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The difference between coffee filter papers is beyond your imagination! Which is better, bleaching or raw wood pulp filter paper? Which brand of coffee filter paper is better?

Published: 2026-08-25 Author:

Last Updated: 2026/08/25, As we all know, filter paper is a very important filtering tool because it alone shoulders the "major project" of isolating coffee grounds. It is precisely because this responsibility is too great that everyone's attention only stays on filtering. But in fact, filter paper, like filter cups, has different styles and materials.

As we all know, filter paper is a very important filtering tool because it is responsible for the "major project" of isolating coffee grounds. It is precisely because this responsibility is so great that people only focus on filtering.

But in fact, filter paper, like the filter cup, has different styles and materials. And these differences will directly affect brewing, and then affect the extraction of coffee, coffee taste. Today, Qianjie will share what is the difference between filter paper and filter paper! And how these differences affect brewing and the taste of coffee.

First, the material of filter paper because the most common and frequently used filter paper on the market is the filter paper made of wood pulp, so many friends think that the difference between filter paper lies only in size and type, whether it is bleached or not. But in fact, in addition to our common wood pulp filter paper, there is also filter paper made of non-woven, hemp, plastic and other materials.

The difference between these materials mainly affects the filtering performance! Take wood pulp filter paper and non-woven filter paper for example. Because of its high filtration performance, wood pulp filter paper can hardly penetrate substances other than liquid, while filter paper made of non-woven cloth (or should it be called filter cloth? The filtration performance of coffee is relatively low, so in addition to coffee liquid, coffee lipids or very fine particles can also pass through. (non-woven filter paper on the left)

Then, in this difference, the final coffee performance will be different. Because the wood pulp filter paper has high filtration performance and will not filter out substances other than coffee liquor, the resulting coffee will have a very high cleanliness, while the non-woven filter paper will allow lipids and very fine particles to pass through. so the resulting coffee is not so clean, but it tastes more mellow.

Second, the process of filter paper, even if the filter paper of the same material, there will be a great difference between them because of the different production process. And these areas are mainly the structure of filter paper, such as the use of grain folds, or the degree of thickness. The two filter papers shown below are also made of log pulp, but their production processes are not the same, so we can see the difference between them directly from the surface.

The difference in production process is not limited to different manufacturers, even the same manufacturer will use different processes to produce filter paper. The reason is very simple, because the structure of the filter paper will affect the launching speed of coffee, and the launching speed is an important factor affecting coffee extraction, so many manufacturers will develop different structures of filter paper according to different brewing characteristics! Taking Sanyo industry in Japan as an example, he designed three versions of filter paper for coffee beans with different roasting degrees, namely, Tmur83, Tmur90 and Tmur92, corresponding to deep, medium and shallow baked beans (the type is the corresponding water temperature). You can look at the specific difference directly.

It can be seen that although the filter paper has the same material, their water infiltration speed will be different due to the change of structure. That is not only Sanyo industry, other filter paper manufacturers have also done the same behavior, Qianjie here is only an example, not too much introduction.

Third, bleaching and non-bleaching are also different in technology, but compared with the former, the degree of discussion here will be higher. Because wood pulp filter paper is the most widely used, and this kind of filter paper is mainly divided into two types: bleaching and log non-bleaching, so the difference between the two has always occupied a high degree of discussion: whether it is better to use bleached filter paper or log unbleached filter paper!

The advantage of log filter paper is that it is not bleached, although it has an obvious woody flavor, it is at least relatively healthy for the human body, which is one reason why log filter paper is better than bleached filter paper before. However, with the progress of science and technology, now most brands have adopted the enzyme bleaching process, which will not have too much impact on human health, coupled with the fact that the log filter paper will have a more obvious woody flavor, which will affect the coffee, so most people choose to use bleached filter paper. But in fact, now some big brands of log filter paper also do not have so much woody flavor because of the progress of science and technology. And a little woody taste of the log filter paper can also add some coffee layers to a certain extent, and rinse it with hot water if you don't want it. Therefore, there is no difference between good and bad, and the specific choice depends on the way we use it. Having said that, Qianjie is more inclined to bleaching.

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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 。