melitta

Melitta is a German brand and multinational company best known for coffee-related products, including disposable paper coffee filters and brewed coffee offerings. The brand traces its origins to Melitta Bentz, a German housewife who, in 1908, invented the first practical paper coffee filter by using blotting paper to remove coffee grounds from heated water. She and her husband founded the company to commercialize the invention, and the name Melitta is traditionally said to derive from Bentz’s daughter.

Following the patent, the company expanded from filters to roasted and ground coffees, as well as brewing accessories, and established production and distribution across Europe and beyond. Over the 20th and 21st centuries, Melitta diversified its product portfolio to include tea and various consumer brewing equipment, maintaining a presence in both consumer and professional markets.

Today the Melitta Group operates worldwide, with manufacturing facilities in Europe and North America and a presence in more than 100 countries. While it remains best known for its filter products, the brand has broadened to include coffee beans and instant coffees, alongside appliances and accessories designed to support convenient, accessible coffee preparation. Melitta’s legacy is closely linked to early innovations in coffee filtration and its ongoing role in everyday coffee culture.