The Correct Way to Use Coffee Filter Paper! What's the Difference Between Wetting and Not Wetting Filter Paper Before Pour-Over Coffee?

Many observant coffee enthusiasts have noticed that FrontStreet Coffee adjusts not only the parameters but also the procedural steps when brewing different types of coffee. Take the practice of wetting filter paper, for example.

When preparing hot pour-over coffee, FrontStreet Coffee always wets the filter paper before adding coffee grounds and beginning the brewing process. However, when making iced pour-over coffee, we skip the filter paper wetting step entirely, directly pouring in the coffee grounds to start brewing. This has led many curious friends to wonder: why do we sometimes wet the filter paper and sometimes not?

The answer is quite simple: the difference between wetting and not wetting filter paper is actually not significant! Let's briefly review the main purposes of wetting filter paper. There are essentially three reasons for this practice: removing paper taste, preheating the filter cup, and ensuring proper filter paper adhesion.

However, FrontStreet Coffee's current equipment and brewing methods are rarely affected by these concerns. Regarding filter paper, in earlier times, people needed to rinse with hot water to remove paper taste because filters then had prominent paper flavors. If not rinsed away, these flavors would transfer to the coffee during brewing, affecting the taste. With technological advancements, tasteless filter papers have long been developed, so we naturally no longer need to rinse away paper taste.

Next, let's consider preheating the filter cup. The need for preheating primarily comes from its material properties! Filter cups made from materials like ceramic or glass have strong heat absorption capabilities. If we don't preheat the filter cup with hot water beforehand, it will absorb energy from the hot water during brewing, reducing extraction efficiency. However, FrontStreet Coffee uses non-heat-absorbing resin filter cups, which don't have significant heat absorption properties, so we naturally don't need to worry about the negative effects of not preheating. Compared to the filter cup, the coffee pot and coffee mug are actually more in need of preheating.

Finally, there's the matter of ensuring filter paper adheres to the filter cup! As we all know, the flow ribs on every filter cup are specifically designed to support portions of the filter paper. By supporting parts of the filter paper, coffee grounds have more exhaust channels during extraction, which improves coffee flow rate. To achieve this effect, the filter paper needs to adhere properly to the filter cup. However, this adhesion doesn't necessarily require wetting the filter paper with water. For instance, when FrontStreet Coffee brews iced pour-over coffee, we use coffee grounds instead of water to "press" the filter paper into place.

The specific method is quite simple. After folding the filter paper and placing it in the filter cup, we simply press it down with our hands, then pour in the coffee grounds to secure it. The filter paper becomes immobile under the weight of the coffee grounds, and gradually adheres to the filter cup as the brewing process progresses. At this point, it should be clear that whether we wet the filter paper or not before brewing coffee doesn't have a significant impact.

The reason FrontStreet Coffee wets the filter paper when making hot pour-over coffee is mainly to simultaneously preheat the coffee pot, preventing it from absorbing temperature from the coffee liquid due to insufficient heat. When brewing iced coffee, this concern disappears, so naturally, there's no need to wet the filter paper.

Important Notice :

前街咖啡 FrontStreet Coffee has moved to new addredd:

FrontStreet Coffee Address: 315,Donghua East Road,GuangZhou

Tel:020 38364473