HAMBURG – Drip-brewed, pressurised, or simply steeped in boiling water – filter coffee is in again, and has finally shaken off its old-fashioned image.
When someone says “Let’s go for coffee”, they are no longer thinking of a classic pot of coffee, but rather pour over, drip brew
or cold brew. Filter coffee is THE trend in the hip coffee bars and coffee shops. People are celebrating coffee again, with expert advice – freshly ground and prepared in front of the customer.
The German Coffee Association’s figures for the German coffee market underscore this development. Coffee is the most popular beverage in this country, with per capita consumption of 162 litres (figure for 2015). Filter coffee has a market share of 64%.
This new interpretation of coffee preparation means investing time – people are taking time again to explore the aroma of
different coffee varieties and brewing methods, a very different approach to grabbing a quick takeaway coffee on the way to college or work.
Filter coffee will be a major topic with exhibitors from the coffee sector at COTECA, the global industry expo for coffee, tea and cocoa, to be held in Hamburg from 7 to 9 September.
COTECA 2016, in cooperation with the Kaffee Campus of the
German Roasters Guild, gives visitors an overview of the whole world of coffee.
Filter coffee trend boosts demand for specialty coffees
The continuing trend towards filter coffee is evident not only for manufacturers of coffee making equipment, but also for green coffee dealers, who supply roasters with those special beans for
aromatic filter coffees.
“We can also see the growing popularity of filter coffee in our sales. And that means not only the “3rd wave” roasters, who have specialised in such varieties for some time, but also the branded coffee suppliers. They are not necessarily asking for new countries of origin, but more for finer coffees from the present countries of origin. Our roasters want coffees from certain regions with specific characteristics, such as acidity and sweetness,” says Arthur E. Darboven, CEO of Benecke Coffee, Hamburg.
Gabriela Parfait, a green coffee trader for Belco, France, agrees with that – “we get requests from roasters for specialty coffees when they want to roast filter coffee. Mostly they want highgrade
coffee varieties for filter coffee. Their demand forces us as traders to expand our range and include specialty coffees with certain characteristics such as fruity aroma, fine acidity, or sweetness. Filter coffees are normally roasted lighter, so fluctuations in quality cannot be concealed by longer roasting or by blending with other coffees. The filter coffee trend will mean
further growth in the range of outstanding single-origin coffees.”
Simple preparation for exquisite coffee flavour
The variety of brewing methods for this aromatic beverage now goes far beyond the classic filter or the practical French press. The trend brewing techniques today are Aeropress, Chemex, vacuum
coffee maker, or the practical Clever Dripper. This brewer is placed on the cup or pot, and looks at first sight like a conventional hand brewing filter. But it has a special stop tap and a release mechanism to ensure that the coffee grounds and the water stay in contact for the right amount of time, until you allow them to drip into the cup.
Jessica Tien, Managing Director Handybrew from Taiwan, explains why the new filter methods are so popular with consumers – “Brewing methods like the Clever Dripper were developed to
make a specially aromatic, high-quality cup of coffee without much effort. That means anyone can prepare their coffee this way, and follow the brewing of the beverage right from the first minute – any time, any place.”
Robert Jones, Managing Director Coffee Planet from Dubai, believes the filter coffee trend is just starting – “Filter coffee is the easiest and cleanest way of getting the best out of coffee. That makes it the ideal brewing method for freshly roasted coffees from the growing countries. We expect demand to increase in future for the new filter brewing methods, and we also expect growth in demand for 100% Arabica single-origin coffees.”
If you want to get an impression for yourself of the exclusive aromatic coffee varieties or the diversity of coffee making equipment and brewing methods, allow enough time to experiment when visiting COTECA and the Kaffee Campus.
About COTECA
COTECA Coffee, Tea and Cocoa Global Industry Expo will be held at CCH Congress Center Hamburg from
7 to 9 September 2016, with opening hours 10:00 to 18:00. As a trade show for coffee, tea and cocoa,
COTECA is Europe’s only business meeting that covers all three sectors. COTECA is accompanied by a
high-quality conference addressing the future of the markets for coffee, tea and cocoa. In cooperation with
the Kaffee Campus of the German Roasters Guild, COTECA presents the whole range of coffee. The
concept supporters of COTECA are the German Coffee Association, the German Tea Association, the
German Association of Herbal and Fruit Infusions (WKF), and the German Cocoa Trade Association.
