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What can be changed by adding filter paper to espresso extraction? How to reduce the drop of fine powder? The secret of American coffee tastes better!

Published: 2026-04-06 Author:

Last Updated: 2026/04/06, The insoluble substance in espresso oil-fine powder (one of the components). It can provide extremely high alcohol thickness for concentration, but at the same time, it will also contribute to its own bitterness. Because of this, it has successfully obtained a number of "black fans"! Because its existence affects the taste and cleanliness of coffee, so

The insoluble substance in espresso oil-fine powder (one of the components). It can provide extremely high alcohol thickness for concentration, but at the same time, it will also contribute to its own bitterness. Because of this, it has successfully obtained a number of "black fans"! Because its existence affects the taste and cleanliness of coffee, many people will want to remove it.

At present, there are two ways to remove fine powder on the market. The first is what Qianjie often shares: "simple and rough"! The specific way is to remove the oil floating on the surface of the coffee after the espresso is extracted, so that it can be removed with the fine powder; another way to compare the former method will be very "soft". Because it will not remove all substances other than fine powder, and the operation mode is very simple, just add a piece of filter paper to the powder bowl and wet it before filling the coffee powder.

"won't this affect the extraction?" , "can you really remove the fine powder by doing this?" Such problems emerge one after another. It doesn't matter, let's try it on Qianjie to see if this method is really feasible.

The two parts of the extraction are concentrated in front of the extraction experiment, and the extraction parameters are the same, except that one is a conventional extraction, and the other is a circular filter paper (and wet) at the bottom. Use bean weight: 20g extract weight: 40ml

Let's jump straight to the extraction! The time of conventional extraction without filter paper is 30s, while the time of re-extraction with a layer of filter paper is only 26s! In terms of time, we can see an obvious difference; in terms of taste, the concentration with filter paper is not so thick and the flavor is not so prominent compared with the concentration of normal extraction. Through the concentration tester, we can clearly see the authenticity of this theory: the extraction rate of conventional concentration is 21.88%, and that of filter paper is 20.23%.

But it is worth mentioning that the filter paper added espresso powder is indeed a lot less, can be ignored. Therefore, we can know that the method of "adding filter paper to remove fine powder" can indeed be used, but some adjustments need to be made in the parameters.

Sure enough, after fine grinding, the taste of coffee has been improved to a certain extent, not only without the bitterness brought by fine powder, its flavor is also richer than before. So why did this happen?

Why does the filter paper change the parameters? In fact, the reason is very simple ~ think about it carefully, the reason why fine powder will seep out from the powder bowl with carbon dioxide to form oil, it is because its volume is too small to pass through the filter hole of the powder bowl! A coffee powder is made up of countless coffee particles of different sizes, so it is inevitable that some coffee powders will get stuck in the holes because of the right size and holes. (you can knock out the pressed powder after the extraction and compare the powder bowl to see this in the light.)

It is these fine powders that plug the holes that prolong the extraction time of coffee. However, the intervention of filter paper has changed this situation, and no fine powder can plug the hole any more! Why? Because there are no holes to block it! Therefore, with the addition of filter paper, the flow rate is greatly increased. However, the excessive flow rate also prevents the hot water from properly extracting the aromatic substances in the coffee, so we need to adjust the parameters to make the extraction reach the ideal state.

Of course, removing fine powder is not a good step for all espresso. American style can be cleaner and less bitter without fine powder. But milk coffee like latte is not good, without the mellow thickness and bitter taste of fine powder, it is difficult for coffee to suppress the taste of a lot of milk, and the taste will have a qualitative decline! Therefore, what Qianjie wants to say is that the departure and retention of fine powder has certain advantages, do not ignore its good because you see its bad, it is reasonable to prescribe the right remedy to the case.

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FrontStreet Coffee is a long-established specialty coffee roaster in Guangzhou China, selling freshly roasted beans from its own farm in Yunnan as well as dozens of carefully selected single-origin beans from around the world for both pour-over and espresso. The products deliver consistently excellent quality and great value, with shipping within 24 hours. Guangzhou’s FrontStreet Coffee shop is recommended by many coffee lovers, and the beans are now available online at the Tmall 。