I recently bought a five-cup Krups drip brewer (the Cafe Aroma 5) to replace an old ten-cup Nikko brewer I’d been using for a few months already. While this particular model does come with a plastic mesh filter, I decided to try paper filters. For one, these are easier to clean. I just throw out the paper filter and wash only the carafe and the filter basket itself.
However, there seems to be a disadvantage, and that is my brew now usually lighter and less bitter. I prefer my coffee bitter. I often drink it black or just with one sugar.
Brewing with a paper filter produces clear, light-bodied coffee, which is free of sediments, but lacking in some of coffee’s oils and essences, which are trapped in the paper filter.
I found an interesting discussion over at 50plus.com, which was mostly about how paper filters did produce less bitter coffee. But if you’re a tree hugger, then I think you would rather reduce your carbon footprint and opt for the plastic filter instead of the disposable paper ones.
Frankly, I do want my coffee strong, as a matter of preference and sometimes necessity (I have to put in long hours at night writing and managing blogs). With my old brewer, I had found how to make that perfect brew (right amount of coffee grinds, right brand of coffee, right amount of water). But right now I’m still experimenting.
Originally posted on November 12, 2008 @ 2:39 pm