Inventor

Melitta Bentz

Inventor of the paper coffee filter · 1873–1950

Melitta Bentz was a Dresden housewife who in 1908 got tired of bitter, over-brewed coffee and decided to fix it herself. She punched holes in a brass pot, cut a circle of blotting paper from her son's school notebook, and placed it inside. The result was a clean, smooth cup with no grounds at the bottom.

She filed a patent the same year. Then she started a company. Her husband and two sons joined her. The Melitta brand still exists today, over a century later.

She did not wait for someone else to solve the problem. She solved it with what was on her desk.