go coarse with different coffees.

[7:18] It let me know I could do the things I wanted to, just because that was the only thing I was using.

[7:28] If you just want to stay in the middle, you don't have to worry about it. Get a standard Kalita filter. You don't have to fool around with the sweet body line, the light roast version, the dark roast version.

[7:44] It does something subtle in the cup. But that coffee is what it is. It is roasted. It is harvested. Those flavors are locked in.

[8:01] There are bigger factors you can play with and manipulate to bring out what you think is the best of that coffee. It's not in the filters.

[8:12] It took me a couple of months to realize that. I don't know if you've realized it already. But that's the truth. That's what we're playing around with when we're dealing with paper filters.

[8:29] As much as I would have liked to come on here and tell you that this particular filter is the best for all situations, I can't do that.

[8:44] Because at the end of the day, you are going to adjust your variables. You're going to see what works for you.

[8:56] You're going to brew that first cup with a new bag of coffee, and then you're going to think about it. You're going to ask, what was it missing? You're going to think about how you want to change things up.

[9:23] And then that's what you do. You adjust. You change. You manipulate.

[9:30] I think that's the biggest factor here. Nobody's really blamed the paper filter for their bad coffee. Maybe light roast brewers occasionally.

[9:42] I get why people use faster filters with light roasts. Getting that little bit more nuance is perfectly valid. I see why it's done. And I believe there's a real place for it.

[10:02] It does matter. I'm coming around on fast filters. But I use them differently. I use them for all different types of coffees, for all different types of reasons.

[10:14] So when you're sitting there figuring out what to do with paper filters, one, two, three, not ten like I have right now. Just pick a couple. Play. Experiment.

[10:35] The biggest growth in all of this is that you're going to start to adjust the way you approach your coffee. You're going to change your grind size, which is probably one of the biggest factors in all of this.

[10:50] You're going to have the Mugen dripper, which is a one-hole dripper, and you're going to use a fast filter with it. Your coffee doesn't taste bad. Because the way that dripper actually draws down is extremely slow. The brewer controls the pace.

[11:10] Those are the little things you're going to start to pick up. You're going to think, let me just use the regular Hario filter. It's slow. I need to grind a little bit finer. These are the adjustments we make on the fly to bring out the best of that coffee. That's all we're doing.

[11:30] That's why I think paper filters are not that critical. They really aren't. If you feel that they are, go ahead and get all ten. There are differences. But they're small.

[11:48] Just like all the other variables we think we need to worry about. At the end of the day, everything is there to help us get the most out of that coffee.

[12:05] Fast filter. Slow filter. Right in the middle. Fast and slow together. Or just something right in the middle. And you're going to be good to go. You're going to enjoy your coffee. Adjust what you need to.

[12:22] It's going to be lively. It's going to be tasty. If it's not, get another coffee and keep going on your journey. That's all we can really do.

[12:37] When you go deep into this rabbit hole, you start to realize what's actually important. It's not the filters. Metal filters are great too. You can bring different things out of the coffee. A little more oil, more body.

[12:58] Or just get a paper filter and enjoy your cup.

[13:05] I'm still going to do this whole comparison at some point. I don't know exactly how I'm going to do it. I'm just telling you through this realization that maybe we're on this too much. Maybe I'm on it too much. The nuance is real, but it's subtle.

[13:25] Truthfully, it all works. You just have to be the adjuster I know you are. Now you're more aware of it.

[13:35] Let me know what you think. Talk to you later.