Filters have been an essential staple in the coffee brewing experience. Though simply made of paper, small, and quite cheap, it’s undeniable that without coffee filters, brewing your morning cup could be a bit more time-consuming.
Coffee lovers, like me, are always after a quality morning cup of Joe. But a lot of people are unsure of whether you should be using a bleached or unbleached coffee filter. To help you get an idea what the fuss is all about, let’s get to know some facts about coffee filters.
Effect on Coffee Taste
A lot of coffee lovers are always in search of what processes can help them create a perfectly brewed cup. One of the most common beliefs is that using either an unbleached or bleached coffee filter will have an impact on the taste of their coffee. Let’s set things straight. Coffee filters won’t alter the taste of your coffee. As long as you have quality coarsely ground coffee then you can rest assured that the taste of your morning cup will be the same.
Not much bleach is actually being used to manufacture bleached coffee filters. This is why there is no direct impact on the taste of your coffee. Moreover, you can rest assured that bleached coffee filters have no known negative health side effects.
On the other hand, some people say that unbleached filters tend to leave a slight taste of paper on the coffee. This actually depends on how you prepare the filter. It’s strongly recommended that you wet the filter carefully first before you brew the coffee.
Impact on the Environment
Even though bleached coffee filters have no effect on the taste of your brewed coffee, it does have a negative impact on the environment. First is that the by-products produced during the manufacturing process can harm our environment. Second is that when they are discarded, they can contribute to pollution, even though they may only contain a minimal amount of bleach. The bleaching process requires either oxygen or chlorine, oxygen being the more preferable for being more natural than chlorine.
As mentioned above, both bleached and unbleached coffee has no impact on the taste of your coffee. Unbleached filters though are more environmentally-friendly since they are less-processed, which makes them a better environmental health option.
Quality of the Filter is What Matters
Both bleached and unbleached coffee filters will have minimal to no impact on the taste of your coffee, but the quality of the filter will. When shopping for coffee filters, avoid cheap ones as they could add a papery flavor to your cup of coffee. As always, you get what you pay for. The few cents you pay for a better quality coffee filter can ensure you get an unaltered quality tasting brewed coffee.
There you go. So which one is better? It’s up to you to decide as it basically boils down to personal preference. Going green? Then go for unbleached coffee filters, even though bleached coffee filters will have minimal effect on the environment, just to ease your guilt.
