World's Most Expensive Coffee Filter Dethroned
Author: Kenny
Translation: Raven
Rumour has it that RS-16 is the world’s most expensive coffee filter, though I never got to fact-check that. We have, however, made multiple requests to Coffee Consulate to come up with a less pricey version of the glass filter to appeal to the wider population. Years later, Dr Steffen Schwarz (the co-inventor) finally revealed his new creation: RS-16M, a metal filter seamlessly turned out from a single block of high-grade stainless steel.
Compared to the €90 price tag of the glass version, this stainless steel special edition RS-16M is €159. Looks like he did make the old glass RS-16 less pricey in comparison, it’s no longer the most expensive… (facepalm).
RS-16M is 300 grams worth of thick polished metal that screams precision and quality when held in your hand. Its intricate details can only be examined physically. I think the idea behind this product is counterintuitive to the concepts of “cost-efficient” or “mass-production friendly” which are more popular from a typical industrialised design language. One can’t help but ask “why?”
First of all, this new design keeps the original advantages of eliminating paper taste; retaining oil-bound aromas; and stabilising pressure with the cylindrical shape. But most importantly, the switch of material had solved irregularity issues with hand-made glass and makes it practically indestructible.
It certainly isn’t the first metal filter in the market, but the spotlight is on the neutral flavour it produces since there are no welds to create galvanic currents. In layman terms: it takes the metallic flavour—usually very noticeable in a French press or other metal filters—out of the equation.
The devil is in the detail, as cliche as it may sound, to achieve this. And you may ask whether it’s worth investing so much (turning a small product from a large block of stainless steel) in one small detail (avoid weld-inflicted flavours). Let me answer that with another cliche: many great industrial breakthroughs started from focusing on one minor detail, and since taste is everything when it comes to brewing coffee, this detail isn’t so minor to professionals and connoisseurs.
We conducted some cupping tests to try out this stainless steel magic in reality. The result exceeded our expectations. While no one could taste the metal from the RS-16M, the coffee it let through was clean and balance with all the right flavours. It even produced a different quality of acidity when compared to the same coffee brewed from its glass counterpart; I’m guessing it’s due to the difference in water temperature absorption, caused by the mass and material variation.
So with all that said, is the RS-16M worth buying? I can’t answer that for everyone, it depends on what you look for in a coffee filter. For me, I appreciate Coffee Consulate’s spirit of thinking outside the box of traditional coffee filter designs and actualising these pilot ideas with science and engineering despite the cost. So I wouldn’t want to miss out on it.
We can find game-changing disruptors throughout the history of science and technology; those who ignore budgets, returns, and market expectations to turn what they believe in into reality. We could relate the product in this way, or we might point out that it’s just trying to reach for the top shelf of the branding hierarchy. Whichever interpretation one may choose, for me, the RS-16M and the idea behind its coffee extraction are no doubt an inspiration to the specialty coffee market.