# Melitta Pour-Over Source: https://dailyextraction.com/methods/melitta/ Last updated: 2026-10-16 > Fold the seams of a Melitta paper filter, set it in the cone on your mug, add ground coffee and pour water just off the boil. A good 1x4 recipe uses 20 g of coffee to 320 g of water at about 93°C, poured in stages over about 3:30. Melitta Bentz of Dresden patented her paper coffee filter in 1908, the start of filter coffee as we know it. ## At a glance - Ratio: 1:16 (20 g coffee : 320 g water) - Grind: Medium-fine (table salt) - Water temperature: 93 °C - Brew time: about 3:30 - Category: Pour-over & Drip (Percolation) - Difficulty: Beginner - Origin: Germany, 1908 - Also known as: Melitta Cone Filter, Melitta cone, Melitta 1x4, Melitta 1x2, Melitta filter coffee ## Steps 1. **Fold the filter**: Fold the bottom seam and the side seam of a Melitta paper filter in opposite directions, so it sits snugly in the cone. 2. **Rinse and warm**: Set the filter in the cone on your mug or carafe and rinse it with hot water. Pour the rinse water away. 3. **Add the coffee**: Add 20 g of coffee, ground medium-fine, and shake it level. 4. **Bloom**: Pour a little water, just off the boil at about 93°C, to wet all the grounds and wait about 30 seconds. 5. **Pour in stages**: Pour the rest in two or three stages until you reach 320 g, keeping the water below the rim of the filter. 6. **Let it drain**: Let it drain completely, finishing at around 3:30, then lift off the cone. The **Melitta** cone is the pour-over that started it all. In **1908**, **Melitta Bentz**, a housewife in Dresden, patented a way of brewing coffee through **paper**, and the company she founded still makes cone-shaped drippers and paper filters today. It's simple, cheap and forgiving: fold a filter, add coffee, pour. Here's a recipe, how to fold the filter, what **1x2** and **1x4** mean and the story behind it. ## The short version - **The original paper-filter coffee**, patented by Melitta Bentz in 1908. - **A good recipe:** 20 g coffee, 320 g water at about 93°C (1:16), finishing around 3:30. - **Grind medium-fine**; Melitta's own instructions say finely ground. - **Fold the filter's seams** so it sits snugly in the cone. - **1x2 and 1x4 are filter sizes**: 1x2 for small cones, 1x4 for larger cones and filter machines. ## How does a Melitta cone work? A Melitta is a **cone-shaped dripper** that holds a **paper filter**. You put coffee in the filter and pour hot water over it; the water drips through the coffee and the paper into your mug or carafe. The paper holds back the grounds and much of the coffee's oils, so you get a **clean, light-bodied cup**. Melitta's own **Aromapor** paper is divided into three **aroma zones**, each with a different number of pores. ## What do you need? - **A Melitta cone** that fits your mug or carafe - **Melitta filters** in the right size (1x2 or 1x4) - **Coffee** and a grinder, or pre-ground filter coffee - **A kettle**, and scales if you want to be precise ## How much coffee and water should I use? A good starting recipe for a **1x4 cone**, from Gota's Melitta recipe: | | Amount | | --- | --- | | Coffee | 20 g, ground medium-fine | | Water | 320 g, at about 93°C | | Ratio | 1:16 | | Time | About 3:30 | The 1x4 can also brew bigger batches, for example 30 g to 500 g for two or more cups. ## What grind size should I use? **Medium-fine.** Melitta's own instructions simply say "finely ground coffee". If it drains very slowly or tastes bitter, grind a little coarser; if it rushes through and tastes thin, go finer. ![Chart of coffee grind sizes from extra fine to extra coarse, with medium-fine highlighted for the Melitta cone](https://dailyextraction.com/diagrams/grind-size.svg#medium-fine "The Melitta sits around medium-fine on the grind scale.") ## How do you brew with a Melitta, step by step? 1. **Fold the filter**: the bottom seam one way, the side seam the other. 2. **Set it in the cone** on your mug, rinse it with hot water and pour that away. 3. **Add 20 g of coffee** and shake it level. 4. **Bloom:** pour a little water just off the boil and wait about 30 seconds. 5. **Pour the rest in stages** until you reach 320 g, keeping the water below the rim of the filter. 6. **Let it drain**, finishing at around 3:30. Brew mode on this page times each stage for you. ## What do Melitta 1x2 and 1x4 mean? They're **filter sizes**. Melitta says it introduced its **"1x" filter system in the 1960s**: you only had to pour water **once**, so a **1x4** filter poured once made **4 cups**. Today the numbers work as sizes: | Size | Height (Tingstad) | Typical use | | --- | --- | --- | | 1x2 | About 100 mm | Single-cup cones, small brewers | | 1x4 | About 125 mm | Larger cones and filter machines | | 1x6 | About 150 mm | Large filter machines | Use the size that matches your cone: a filter that's too big or too small can fold over or tear. ## A short history of Melitta - **1908:** Melitta Bentz of Dresden files for a patent on her paper coffee filter on **20 June**; it's granted on **8 July**. She founds the Melitta company with her husband **Hugo** the same year. - **The story goes** that her first filter was a piece of blotting paper from her son's schoolbooks, in a pot she'd pierced with a nail. It's a lovely detail, but accounts differ, so treat it as family legend. - **1932:** Melitta introduces **cone-shaped filters**, the shape still used today. - **1960s:** the **"1x" filter system** arrives. ## Melitta vs other pour-overs | | Melitta | [Kalita Wave](https://dailyextraction.com/methods/kalita-wave/) | [V60](https://dailyextraction.com/methods/v60/) | | --- | --- | --- | --- | | Shape | Wedge-shaped cone | Flat bottom | Cone | | Filter | Melitta paper (1x2, 1x4) | Wave filters | V60 cone filters | | Forgiveness | High | High | Lower | ## How do you clean a Melitta cone? Lift out the filter and grounds and throw them away, then rinse the cone. Follow the care instructions for your cone's material. *General guidance only. Take care pouring hot water, and follow the instructions that come with your cone.* ## Melitta vs other brewers - **[Kalita Wave](https://dailyextraction.com/methods/kalita-wave/):** a flat-bottomed, forgiving pour-over. - **[V60](https://dailyextraction.com/methods/v60/):** a cone with one big hole and more control. - **[Chemex](https://dailyextraction.com/methods/chemex/):** thick filters and its own carafe. - **[Automatic drip coffee maker](https://dailyextraction.com/methods/automatic-drip/):** the machine version of filter coffee. Explore every pour-over in the [pour-over chapter](https://dailyextraction.com/methods/pour-over/). ## Words used in this guide - [Pour-over](https://dailyextraction.com/glossary/pour-over/): Pour-over is a way of making filter coffee by hand: you pour hot water over ground coffee in a filter cone and let it drip through into a cup or jug. - [Bloom](https://dailyextraction.com/glossary/bloom/): The bloom is the first small pour of water in a brew, usually 2–3 times the weight of the coffee, followed by a 30–45 second pause. ## FAQs ### Who invented the Melitta coffee filter? Melitta Bentz, a housewife in Dresden, Germany. She filed for a patent on her paper coffee filter on 20 June 1908, it was granted on 8 July 1908, and she founded the Melitta company with her husband Hugo that year. ### What do Melitta 1x2 and 1x4 mean? They're filter sizes. Melitta says its 1x filter system, introduced in the 1960s, meant you only had to pour water once: a 1x4 filter poured once made 4 cups. Today 1x2 is the smaller size, often used for single-cup cones, and 1x4 the larger one for bigger cones and filter machines. ### How do you fold a Melitta filter? Fold the crimped bottom seam one way and the side seam the other, then open it into a cone. It sits snugly in the dripper and is less likely to tear. ### How much coffee do you use in a Melitta cone? A good starting point is about 1:16 by weight, for example 20 g of coffee to 320 g of water. Use more coffee for a stronger cup. ### What grind is best for a Melitta? Medium-fine. Melitta's own instructions call for finely ground coffee; if it drains very slowly or tastes bitter, go a little coarser. ### What are Melitta's aroma zones? Melitta's Aromapor filter paper is divided into three aroma zones, each with a different number of pores, as part of how the paper controls the flow. ## Sources - [Filters (FAQ)](https://www.melitta-international.com/footer-navi/melitta-expert-advice/FAQ/Filters) - [Melitta 1-cup pour-over coffee brew cone](https://shoponline.melitta.com/products/1-cup-pour-over-coffee-brew-cone-black) - [Melitta Bentz](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Melitta_Bentz) - [Melitta](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Melitta) - [Coffee filter](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Coffee_filter) - [Three pour standard: Melitta 1x4 recipe](https://gota.cafe/en/recipes/melitta-1x4/melitta-1x4-standard) - [Guide: coffee filter](https://www.tingstad.com/se-en/alla-kategorier/kunskapscenter/produktguider/kaffefilter)