Which brand of coffee filter paper is good? How to use hand filter paper? Do you need to wet the filter paper for hand coffee? Does filter paper smell?

Filter paper is an indispensable filtering tool for making hand-brewed coffee. Although it doesn't look very eye-catching, its impact on coffee cannot be underestimated. If you communicate with coffee players, you should have heard many questions related to filter paper, such as whether the filter paper needs to be wetted, whether the filter paper has a paper smell, how much hot water should be used to wet the filter paper, etc. So today Qianjie is here to answer a series of "difficult and miscellaneous diseases" related to coffee filter paper.

Should I wet the filter paper? Many friends often struggle with this question when they first start: "Do you need to moisten the filter paper before making coffee?" The cause of entanglement is often because I am warned that it is necessary to wet the filter paper before making coffee. However, in daily life, you can often see the situation where the filter paper is not wet. So this makes many friends in trouble. Is it necessary to wet this filter paper before making coffee?

Qian Jie believes that in addition to personal preferences, whether the filter paper is wet also needs to be decided based on specific circumstances. We can measure it from the following three perspectives: the fit between the filter paper and the filter cup, the taste of the filter paper, and the storage environment of the filter paper. Fit filter cups: Many filter cups, like the V60, have a large number of guide ribs. These ribs not only support the filter paper to create an exhaust space for coffee powder, but also guide the flow of water. effect. And if we want these ribs to do their job, we need to fit the filter paper into the filter cup.

There are many ways to make the filter paper fit with the filter cup, such as pre-wetting the filter paper with water, or filling the filter paper with coffee powder. For novices, if they are not familiar with the specific operation of the latter, Qianjie still recommends that the most appropriate way to wet the filter paper with water to make it fit with the filter cup.

Storage environment of filter paper: Secondly, the storage environment of filter paper is also one of the factors we use to measure whether pre-moisten filter paper. If the filter paper is stored in an open environment, it is easy to accumulate a lot of dust in daily life. In this case, we need to pre-moisten the "stains" attached to the filter paper; and if the storage environment of the filter paper is relatively closed and is not easy to be adhered to by dust, then we can decide whether to moisten it according to our own preferences or other factors.

The taste of filter paper: Finally, the taste of filter paper! Earlier, the main purpose of wet filter paper was not only to make it fit with the filter cup, but also to wash off the paper smell on the filter paper. Many filter papers retain a lot of pulp flavor due to the manufacturing process. If they are not removed, this flavor will be mixed with the coffee liquor during the brewing process, giving the final coffee a faint flavor of paper.

With the advancement of technology, many filter papers no longer have a clear pulp taste, so some filter papers do not need to be deodorized. Therefore, whether to wet the filter paper in advance also depends on whether the filter paper itself has an obvious taste. So how can we know if the filter paper has an obvious paper smell? Very simple and abstract! We only need to use a small amount of hot water to wash the filter paper, and then taste the water that washes the filter paper separately to see if there is any obvious paper smell... (Qianjie just provides a solution idea, and you don't really want to try it...)

Should I use cold water or hot water for wet filter paper? Next is the water temperature problem when the filter paper is wet! When we decide to wet the filter paper, the next thing we need to consider is the water temperature when we wet the filter paper. Similarly, this is also very particular!

When the purpose of wet filter paper is to remove the paper smell, it is best for the water temperature of the wet filter paper to be warmer. Just as hot water accelerates the dissolution of coffee-flavored substances, it also dissolves paper flavors better. In addition, the water temperature of the wet filter paper also depends on whether preheating equipment, such as filter cups and sharing pots, is needed. If the material of the filter cup is made of a material with a high specific heat capacity such as ceramics, then we'd better use hot water to wet the filter paper. Because filter cups of this kind of material will first absorb the temperature of the hot water during brewing to replenish themselves without preheating, which will affect the extraction. The same is true for whether the sharing pot needs to be preheated, except that it affects coffee liquor rather than hot water.

How should I choose filter paper? The choice of filter paper is also a big problem that puzzles novice friends! The difficulty in selecting does not come from the shape of the filter paper, but the flow rate of the filter paper and the effect of the filter paper. Qianjie often said that the difference between filter paper and filter paper is as big as the difference between man and orangutan. In the article "The Differences between Filter Paper and Filter Paper", Qian Jie shared that different filter papers will have different flow rates and different filtering effects.

For example, Japan's Sanyo Industries has developed three filter papers, T-83, T-90, and T-92, that adapt to different degrees of roasting coffee beans by adjusting the structure and thickness of the filter paper to change the flow rate of the filter paper. Different filter paper materials will have different characteristics. For example, wood pulp filter paper has strong filtering performance and can intercept all substances other than coffee liquor to ensure that we can get a cup of clean coffee; The characteristics of non-woven filter paper are the opposite. Its filtering performance will be relatively weaker and will not prevent the oil of coffee from penetrating out. Because of this, coffee washed out with non-woven filter paper will have a more fragrant performance. This is also what Qian Jie shared in the article "Replace the filter paper, and the coffee will be more fragrant and stronger."

There are many other examples, but Qianjie will not list them one by one here. Many friends are troubled by the above information, so they have been unable to choose a filter paper. But in fact, there is no need to get too entangled. The Front Street Association recommends that you buy regular wood pulp filter paper at the beginning to practice, and then start buying other filter paper with different effects after you master the underlying logic of coffee brewing. Try different ways to play. There are also some friends who are worried about buying some filter paper with a heavier taste or lower quality. In this case, Qianjie would recommend that when purchasing filter paper, try to choose some filter paper produced by high-profile and famous brand manufacturers. Not to mention whether the paper tastes heavy or not, but at least the quality is better guaranteed.

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