Serious question, why do people rinse their coffee filters with hot water and then dump it out?

I was at a new cafe in Denver last month and watched the barista run hot water through the filter, toss the water, then brew. I asked why and they said it gets rid of paper taste. But I've been using the same brand of unbleached filters for three years and I swear I can't tell a difference either way. I did a side by side test at home with one rinsed and one not. Two mugs of the same beans brewed at the same temp. Tasted exactly the same to me. So is this just a routine people picked up from watching YouTube or does it actually do something? Has anyone else blind tasted the difference?

2 comments

2 Comments

ruby5611mo ago

honestly it's mostly for very sensitive taste buds or super light roasts. I've done my own blind test with washed natural processed beans and couldn't pick the rinsed one either. probably makes more of a difference if you're using cheap bleached filters or something really delicate like a Geisha.

michael8951mo ago

I read James Hoffmann found rinsing filters mostly just prevents paper taste on first brews.