I've been making my pour-over coffee with a stainless steel filter

After years of discarding two Chemex three-layer paper coffee filters daily, I decided to cut back on waste and try a stainless steel coffee filter.

I felt like my daily coffee ritual was wasteful. I got tired of tossing out two paper filters every day. I started drinking pour-over coffee about two years ago, and previously, I'd made French press or espresso, so the waste was new. I enjoyed the smooth taste, as the paper filter removes a lot of the things that make coffee bitter. Gone were the days of trying to get a nice head of crema on an espresso pull, but I was tossing out at least two filters daily ( I drink a lot of coffee.) I decided to see if a reusable filter would work for me.

YouTube is full of people reviewing these things and comparing the taste between the two. My experience has been that adjusting the grind to medium coarse instead of medium fine and using a little less water makes an indistinguishable cup of coffee. I think that actually, perhaps get a few more "notes of delicate flavors."

There are a few downsides to saving on waste paper, and I'm OK with them. First, a tiny bit of the finest ground does pass through the filter and ends up at the bottom of my cup. Also, after tapping the grounds out of the filter into my compost bin, I have to wash the filter out. A good rinse with hot tap water does it six days a week, and on the seventh I soak the filter in a vinegar/water solution for about 30 minutes. If I skip the vinegar rinse, I notice a sheen of oil build up on the shiny surfaces. I figure the filter pores must be as well. I don't notice a taste change, but I get that if I went another week or so, I would.

This was the cheapest well-reviewed filter I could find on Amazon. It has worked great, and as long as I don't slam it too hard into the compost bin, I think it should outlast me. It has paid for itself already.

Teemade Stainless Coffee Filter via Amazon