E11: Melitta Filter Coffee Dripper

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Brewer: Melitta Pourover Dripper^{Style: Pourover
Price: $10-20. Price can vary based on size and style.
Biggest Pros: Affordable, durable, easy to use and clean.
Biggest Cons: Single hole design leads to the potential for fine grinds prone to migration causing clogging, and the reduction of flow rate causing over or uneven extraction.}

SIMPLE HOW-TO:

I’m sharing this recipe direction from ProjectBarista.com, which offered a wealth of information on the Melitta dripper.

Dose (g): 21
Total amount (ml): 300
Ratio: 1:14
Grind size: medium-coarse
Water temperature: 88°C / 191°F
Pouring pattern (ml): 50 – 50 – 50 – 50 – 50 – 50
Pouring intervals (minutes to seconds): 30 second bloom and succeeding pours are every 15 seconds
Total time (minutes to seconds): Between 3:00 – 3:20

An every-time disclaimer: Be sure to pour the proper ratio of water to coffee grinds. For example, if using a 1:15 ratio, 20 grams of coffee would require 300 grams of water to be brewed properly.

You may prefer a different ratio, so don’t be afraid to experiment. Generally, 1:15 up to 1:18 are the preferred coffee-to-water ratios to produce enjoyable cups of coffee.

For best results, grind whole beans with a burr grinder immediately before brewing.*

Grind your coffee medium-coarse.
Rinse your filter. The standard brewer uses a #2 cone filter.
Add 20g grinds. Start timer, and add 40-50g water to allow coffee to bloom 30 seconds. Be sure to fully wet all the grinds.
Add remaining water (250-260g). Recommend pouring into the center of the dripper. Project Barista recommends a pulsing pour meaning add 50g water every 15 seconds, pause, repeat.
Your total brew time including drawdown of the coffee into your mug will end up between 3m and 3m20s.

They included this video with their recipe which is good, but I recommend actually measuring your coffee and water by weight not by tablespoon.

FROM THE SHOW

Sweet Maria’s Coffee is a green coffee and coffee equipment company geared towards the home coffee roaster. They’ve been in business since 1997, and they’ve been compiling information for home roasters on their www.sweetmarias.com for decades.

They have all kinds of great resources for anyone interested in coffee. During my journey through craft coffee, I’ve often relied on their vocabulary terms glossary to better understand what the guests on this podcast have been telling me!
BPA is shorthand for Bisphenol A, which is a chemical compound primarily used in the manufacture of plastics. You hear the term BPA-free often in reference to the plastic packaging our food comes in or plastic products are made from. It’s not just found in plastics, but other common items the thermal paper used for register receipts, PVC piping, and even dental fillings.

BPA has been investigated by health organizations worldwide. The concern is that BPA is something called xenoestrogen, a type of hormone that can mimic the effects of estrogen in the human body, and it has also been shown to impact human endocrine systems.
BPA Free! It says so on the side of the box.
I vaguely remember learning about endocrine systems in high school, but I admit, I had to look it up for this column. The way I understand it, the endocrine system is the communication through hormones the glands in the body use to communicate and regulate our various organs. It’s a big-picture system that has various specialized communication systems working beneath it.

The hormone chemicals released in the endocrine system coordinate all kinds of body functions, including metabolism, growth, emotion, mood, sexual functions, and sleep.*

Trace exposure to BPA seemingly has very minor impacts, but because it is pervasive in the products we encounter regularly, our exposure is continuous throughout our lives. The cumulative impact of this exposure is….murky.

Erring on the side of caution has led some governments to ban BPA in baby bottles and related products, as infants are thought to be at greater risk. BPA-free is a common marketing term for all sorts of products, including the Melitta coffee dripper. However, the alternative plastics developed without the aid of BPA aren’t proven to actually be safer. They are merely BPA-free.
*Learn more about the Endocrine System here.
Melitta Bentz is right there on the side of the box. For anyone using a modern pour-over device, take a moment to toast the founder and inventor of The Original Pour-Over.™
Want to support the show, but don’t want to subscribe to the paid newsletter? Buy us a cup of coffee (or two). Thanks for the boost. Scan the QR code or click the link below.
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NOT FROM THE SHOW

Patagonia was a brand whose ethos I looked towards when opening my previous business, One Wild Life Co.—a mobile coworking adventure vehicle geared towards inspiring others to engage more with the outdoors. In particular, we made a policy that anything we sold should have the capability of lasting a lifetime.

It’s been almost seven years since that business closed, but I’m still drinking coffee out of my stainless steel OWL mug and wearing my OWL/Patagonia beanie at camp. Thanks, Patagonia, for the inspiration, and congrats on 50 years.

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R!WC podcasts are supported by First Light Whiskey, which has been getting a lot of publicity lately. I met Co-Founder Ryan Espi just a few weeks ago for a coffee and to chat about the potential of a FLW Tasting Room in San Diego. More on that news as it happens.

In the meantime, order some whiskey or whip up an Irish Coffee using First Light Whiskey. You’ll need something to sip on while you check out this interview with Ryan and this Times of San Diego column on what the future holds at FLW.

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