Melitta

Melitta headquarters in Minden

A Melitta coffee filter, containing ground coffee, in a single cup brewing holder

Melitta (/məˈliːtə/) is a Germany-based company selling coffee, paper coffee filters, and coffee makers, part of the Melitta Group, which also has Melitta branches in other countries world-wide. The company is headquartered in Minden, North Rhine-Westphalia.^[1]

It is named after Melitta Bentz (1873–1950) who founded the company after she invented the drip brew paper coffee filter (German patent granted July 8, 1908). Bentz later ran the company as a family business.

Company history

This Melitta teapot was the model for the Utah teapot 3D rendering, a ubiquitous object in early computer graphics research

In 1908, Melitta Bentz, a housewife from Dresden, Germany, invented the first coffee filter. On July 8, 1908, Melitta Bentz received a patent registration for her "Filter Top Device lined with Filter Paper" from the Patent Office in Berlin. The 35-year-old housewife was transformed into a businesswoman and, during the same year of her invention, the company bearing her name was established.^[2]

In the 1930s, Melitta revisited the original filter top and tapered the filter into a cone-shape. This new filter top created a larger filtration area, which was lined with ribs to allow for improved extraction of the ground coffee. A few years later, Melitta introduced cone-shaped filter paper to fit inside the new cone-shaped filter top.

Melitta continued to develop new techniques to improve the shape, performance, material and production process of the Melitta filter systems. In 1989, Melitta introduced Natural Brown filter paper, the first coffee filters made from unbleached pulp. These new and improved filters kept unwanted by-products from leaching into the environment. In 1992, due to the popularity of white filter paper, Melitta developed an oxygen-bleaching process to produce white filter paper without chlorine. In 1997, Melitta developed another filter with Flavor Pores, microfine perforations that allow more coffee taste and aroma to come through while filtering out unwanted sediment, particles and oils. Melitta improved the Flavor Pores filter in 2002 by adding a second Safety Crimp for extra strength and durability. Bamboo Filters were introduced in 2007. Later that year, Melitta took Flavor Pores one step further and released new patented Flavor Enhancing Micro Perforations, which enhanced the filter process to allow for a richer cup of coffee.

Melitta USA

Melitta USA, headquartered in Clearwater, Florida is part of the privately held Melitta Group of Minden, Germany. Melitta USA is responsible for the sales and marketing of Melitta coffee filters, coffee, and non electric coffee systems in the USA.

Melitta's coffee filters are manufactured in Clearwater, Florida and the company has a coffee roasting operation located in Cherry Hill, New Jersey. Melitta USA has been roasting coffee in the Cherry Hill location for more than 40 years.^[3]

Pour-over brewing method

Coffee experts have renamed the manual drip brewing method as the "pour-over” and say there is no better way to make a cup of coffee. The pour-over started showing up at independent coffee houses that wanted to provide a fresh-brewed single cup of coffee at any moment. Preparation consists of a cone lined with a coffee filter and filled with ground coffee sitting atop a coffee cup. Water is slowly poured by hand over the grounds; coffee drips into the cup below.

The pour-over method dates back 102 years when Melitta Bentz devised a paper filter, set it in a brass cup in which she had punched holes, and filled it with ground coffee. She then poured water over the grounds, and coffee — clean and clear — dripped into a drinking cup below.

For a pour over, water is slowly swirled over the grounds, taking about a minute to fully extract the flavor. Water temperature should be just below boiling. The method and the equipment are the same for commercial establishments as for home preparation.

See also

• Easy Serving Espresso Pod
• Flavia Beverage Systems
• Tea culture#Germany
• Utah teapot, a 3D graphics computer model of a modern Melitta teapot used in graphics research and testing

References

External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Melitta.

• Homepage of Melitta, Germany with international links