Well I had written up a longer and more indulgently verbose version of this diatribe, but as I'm sure many of us have discovered, the secret to brevity is having to type it all again.
I think I've just about had it with paper filters. It boils down to this - no matter what I do, coffee tastes better when it's never passed through paper. I've tried soak-then-filter methods, paper filters in my vac-pot, plenty of pour-overs with all kinds of paper filters, and the cups I get from cloth pour-overs, Eva Solo, Vac-Pot with metal or cloth filters, or French Press just trump them all. They're more balanced, sweeter, rounder, more satisfying - better in every measurable way. In all fairness, that's not very objective -- but to me, the cups I've brewed through paper are absolutely, without a doubt, missing something. I don't mean to imply it's not well known what they're missing - it's oil. Paper holds it back, metal and cloth let it through. What that does for the specific coffee you're brewing seems to vary. Honestly, I've brewed some where the difference was quite subtle, and others where the coffee seemed to become an entirely different animal.
I hear the objections - some people favor a "clean" cup. Fine, but realize that's sometimes code for an intentionally lacking cup of coffee. And for what it's worth, there are very clean brewing methods that still favor oils (cloth filters, namely). I'd challenge you to try it. It's not hard to do with nearly any setup - there are metal baskets for auto-drip, cloth and metal filters for pour-over, DISK for aeropress - and see if you're picking up what I'm putting down. Coffee just tastes better when you let the oils into the cup.
Of course, some folks are convinced it's also less healthy this way, but for me the evidence is thin.
I think I've just about had it with paper filters. It boils down to this - no matter what I do, coffee tastes better when it's never passed through paper. I've tried soak-then-filter methods, paper filters in my vac-pot, plenty of pour-overs with all kinds of paper filters, and the cups I get from cloth pour-overs, Eva Solo, Vac-Pot with metal or cloth filters, or French Press just trump them all. They're more balanced, sweeter, rounder, more satisfying - better in every measurable way. In all fairness, that's not very objective -- but to me, the cups I've brewed through paper are absolutely, without a doubt, missing something. I don't mean to imply it's not well known what they're missing - it's oil. Paper holds it back, metal and cloth let it through. What that does for the specific coffee you're brewing seems to vary. Honestly, I've brewed some where the difference was quite subtle, and others where the coffee seemed to become an entirely different animal.
I hear the objections - some people favor a "clean" cup. Fine, but realize that's sometimes code for an intentionally lacking cup of coffee. And for what it's worth, there are very clean brewing methods that still favor oils (cloth filters, namely). I'd challenge you to try it. It's not hard to do with nearly any setup - there are metal baskets for auto-drip, cloth and metal filters for pour-over, DISK for aeropress - and see if you're picking up what I'm putting down. Coffee just tastes better when you let the oils into the cup.
Of course, some folks are convinced it's also less healthy this way, but for me the evidence is thin.