Remember those sharp bursts of music so familiar in horror flicks. Short, sharp piercing sounds enough to scare the living daylights out of you. I recently experienced those unwelcome sounds when I went to my cupboard to grab a coffee filter and to my horror, there were none there! My life flashed before my eyes and I started having all sorts of horrible thoughts...like having an instant coffee or trying some of my wife's decaffeinated! So, this article is dedicated to that wonderful piece of technology... the coffee filter and I guarantee you will not give it a passing glance ever again! The History Of The Coffee Filter It must have been a "Newton" moment for filters back in the 1700's when a sock was used to make the first cup of filtered coffee. The story goes something like this... a person couldn't stand the sight of grounds in his cup so used a smelly sock to filter it out. The idea must have had some merit because it caught on and the coffee filter was born. Metal filters followed and of course, present day, it's the paper filters which adourn the cupboards of most households who indulge in the little "black stuff." Which Type Of Coffee Filter Do You Prefer? Paper, gold or cloth filters? It's your choice. Paper filters are obviously the most popular and most widely used and given their cheaper nature, the most affordable. Melitta coffee filters are just about the most recognized brand and are adaptable to either automatic or manual coffee makers. Do paper filters give off a paper taste? You know, I haven't really recognized it but then again, I'm not looking for it. More discerning tastes would probably pick it up. Apart from Melitta, there are a variety of other coffee filters on the market including Bunn, Krupps and the more specialist versions from Chemex and Cuisanart. Believe it or not, filters really are an important part of the brewing process because without them, you'd end up with a horrible mess of grounds at the bottom of your cup and would be better off drinking instant... perish the thought! It depends how technical you want to get when selecting a coffee filter. Do you have issues of whether there may be chemical contamination within the paper, whether it's high quality, whether the filter is lightweight or heavyweight or how evenly the water will flow through the coffee. I don't know about you but I tend to forget all those issues when the aroma starts to filter up my nostrils! How about a gold filter? Yes, they will be a lot more expensive and the question of practicality will be raised. But they do last a long time and those devoted users of the gold filter will swear by them. Cloth Coffee Filters The environmentalists choice no doubt but they are an excellent alternative to paper and of course, they last a lot longer. In fact, with proper care, a cloth filter can service your needs for several months. Cloth devotees will tell you there is extra flavor through a cloth filter and they are probably right. Whatever method you choose to filter coffee, you need to remember one thing, make sure your filter is suitable for whatever type of machine you are using.
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