In 1908, in a quiet German kitchen, Melitta Bentz had had enough of bitter, gritty coffee.
Every cup meant chewing through grounds. Percolators made it worse. So one morning, she tried something different. She took a sheet of blotting paper from her son’s school notebook, poked holes in the bottom of a brass pot, set the paper inside, and poured hot water over the grounds.
The result? A smooth, clean cup—free of sludge.
That tiny experiment turned into a revolution. Melitta patented her invention that same year and, with her husband and sons, launched a small company. By the 1920s, her filters were used across Europe.
She wasn’t a scientist in a lab. She wasn’t backed by universities or big money. She was simply a woman solving a problem in her kitchen.
Today, more than a century later, the Melitta brand still thrives—and every morning, millions of us unknowingly follow her method.
So tomorrow, when you take that first sip of coffee, raise your cup to Melitta Bentz—proof that world-changing ideas often start with a little everyday frustration. ☕
