Hand coffee is so fresh in literature and art, but it was invented by a housewife.

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Friends who love hand-brewed coffee, do you know the history of hand brewing? Although coffee shops have become ubiquitous, how many people know that modern hand-brewing methods originated in Germany and that the filter cup used in hand-brewing was invented by a housewife?

Since coffee was introduced into Europe from Arabia, the traditional way of making coffee in Europe is mainly to filter coffee grounds with linen or metal filters. However, if linen is used, it must be cleaned very clean after each use, otherwise it will stink. If the metal filter is used, it is limited by the level of technology at that time, and it is impossible to make enough fine pores, so many coffee grounds will pass through the filter.

The modern technology of filtering coffee powder through filter paper was invented by German housewife Melitta Bentz in the early 20th century and patented in 1908.

Mrs. Melita, then 35, loved coffee very much, but she thought the traditional way of making coffee was quite troublesome, so she always hoped to invent a more convenient and simple way to make coffee. When she was worried about this, she happened to see her son's school workbook. With a brainstorm, she used the ink paper of the workbook to make the world's first coffee filter paper.

The quality of filter paper made of ink paper is quite light, and compared with linen, the cost is low, it is discarded after use, and there is less trouble in cleaning. The filter function was even better. Compared to the metal filter, after brewing coffee with less coffee grounds, not only did the strange taste of coffee grounds disappear in the mouth, but the bitterness and astringency also decreased. The coffee made was more smooth than before. In addition, Mrs. Melita also created a hand-washed ceramic filter cup.

Melita's friends were shocked by the taste of her hand-brewed coffee, and some suggested that she might as well start her own business and sell the filter paper and filter cup as a commodity. This proposal was attractive to Mrs. Melita, but it was difficult to decide, because it was very special in Germany at that time. The traditional idea was that a housewife should run a house well, not start a company.

Mrs. Melita has the characteristics of a typical German woman-resolute, independent, strong, young, she does not want her grave after death to only write "housewife" four words, she does not want her life to be like this ordinary past. In 1908, Mrs. Melitta patented her own filter paper and filter cup, and founded The Melitta Company the same year.

Surprisingly, under the suspicion of everyone, Mrs. Melita may have inherited the experience of starting a business and running a business, and she managed the company very well. Not only did she expand the customer base through word of mouth marketing, but the equipment for hand brewing coffee was constantly updated. In the 1920s and 1930s, she launched a series of new products.

As the company's products sold well across Europe, Mrs. Melita's hand-brewed coffee took the world by storm. This established Mrs. Melita's status as a "godmother" in the coffee industry, and the success of her first venture must have made many people envious.

Melitta ran the company as a family business and continued to be chairman of the company until her death in 1950, and as hand-punching enthusiasts know, The Melitta Company is still the leading brand in the European hand-punching industry.

However, with the gradual popularization of Italian coffee machines, and in the 1980s and 1990s, Starbucks, which represents coffee commercialization and American fast culture, gradually declined in Europe and America. It wasn't until the past decade or so that hand-brewed coffee rose again in Japan with the third wave of coffee.

Today's hand-brewed coffee can be said to be combined with the Japanese "Zen" and "tea ceremony," emphasizing self-exploration and enjoyment in the brewing process, which was carried forward by Mr. Taguchi and gradually introduced to Taiwan.

In fact, in the past few years, hand-brewed coffee has gradually revived in Europe and the United States. Coffee originated in Ethiopia, introduced to Europe by Arab merchants until modern times, Italians invented the Italian coffee machine, Americans used Starbucks to conquer the world, hand brewing was invented by Germany, but gradually declined, now combined with Asian traditional culture, from Japan back to Europe and America. Coffee has always been the crystallization of East-West fusion and conflict.

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