For years, all we knew were the paper coffee filters that our parents used and tossed every morning. When we bought a new coffee maker for our own home recently, we got one of these, which we think are genius...
posted originally from: AT:Kitchen
Simple Invention: Reusable Mesh Coffee Filter
It's a very simple idea: The coffee filter is reusable. It's made of stainless steel, which allows water to pass through the grounds without altering the taste. Some people claim these mesh filters allow more of the coffee oils to get through, resulting in better flavor.
We just like the fact that we're not throwing out a paper filter every day. This one is a cinch to rinse out, although you can also put it in the dishwasher.
Our one question is why all of the versions we see are "gold toned." We can't find a good explanation as to why the stainless steel is a gold color. Maybe something to do with how the metal might react with the coffee grounds?
The filter above is for a Cuisinart coffee maker, and you can get it here:
We know Krups has reusable gold tone filters for their models. And we've seen hemp filters, made exactly like generic paper filters but reusable, on Amazon.
Who else uses these filters? Any favorites?
Related: How To Make Iced Coffee
(Image: Bed, Bath, & Beyond)
Comments (6)
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My understanding is that the filter is not just stainless and gold toned, but actually gold plated. And, that the gold improves the flavor of the coffee. Supposedly in spendy machines you can actually get a real gold filter.
view Green Me's profile
We have one of those and recently we switched back to paper filters. Emptying and cleaning the reusable filter every day (2x a day on weekends when we're riding the caffeine train!) took a ton of water and it was just so messy. We also wondered if using all that water was any better than throwing out the little paper filters. What do other folks think?
view Monica's profile
I used the cone shaped filter pictured above for years and found it took a long time to get it clean. The current coffee maker I have uses a more round and shallow type of reusable filter and it takes far less time and water to clean up.
view Gwendolyn's profile
My Cuisinart Coffee Maker came with one of the flatter ones. I've switched to paper one's though because it let a lot of the grounds through. I maybe switching brands (to go local) and have them ground larger. Also it still does use a lot of water to rinse them out.
view eirini's profile
I have one of the flat bottom ones. I just tap over the garbage can and then I only have to rinse it for a second, if that. I just love it!
view stellato's profile
I've used these filters and the biggest problem is that over time it lets in too many grounds, which ultimately clogged my coffee pot. It was a pain in the butt to clean them out and get the water flow to the right point.
view bookstorm's profile