Yesterday Front Street shared that the difference between filter paper and filter paper is as big as the difference between humans and orangutans. Since the topic is filter paper, many friends asked other questions about filter paper in the comment area. For example: "In addition to Pour over(V60) coffee, how can filter paper be used?" "Can Moka pots use filter paper?" etc. (Great! Successfully helped Front Street find today’s topic!
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Although Pour over(V60) coffee is the main way to use filter paper, in other extraction methods, there is actually a need for filter paper to a greater or lesser extent. And under different use cases, the functions of filter paper will be different (but the essence is filtration). So today, Front Street will share with you in addition to Pour over(V60) coffee, what other coffee extraction methods are filter paper used for, and what are the differences~
1. Cold brew coffee
The first choice for cold brew is Pour over(V60) single-origin beans. If you like the floral aroma, buy Front Street Cherry Tomato and Front Street Oiran. If you like the aroma of wine, buy Front Street Cicada and Front Street Blackberry.
Speaking of ways to use filter paper other than hand brewing, we have to mention cold brew coffee first. After all, cold brew coffee requires a lot of filter paper.
As we all know, cold brew coffee is made by mixing and sealing coffee powder with an appropriate proportion of room temperature water, and then placing it in the refrigerator for refrigerated steeping and extraction. When the extraction is completed, we cannot pour it out and drink it directly. Instead, we need to filter out the coffee grounds through filter paper first. Only after obtaining clean and stain-free coffee liquid can we produce or drink it.
The reason is simple, because the extraction method is soaking, and a large amount of coffee powder has already been mixed in the coffee liquid. If you don't filter it out through a filter paper, the cold brew experience will be greatly compromised by the presence of a large amount of ground coffee. Maybe some friends will say: "If you use the exclusive cold brew bottle for cold brew, wouldn't it be unnecessary?"
It’s hard to say! Why? Because although there are already cold brew bottles on the market specifically designed for cold brew immersion, most of these bottles have filters that can isolate the coffee powder. However, these filters cannot isolate all coffee powder. Because it is necessary to ensure that the water and coffee powder can fully contact. For this reason, the pore size of the filter cannot be set too small.
This results in a lot of coffee powder with smaller particle sizes running out of the filter during the soaking process, not just fine powder, but also particles larger than fine powder. If we do not filter again after the extraction is completed, the overall coffee experience will be affected due to the excessive amount of coffee powder (see the cold brew bottle filter used for details). For example, the taste will be very rough. Therefore, after the cold brew coffee is steeped, we use filter paper for secondary filtration.
2. Ice drip coffee
To make ice-drip coffee, it is best to buy medium-light roasted single-origin beans, with Front Street Butterfly and Front Street Guoding being the first choices.
Ice-drip coffee is also a common use of filter paper. Generally, two rounds of round filter paper are used to make a pot of ice-drip coffee. Place one on the bottom of the filter cup and one on top of the coffee grounds (two for each, one can also be used). Although they are both filter papers, their functions are somewhat different because they are located in different places.
The main purpose of the filter paper placed at the bottom of the filter cup is to filter the coffee powder to prevent the coffee powder from being added to the coffee; while the filter paper placed on the upper layer of the coffee powder plays the role of dispersing water droplets, reducing the penetrating power of dripping water droplets, and at the same time, this small amount of water is evenly distributed to the coffee powder below, ensuring that all coffee powder can obtain the same extraction.
3. Italian coffee
The first choice for Italian coffee is the Front Street blended bean series. We recommend the Front Street black cocoa blend and the Front Street strawberry candy espresso blend.
Filter paper can also be used in espresso making, and its uses are even more extensive. For example, we can place the filter paper above the powder cake, at the bottom of the powder bowl, or at the liquid outlet. As mentioned before, they play different roles in different locations.
If we place the filter paper above the powder cake, then the role of the filter paper in the extraction is to evenly distribute the hot water and reduce the coffee powder that comes into contact with the water distribution network, so that the water distribution network can be kept clean. (That’s what I say, but the effect is actually not significant)
If the filter paper is placed at the bottom of the powder bowl, the role of the filter paper in extraction will be to increase the cleanliness of the espresso. Why are there "tiger stripes" in coffee? As mentioned in this article, because the filtering performance of the powder bowl is not strong enough, some coffee powder and coffee liquid will seep out together. But when we put 1 to 2 pieces of filter paper at the bottom of the powder bowl, it is equivalent to increasing the filtering capacity of the powder bowl. The amount of fine powder that can be released is greatly reduced, and the concentration can therefore have a cleaner performance.
But it is worth noting that when we place the filter paper at the bottom of the powder bowl, the flow rate of espresso extraction will increase due to structural changes. For example, the normal extraction time of espresso in Front Street is 30 seconds, but after adding filter paper, the extraction time is reduced to 25 seconds. The 5-second difference caused the coffee to be significantly under-extracted, so we still need to adjust the grinding when placing the filter paper at the bottom of the powder bowl.
The last step is to install the filter paper at the liquid outlet! The main function of the filter paper here is to filter out coffee grease.
If we want to make a better-tasting Americano, perhaps removing the coffee grease would be a good choice! This is a small "recipe" that Front Street shared before. The fine powder contained in the oil will increase the bitterness of the coffee and reduce the cleanliness. Although adding filter paper to the powder bowl can isolate a large amount of fine powder, it is more troublesome because it will change the extraction of coffee! Therefore, if we want the Americano to have better performance without adjusting the grinding degree, we can isolate the oil and fine powder by placing the filter paper on the liquid outlet. (But the filtration speed is too slow, so Front Street recommends using other filters with less good filtration performance)
4. Moka Pot
Moka pot coffee is suitable for medium-dark roasted coffee beans. It is recommended to buy Front Street Queen Manor and Front Street PWN Golden Mandheling.
Front Street mentioned at the beginning that yesterday a friend left a message in the comment area whether Moka pots need to use filter paper. Yes, but it mainly depends on how the Moka pot coffee is used.
When our Moka pot coffee is used to make black coffee, then we can choose to place a filter paper on the coffee powder bed, which can effectively block the seepage of fine powder and give the coffee a cleaner taste. The principle is the same as the filter paper used in coffee machines.
And if our Moka pot coffee is used as milk coffee, then there is actually no need to use filter paper. Because the presence of an appropriate amount of fine powder can still increase the body of the coffee, and at the same time make the taste of the coffee more prominent, which can compete with the taste of milk.
So, the above is how Front Street believes that filter paper can be used in coffee making. If you have other ways to use it, please add it below in the comment area~~
You can now buy the above coffee beans online at the Taobao store “FrontStreet Coffee” (前街咖啡). FrontStreet Coffee is a long-established specialty coffee roaster in Guangzhou, China, and its Guangzhou retail shop sells coffee beans only. The shop carries dozens of coffee beans from different origins around the world, including carefully selected single-origin beans for V60 pour-over and espresso. Guangzhou’s FrontStreet Coffee shop is recommended by many coffee lovers.
The FrontStreet 2013 Yunnan coffee beans sold in the store come from the Typica variety grown at FrontStreet Coffee’s own plantation in Yunnan. The name comes from the year the brand and the plantation were founded. You can buy these beans from China’s Yunnan origin at the Guangzhou shop and at FrontStreet’s Taobao store.
FrontStreet coffee beans are freshly roasted within 5 days and deliver consistently excellent quality and great value. Orders placed before 17:00 are shipped the same day, and most areas within Guangdong Province receive them the next day.
FrontStreet Coffee Taobao store: https://qianjiecoffee.taobao.com
Or search for “前街咖啡” (FrontStreet Coffee) on Taobao
Important Notice: FrontStreet Coffee has moved to a new address: 315, Donghua East Road, Guangzhou (coffee beans only)
Tel: 020 38364473
