The Importance of Rinsing the Filter before Starting Brewing your Coffee

Rinsing the filter before starting brewing your coffee is capable of removing impurities, in addition to possible unpleasant tastes.

Without a doubt, it is our most recurrent advice.

When putting the water to boil, make sure you add an extra dose, so before starting brewing your coffee, you can pour a small amount of water over the filter, ensuring that its entire surface has been rinsed.

By doing this, we are not only cleaning our filter, we are also warming the decanter that will receive our coffee, allowing the beverage to retain its temperature longer.

Finally, make sure to dispose of the used water.

This advice is valid for all types of filter (even metallic ones), but it is important to emphasize the attention with paper and cloth filters.

_ Paper filter

Paper filters are produced from wood. In wood, cellulose is associated with hemicelluloses and lignin, this last one being responsible for giving the wood a brown color.

In paper filters, the lignin content present in its composition is the main responsible for defining the color of the product (the biggest difference between white and natural paper filters), as well as for causing the characteristic cardboard flavor that can end up in our drink.

In white paper filters, lignin is removed as much as possible. Process that takes place by chemical means of bleaching.

Thus, the use of water in high temperature to rinse the filter can reduce the presence of residues left over from the paper’s treatment (whatever it is), as well as the presence of unpleasant cardboard flavors.

*When choosing natural paper filters, use a larger amount of water to rinse the fabric, since it has a higher content of lignin in its composition.

_ Cloth filter

This was once one of the most traditional ways to prepare a cup of coffee and, without a doubt, is still the favorite of many people. Unlike paper, the cloth filter is notable for preserving coffee oils and giving us a full-bodied drink.

However, it is necessary to pay extra attention when cleaning. Cloth filters must be very well rinsed before brewing coffee, as well as sanitized after use and stored in appropriate places to avoid microbiological developments that could compromise the health of the fabric, and consequently our experience.

To conclude, we can say that rinsing the filter, be it paper, cloth or any other material, is one of the most important parts of coffee preparation.

It is through this act that we achieve a richer drink and a more pleasurable sensory experience.

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Bibliographic references

AZEVEDO, M. A. B. Diferentes processos de branqueamento da celulose e seus efeitos nas propriedades físicas e cristalinidade. 2011. Tese (Doutorado) - Universidade Federal de Minas Gerais. Departamento de Química. Belo Horizonte, 2012.

CASTRO, H. F. Processos químicos industriais II: Papel e celulose. Apostila 4 - Universidade de São Paulo, Escola de Engenharia de Lorena. 2009.

TEIXEIRA, M. B. D.; OLIVEIRA, R. A.; GATTI, T. H.; SUAREZ, P. A. Z. O papel: Uma breve revisão histórica, descrição da tecnologia industrial de produção e experimentos para obtenção de folhas artesanais. Rev. Virtual Quim., 2017.