Customer: ‘Good morning, I have heard that you have nice coffee. I would like a black coffee please.’
Barista: ‘Great, and which coffee would you like? An espresso or a filter coffee?’
Customer: ‘Filter coffee?’ (Frowning) ‘Oh no, I don’t like that, just give me an espresso.’
This is a common and completely understandable situation, because when we talk about filter coffee today, many consumers think back to the bitter coffee that we all know from when we were growing up. Coffee that was kept standing in a Thermos jug for hours, full of caffeine, and to which we had to add milk and sugar to make it drinkable. Fortunately, that is not the filter coffee that can be found in specialty coffee bars today. The only similarity between today’s filter coffees and that coffee of the past is that they are both not made with an espresso machine. All comparisons end right there. If you're curious about the distinctions between filter coffee and espresso, you can explore more in our blog 'The difference between filter coffee and espresso'.
So what can you expect from a filter coffee today? Let me first explain what filter coffee actually is and how it differs from espresso. So what is filter coffee? Are we talking about filter coffee or slow coffee? The term ‘slow coffee’ has developed primarily to make it clear that it is a slower form of making coffee, in contrast to espresso. And it also seemed useful to differentiate between what consumers might misconstrue from the term ‘filter coffee’, namely thinking it is the coffee of the past, as we described above.
Nowadays, the terms ‘slow coffee’, ‘slow brew’ and ‘filter coffee’ all refer to the same brewing method. Most of us grew up with filter coffee. But the rise in popularity of espresso machines led to this method being sidelined for some time. All sorts of solutions for making coffee quickly and easily have become available. Consider, for example, the pods and capsules that allow you to conjure up a cup of coffee in no time. Yet after a while, quite a few coffee drinkers found that they were no longer getting satisfaction from that way of making and drinking coffee. Thank goodness! And that is exactly why filter coffee is back in vogue more than ever. Both for coffee drinkers who expect something different and those who simply like their daily cups to be of higher quality, filter coffee is a very rewarding solution.
For a small investment, say €100 at most, you can make fantastic coffee at home or in the office. The only things you need are a set of scales, a coffee grinder, a filter coffee maker and, of course, good coffee beans. The following blogs will explain the different ways to make filter coffee: