Flavour profiles in filter coffee
Filter coffee comes in many different flavour profiles. They range from delicate and almost tea-like to full-bodied with a deep sweetness. Those differences come from the origin, the variety, the processing and the roast profile, and just as much from the way you brew the coffee.
For filter coffee we roast lighter than we do for espresso, tuned to a slow extraction with plenty of water. That brings out the acidity and the fruity side.
What your brew method does to the coffee
Every coffee in this category is roasted for filter. The brew method determines how the water and the coffee meet. That has a big influence on the flavour. It generally happens in two ways: percolation and immersion.
With percolation, the water passes down through the coffee bed and straight out again through the paper filter. The coffee is continually exposed to fresh water. That is what happens in a V60, a Chemex and an Origami, and in an electric brewer as well. You usually pour in stages. First a bloom (you wet all the coffee grounds so the coffee can degas before you add the rest of the water), then one or more pours. Percolation mainly gives clarity of flavour, with a lighter body and a tea-like structure. The paper filter holds back the oils and the fines, the smallest coffee particles. That makes individual flavours easier to tell apart. It does call for a grinder that grinds evenly, a scale and a gooseneck kettle to pour slowly and with control.
With immersion, the ground coffee stays in contact with all the water for the whole extraction. The water does not pass through the coffee bed as it does with percolation. The filter only comes in at the end. That is what a French press and an AeroPress do. The coffee bed is much less prone to channelling, so the water rarely finds a path that skips most of the coffee. That makes immersion forgiving: small differences in your technique count for less.
In between are hybrid brew methods, which combine both approaches. In a Hario Switch or a Pulsar the ground coffee first stays in contact with all the water, as in immersion. Then you open the valve and the coffee drains away through the filter. That gives the even extraction of immersion with the clarity of percolation.
Does the coffee taste bitter? Grind one step coarser or lower the water temperature. If it mainly feels dry and rough, that is astringency. Pour more gently and less often.
Filter coffee on an espresso machine
These coffees are roasted for filter, but you can brew them with an espresso machine. If you are looking for a turbo shot, ground coarser and running through fast, or for a shot with pronounced acidity and plenty of fruit, they are worth trying. A shot like that is less syrupy and less strong, and more floral and fruity. An espresso machine is harder to dial in for lighter roasted coffee. If you can handle that, it is well worth doing. It isn't everyone's preference.
Microlot or Exceptional
Microlot forms the basis of the filter range. These are smaller harvests, picked, processed and dried separately, where you clearly taste the origin and the harvest.
Exceptional consists of the harvests that stand out in a season. They are often available in limited quantities, selected for quality and character.
The filter tasting package puts three coffees side by side. The line-up changes regularly, so you compare different profiles each time.
Freshness
Every coffee is roasted fresh, with the roast date on the packaging. Freshly roasted coffee is full of CO₂ and degasses in the first few days after roasting. If a coffee hasn't had the time to degas, it tastes dry and bitter, especially in the finish. How much rest is needed depends on the coffee. Most coffees need seven to fourteen days to come into their own.
Store coffee beans in an airtight container, in a dark and dry place. In the fridge, coffee absorbs moisture and odours, which speeds up ageing. Pre-ground coffee also ages considerably faster, so grind each portion just before brewing.
Frequently asked questions
What is filter coffee?
Filter coffee is any coffee where a filter holds back the ground coffee and lets the water through. That can happen in two ways. With percolation the water passes down through the coffee bed and straight out again, as in a V60 or an electric brewer. With immersion the coffee stays in contact with all the water for the whole extraction and is only filtered at the end, as in an AeroPress or a French press. The result is a large, clean cup of coffee, less concentrated than espresso.
Is filter coffee healthier than other coffee?
The difference is in the way the coffee is filtered. A paper filter holds back a large part of the coffee oils and with them a lot of cafestol, a natural compound in coffee that can raise LDL cholesterol. That applies to brew methods with a paper filter, such as a V60, a Chemex or an electric brewer. With a metal filter, as in a French press, more of those oils stay in the coffee.
What do washed and natural mean?
Both describe how the coffee is removed from the cherry after harvest. That processing largely determines the flavour. With the washed process, the fruit flesh comes off and the coffee ferments in water until the mucilage loosens. Washing and drying follow. That gives clean flavours with pronounced acidity, in which the origin comes through clearly. With the natural process, the cherries dry whole, which gives more sweetness, more body and pronounced fruit notes. The honey process leaves part of the mucilage on the coffee beans and sits between the two.
Is anything added to fruity coffee?
No. Those flavours are in the coffee naturally. They come from the variety, the origin, the processing and the roasting. No aromas or flavourings are added.
My filter coffee tastes bitter. What can I do?
Grind one step coarser or lower the water temperature. Bitterness usually points to over-extraction. With very fresh coffee it helps to let the coffee rest longer, so it can degas further. If the coffee tastes sour or flat instead, grind one step finer to raise the extraction.
What is the difference between coffee beans for espresso and filter?
There is no separate coffee for espresso or filter. Any coffee can be brewed as either espresso or filter coffee. For filter we roast for clarity and for the flavour of the origin. For espresso we roast for balance and sweetness, so the coffee extracts evenly under high pressure. That is a choice in the roast profile, not a difference in quality. The coffees in this category are roasted with a filter brew as the starting point.
