We all have a beloved coffee friend (or editor) who swears up and down that they can detect the distinct taste of paper filters in the cup, regardless of how much rinsing is done before brewing. The type of filter and manufacturing process does not matter—bleached or unbleached, processed with oxygen or more worrisome chemicals—their complaints remain. There is not a doubt in your mind that such friends are super tasters, and although you have learned a lot from their palates over the years, you are somewhat skeptical about the claim. Well, for about $13, you can put their preferences to the test with Coffee Sock, a reusable organic cotton brewing filter.
Coffee Sock is a small company owned by Robert and Corina Guillory and based in Austin, TX. They offer a range of filters for basket-, cone-, Chemex-, Aeropress-, Kalita-, and V60-style brewers, along with filters for teas and cold brew coffee. The company touts the economics and environmental impact of the product.
The Guillorys claim that the Coffee Sock is ultimately 25% of the cost a “premium” paper filter, and the green factors are obvious enough, as organic cotton is a renewable resource created without fertilizers or pesticides. The branding brags and flexes on the packaging are what you would expect, but I will give them props for identifying just how “Soulful” their product is and reminding that “Ritual Enriches!” Sold.
I picked up a #2 cone filter in the coffee aisle of one of my favorite bougie grocery stores and decided to see if cloth filters really do provide greater clarity in the cup.
Before first use, the manufacturer recommends boiling the filter for 10 minutes to sanitize. This process should be repeated, we are told, if the filter comes into contact with any perishable foods or the flow becomes restricted due to a build-up of coffee oils—in the case of the latter, two 10-minute boiled sessions may be required, with a water change after the first round.
The morning I first played around with the Coffee Sock, I started by dialing in a #2 wedge brewer with white paper filters, working with 20g in and 300g out in about 3.5 minutes. I like to play with my pour over process quite a bit (see upcoming posts), but in this case I was using a 50g bloom for just over 30 seconds, topping this up to 60% of the brew volume (180g) with the first pour, followed by the remaining 40% of the brew volume (120g) with the second pour just after 2 minutes. I was brewing a nicely complex El Salvador Santa Ana Pacamara AAA with round sweetness, deeper chocolates, and some bright berry flavors; for my palate, anyway. This was my base line.
Keeping the grind at the same setting, I switched to the Coffee Sock, and unsurprisingly, the first brew finished rather quickly at 2.5 minutes. A quick adjustment had the next brew back in the 3.5-minute range. During brewing, the Coffee Sock for the most part behaves like a paper filter; however, a more rigorous swirl (if that’s your thing) will be necessary to pull most the grounds from the sides. The resulting coffee was a nice surprise. The sweetness and brightness remained for the most part, and my only complaint was a slight reduction of body. The filter was easier to clean and rinse that I imagined. A quick fold inside out to dump the grounds followed by a rinse, and you are ready for cup number two.
I will admit that in the past I never liked cloth filters much. I always found them to produce either a flat, muted cup, or alternately, found them to bring out too much roast character and distillates. The Coffee Sock did neither of these things and produces a really enjoyable coffee. If you are averse to paper filters for whatever reason, the Coffee Sock is a great alternative that produces delicious results.
