Which Coffee Filter Paper Brand is Best? How to Choose Between Bleached and Natural Wood Filter Papers: Pros and Cons

Seeing the cover, you might think FrontStreet Coffee is about to promote something, but not really! Here's what happened: FrontStreet Coffee has always used Kono brand bleached filter paper from Japan, priced at about 0.3 yuan per sheet. Recently, FrontStreet Coffee discovered a filter paper produced in Spain priced at nearly 3 yuan per sheet, which immediately sparked our interest. What exactly is the difference between these filter papers with a 10-fold price gap?

In the past, when FrontStreet Coffee shared knowledge about filter papers, we focused on whether the filter paper matches the filter cup, and whether unbleached or bleached filter paper is better. But this time, let's get straight to the core - quality, and what standards should be used to measure it.

Paper More Precious Than Gold

Previously, what we considered expensive filter paper was Chemex filter paper, which costs about 1 yuan per sheet. But this filter paper at 3 yuan per sheet already creates a significant price gap. Let's look at what the seller says about this filter paper. Since it's so expensive, let's call it "premium filter paper"!

From this, we can see that this filter paper has no paper taste, is made of organic materials, features premium packaging, only comes in large filter sizes, and can brew clean, bright flavors. However, this hardly justifies a 10-fold price premium.

Comparing Filter Paper Quality

First, let's compare the material structure of the filter papers. Carefully observing the patterns on the filter papers, we found that this premium filter paper has finer textures, while FrontStreet Coffee's commonly used Kono filter paper has more obvious long-strip-like concave-convex textures. In terms of softness and hardness, Kono is softer.

Premium filter paper (left) Kono filter paper (right)

Next, let's compare the brewing performance. When FrontStreet Coffee read the description, we found that this filter paper claims to have a faster flow rate.

Let's do a horizontal comparison. Since this filter paper is sized for 1-4 servings, we used Kono filter paper size 02 for comparison.

Both filter papers were wetted with water while fitted to the filter cup. This premium filter paper showed excellent fit and was very sturdy with good shaping effect. Of course, Kono filter paper also fits the filter cup well, but it's not as sturdy, with some parts of the filter paper sticking to the filter cup body.

Using Yirgacheffe Red Cherry as the brewing beans (20g) and FrontStreet Coffee's three-stage pour-over method. The extraction time using premium filter paper was 2 minutes and 18 seconds; the extraction time using Kono size 02 filter paper was 2 minutes and 36 seconds. This confirms the premium filter paper's claim of faster flow rate.

Analyzing Brewing Performance

Let's review the performance during the brewing process. First, look at these two images:

The top image shows the premium filter paper. From the water droplets between the ribs, we can see that the entire coffee bed height hasn't reached the shortest ribs, but it's very close. In the bottom image with Kono filter paper, the coffee bed has reached the edge of the short ribs, and water flow has already been directed downward. In this situation, the premium filter paper still had a faster extraction time, indicating that the premium filter paper is thinner and has a faster flow rate.

Another phenomenon is that the coffee filtered through the premium filter paper has poorer transparency, with a layer of shiny oil floating on the surface, while the Kono filter paper produces clearer coffee with better transparency. This also suggests that in terms of filtering performance, the premium filter paper is slightly inferior. Of course, this isn't a derogatory evaluation, as some flannel filter enthusiasts actually prefer coffee with more oils.

When tasting these two cups of coffee, they are just as they appear: the coffee filtered through Kono filter paper is cleaner and brighter. The premium filter paper, however, produces better body and fullness. This seems to somewhat conflict with its claim of brewing immediate brightness and cleanliness.

Perhaps different brewing methods would present different results! Overall, this filter paper is quite comfortable to use. However, the improvement in brewing flavor is not significant, meaning that spending 10 times the price might only get you 1.5 times the experience.

Important Notice :

前街咖啡 FrontStreet Coffee has moved to new addredd:

FrontStreet Coffee Address: 315,Donghua East Road,GuangZhou

Tel:020 38364473