As expressions go, “filter” isn’t the most evocative. And it’s fair to say that most filter coffees live down to the name – with an emphasis on convenience rather than taste and aroma.

Well, that’s hardly something we were going to accept. Especially when consumers expect more body and aroma, even from a coffee that’s been “bulk brewed”. And our research shows that consumers really can tell the difference.

So 2004 will see a whole raft of changes to our entire filter range – with an increased emphasis on freshness.

We’ve started with the blends themselves – with real subtlety and variety on offer. But blending (and roasting) are far from the whole story.

In future, all our filter coffees will be finely sliced in a cryogenic grinder – as opposed to being crushed in a water-cooled one. We found that the traditional method was causing unwanted side-effects. The heat generated puts coffee through a secondary roasting – and the heat can also act to make coffee stale.

Cryogenic grinding, on the other hand (see Fresh 11), cools the slicing blades with liquid nitrogen at -180°C. And that makes for much fresher coffee.

Packing also has a big part to play. You can expect up to ten litres of carbon dioxide to be expelled by every kilogram of freshly roasted coffee. Traditionally you need to let the coffee “rest” to get rid of the carbon dioxide – robbing it of vital freshness (and aroma volatiles).

The low, low grinding temperatures of cryogenic grinding slow down the release of carbon dioxide – and the stuff that’s left gets released through a valve on the packaging. This locks in most of the aroma volatiles – and that means locking in the flavour too. (Without the need for a flavour-robbing resting period.)

Another nifty innovation is our study of total dissolved solids (TDSs) – which really helps us to ensure we’ve got everything right, from roast height to grind size.

Without getting too far into the science, it’s an objective test of the ratio of coffee to water – something which plays a huge part in our perception of quality.

And quality is what fresher filter is all about.

This article originally appeared in Fresh 15