For years, the quest for the perfect pour-over included a dutiful pre-rinse, a safeguard against the phantom of "paper taste." Yet, groundbreaking new investigations challenge this long-held tradition, revealing modern bleached filters impart virtually no discernible flavor. This profound shift, however, merely scratches the surface of the filter paper's true influence on your cup, particularly its unexpected role in mitigating the shortcomings of even the most rudimentary grinders.