Melitta Bentz
Amalie Auguste Melitta Bentz, born as Amalie Auguste Melitta Liebscher (Dresden, 31 January 1873 - Porta Westfalica, 29 june 1950) is the uitvindster van het koffiefilter.
Melitta Bentz was annoyed by the coffee grounds that were inextricably linked with making coffee. She thought that a filter would be the solution and used a brass bowl for them to make holes. In it she put a blotter paper from a school notebook of her son. By pouring ground coffee and pouring it with water, she could make coffee without sludge. During a coffee party with friends, her invention was enthusiastically welcomed. On June 20, 1908, she obtained the patent on the coffee filter.
Together with her husband Hugo, she improved the design and looked for better paper for the filter. With the help of a tin smith a filter device was developed in which the coffee filter could be placed. On 15 December 1908 the couple founded the company "Firma M. Bentz", with a starting capital of 73 pfennig and 40 square meters of business space. The following year, the company sold 1200 coffee filters at the trade fair in Leipzig.
Hugo Bentz gave up his job after some time to focus on the company and the sons also helped with the distribution of the goods.
During the years that followed, the company became bigger and bigger. For example, in 1915 the firm moved into a building that was 200 square meters in size. At that time there were 15 workers in service. In 1920 the firm moved into the adjacent building that had an area of 800 square meters.
In addition to producing metal filters, the company also supplied aluminum and porcelain filters produced by third parties from 1919 onwards. These filters reduced the amount of coffee infused.
In 1937 the design of the filter was changed to the now known conical shape. This kept the coffee well below and lost as little of the taste as possible.
The company is still being run by the founder's family, who died in 1950 at the age of 77.
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