A few weeks back I stopped into what is now my favorite coffee place. Seriously though, calling Coava a coffee place is like calling Ruth Chris a steak place. I'm pretty amazed at both the coffee they serve and the environment. While I was there, I noticed that they also sell most of the gear that they use to brew including one of the methods I use fairly regularly, the Aeropress. If that weren't enough, they also have designed and produced some really cool filters. One is for the drip method and the other is for the Aeropress. The quality on these is on par with everything else they do.
Late last week, I stopped in for some beans and went home with the DISK filter as well. It is a Stainless steel filter disk that you can slid in right where the paper filter normally sits. it is a pretty amaxing little disk, with precision cut holes that are actually cut with a taper to reduce clogging. You can just barely make out the reflection inside the holes in this photo.
If you've used an Aeropress, you know that it creates a strong, but un-bitter cup of coffee. It normally uses a paper filter which keeps out all of the particles that you would usually find in a cup of French Press. One of the criticisms of the paper filter is that it captures some of the oils that give the coffee it's most complex flavors.
There areplenty of other sites with instructions on Aeropress method and paper vs metal filters so I won't get into that. I will say that when testing the DISK side-by-side with the paper filter, I did notice that the flavor was noticeably richer and more complex. In addition, there is a little more sediment that gets through (commonly called "fines"), but not enough to make it feel gritty. I'm used to French press on a daily basis and the amount that got through was much less. In fact, the extra stuff seems to sweeten up the coffee just as you reach the end of the cup.
If you are an Aeropress user, I'm thinking that this is a fantastic upgrade. Cleaner, less waste, and more oils in the brew.
Update: After using the DISK all week with the unexpected breaking of my French Press, I can say that there is almost no sizeable particulate matter that makes it through. There is still that darker, very fine stuff, but I was still getting a little of that even with the paper filters. With a few more days having passed, I'm even more impressed.
