Now, the material is not the only factor you need to consider when choosing the best tool for filtering coffee grounds from your brew. The shape is important too! Let's take a closer look at the popular coffee filter shapes and their benefits.
Conical coffee filters are often the favorite of the most dedicated home barista. Two basic types of filters fall into the conical category. One is the standard tapered shape that looks a bit like a party hat. The other differs in that instead of reaching a point at the tip, it has two sides that gradually taper into a shorter line.
If you have a manual coffee maker, you may want to use the first type of conical filter. The second type is found mainly in permanent filters designed for automatic brewers. Either way, the filter works in essentially the same way.
Stainless Steel Coffee Filter
When someone mentions coffee filters, a basket shape may come to mind. These are also called flat-bottom filters and are shaped like cupcake liners with pleats on the sides or smooth-edged buckets.
Coffee connoisseurs prefer conical coffee filters over baskets because these filter shapes offer different degrees of coffee powder saturation. The wide, flat bottom of a basket coffee filter disperses the Java coffee more, allowing for uneven extraction of the coffee grounds. Even if your coffee maker has a spout to disperse the water, the water flow will go straight down, leaving gaps of less extracted coffee between areas of coffee that may be over-extracted.
On the other hand, their conical counterparts are more effective at forcing hot water through the coffee.
Stainless Steel Coffee Filter
Naturally, your preferred coffee filter, regardless of shape and material, must be able to work correctly with your coffee brewing method. What kind of a detailed guide would this be if we neglected to determine how to size the filter? Since coffee machines come in different sizes, of course, each has a different size filter.
Sizing a basket filter is relatively simple, as there are only two sizes: primary, for coffee machines that produce less than six cups of coffee, and regular, for larger machines that can hold more than six cups of coffee.
Stainless Steel Coffee Filter
Conical filters have a more extensive size chart. Each size is numbered - #1, #2, #4, and #6 - and each number indicates the brewery you can use the filter for. Here's how it works.
#1: Designed for electric and non-electric single-cup coffee makers
#2: Designed for two to six cup electric coffee makers and one to two cup non-electric coffee makers
#4: designed for 8 to 10 cup non-electric coffee machines or 8 to 12 cup electric coffee machines
#6: Designed for 10-cup or larger pour-over coffee makers or other non-electric brewers
The most common cone filter sizes you will encounter are #2 and #4. These will meet most people's brewing needs.
If you want to get more information about the best coffee filters, welcome to contact us today or request a quote.
