Filter coffee is a great opportunity for business but it has long been the poor relation to the espresso-based alternatives for some very good reasons. Poor quality, factory-roasted pre-ground coffee supplied in little 60g foil packs will only ever brew a stale-tasting weak coffee. Basic machines super-heat the water that delivers a bitter taste. Hotplates stew the coffee within minutes and create a nasty smell. Glass filter pots often develop a brown taint that doesn’t promise much…
BUT filter coffee can be an absolute hero. Beautiful to taste and beautiful to serve. However, I’m generally met with blank faces when I present this idea. I love espresso so I’m certainly not bashing it. Each day myself many of our clients are drinking filter coffee and I want to share our collective experience to present the often more-practical coffee alternative for many work-places.
Awful to fabulous filter coffee >>
There are two very important but simple components…
- Carefully chosen Specialty coffee beans that are freshly ground, using a quality burr grinder just before brewing
- A ‘second generation’ programmable filter machine that carefully controls extraction and doesn’t use a hotplate to keep your brewed coffee warm. Amamus favours FETCO machines, which is a brand you will find in many Specialty coffee shops. We don’t advocate the use of basic filter machines with hotplates as these produce a sub-standard coffee, even with a great bean
Here’s 10 reasons why ‘second generation’ filter brewing should be the perhaps-unusual but certainly-sensible choice for exceptional business coffee.
1. Super-easy to brew
Grind your Specialty coffee beans into the basket, pour in the water (or hit a button if it’s plumbed in) and hey-presto a pot of beautiful coffee that will serve 10 – 30 people in around 8 minutes, depending on your machine size.
2. Exceptional extraction quality
Your coffee will be of a similar quality to that brewed with a specialist ‘fourth wave’ pour-over tool (V60 or Chemex) found in specialty coffee shops, but with none of the fuss. It’s important that your machine is programmed correctly and the grind is the right consistency for perfect coffee every day.
3. Access all single-origins
You can enjoy the breadth of character, nuance and excitement that single-origin Specialty coffee has to offer. Filter extraction precisely presents the taste characteristics of the coffee bean without intensifying or compressing particular aspects, as often happens with espresso extraction. This means your team can enjoy a much wider range of coffee including those from interesting regions and /or worthy co-operatives.
4. Great for meetings
High volumes of filter coffee can be served at one time – for example at a larger business meetings. Multiple batches can be pre-brewed so all delegates can be served at the same time. Often espresso-based drinks can only be created one or two at a time and can be noisy.
5. Lower machine cost than espresso
Filter coffee machines are cheaper to buy than a bean to cup machine. Even when your filter machine has touch-screen programmable technology and when you must buy an accompanying grinder. Aside from an occasional de-scale, maintenance is almost not required and replacement burrs for your separate grinder are simple to change.
6. Greater reliability
Bean-to-cup machines or manual barista machines are engineering masterpieces; but this clever tech comes with many built-in moving parts and complexity. Whilst the new generation of bean-to-cup machines we sell are very reliable, the simplicity of a displacement filter machine with no moving parts will always win the battle for long-term reliability.
7. Beautiful serve
Filter coffee has a beautiful simplicity – just your bean and water. Our range of glassware can highlight the elegance of your coffee akin to wine. Specialty coffee roasted to a medium profile has a lovely rich brown colour to it that is showcased using a glass carafe. The Bolio carafes amamus supplies are double-walled so they keep your coffee hot for up to an hour. We also supply a range of glasses that are also double-walled.
8. Our more progressive Australian and US coffee counterparts are into it
In the UK we are in a transitional period where many traditionalists still enjoy a bitter full-roasted ‘Italian’ or ‘French’ style roast. Younger and more discerning consumers are preferring the ‘third wave’ lighter roasts pioneered by our counterparts in Australia and the US. Filter or pour-over coffee is in tremendous growth in these regions which is set to follow in the UK as tastes continue to evolve.
9. Tremendous flexility
Brewing coffee into a vacuum serving jug that keeps your coffee hot for up to eight hours and fresh for up to four hours without the need for a hot plate is a revelation. Pre-brewing for meetings and events is a great advantage. Or distributing beautiful coffee around multiple office spaces from a single machine can save a whole load of money. Or if your business runs events, you can pre-brew and take perfect coffee to alternative venues.
10. Keep it simple
People can be confused by the choice available with espresso based coffee. Filter coffee keeps it simple – it’s preferable black as quality coffee isn’t bitter and you’ll not taint the taste of your Specialty coffee; but milk can of course be added to taste.
For more advice on filter coffee machines or appropriate Specialty coffee please do get in touch and we’d be delighted to provide advice or ideas for your business. We also have demonstration machines available for short trial periods so you too can be converted!
