Filters: Season Finale

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Topic: Paper Coffee Filters
Guest: Chris O’Brien, Coffee Cycle Roasting
Title: Founder & Head Roaster
Connect:Coffee Cycle Roasting•www.coffeecycleroasting.com• @coffeecycleroasting

KEY TAKEAWAYS

Rinse your filters with hot water before brewing coffee!
- If you’re wondering what type of flavor your filter may be imparting on your coffee, perform a taste test. Taste a control sample of water straight from the kettle and compare it to the rinse water you’ve pre-heated your filter and brewer with.
Both white and natural/brown filters are made from wood pulp.
White filters go through one of two processes to remove the natural coloring of the wood pulp—chlorine (chemical) bleaching or oxygen whitening. Oxygen bleaching is more environmentally friendly due to the reduction of chemical waste that needs to be disposed after processing.
Reusable metal or cloth filters can reduce your need for paper filters.
Cloth coffee filters or bags have long been popular outside the United States. They are growing in popularity closer to home. They are made from natural fiber and unbleached cotton. In my experience, they impart a significant amount of extra flavor to the coffee, similar to a natural paper filter. Boiling (to clean) and extra hot water rinses before brewing can help mitigate that flavor impact.
Paper filters prevent coffee oils—a flavorful component of coffee—from entering your coffee mug. This can be good or bad, depending on your perspective.
Those coffee oils can overwhelm a coffee creating a muddled flavor profile. Using a paper filter may end up with a cleaner, crisper cup. Still, you might lose an essential flavor specific to that coffee bean. If the taste is your prime concern, you'll want to do a bit of experimentation.

Coffee oils are known to impact cholesterol levels. I use a paper filter to prevent those oils from entering my cup and potentially affecting my health in a minor way. It helps that I prefer a crisper taste profile.

DESERT ISLAND COFFEE BREWER

SEASON 2 & BEYOND

Thanks for listening to this first season of Coffee Smarter. We—or at least I—learned a lot about coffee brewers and how this show works. I could be wrong, but I think the episodes got better as we went along. Chris and I developed more of a rhythm as we rolled along.

So naturally, we’re going to blow it all up! Season 2 will be focused more on the process of brewing coffee at home, and we’ll be bringing more coffee experts. Chris is great, but…

Just kidding, no but. He really is great. He and I both think it will do the show some good to bring in a wider range of voices, expert opinions, and perspectives. I can’t wait to get to work on it. Stay tuned.

NOT FROM THE SHOW

A flyer for National Donate Life organ and tissue donation.

April is National Donate Life Month. I've been learning a lot about the value of organ donation and how it impacts both donors and recipients in recent years, including the emotion, physical impact, science, and economics.
Two of my wife’s cousins, Matt and Jesse, have been the recipients of a donor's heart. They both had a genetic heart condition known as ARVC (Arrhythmogenic Right Ventricular Cardiomyopathy). Without organ donors, they may not be here today. If you aren’t already, you can register to be an organ donor today at registerme.org.
BECOME AN ORGAN DONOR
Matt’s transplant occurred in February, and so far, it seems to have been a rousing success. He’s been sharing his story and advocating in hopes of growing the list of potential donors. He’s also dealing with the physical and economic realities that come with a transplant.
The average heart transplant costs more than $1 million, and he’ll be unable to work for nearly a year while recovering. Even with health insurance, he faces significant expenses related to surgery, hospitalization, biopsies, cardiac rehab, and anti-rejection medications. It’s a lot.
If you’d like to learn more about Matt’s story, click the link below. If you’re able to make a donation towards his recovery, please do. Transplants.org donations are tax-deductible and go directly toward medical expenses related to Matt’s recovery.
Matt Hankes and his family enjoying a day on the lake.
LEARN MORE AT TRANSPLANTS.ORG
Steel Mill Coffee is a roaster based in Vista, CA. Earlier this year, I enjoyed the best espresso I’ve had—possibly ever—at their cafe. Today they shared that as of May 1st, 2023, they will be exiting that spot to focus on online sales. If you live in, or are traveling to Southern California over the next few weeks, I recommend you stop by before it is too late!

From @SteelMillCoffee on Instagram:
To all of our friends, family and valued customers:
We have made the decision to close down our brick and mortar location in Vista.
Steel Mill has always been a DIY, family style operation and we have decided the best option is to move forward and focus on what is best for our team.

We will continue to sell coffee online, and vend at multiple events yearly. We are currently working with local retailers to make our beans as accessible as possible for our customers. Our final day operating will be may 1st, 2023.

Thanks so much for the support over the years, we look forward to what the future holds for us!