Woman of the Week – Melitta Bentz

If you brew your coffee with a paper coffee filter, you can thank Melitta Bentz.

In the early 1900s, she started most days the way most of us still do: with a fresh cup of coffee.

But she was often irritated with the coffee grounds in her cup and having to scrub ground stuck to the side of her copper coffee pot. Each morning from her kitchen in Dresden, Germany, she thought about ways to make a better cup of coffee.

She tried many things, all of which didn’t work. One day, she tore a piece of blotting paper from her son’s school notebook and stuck it in an old tin pot that she drilled holes into.

Bentz then added ground coffee and poured hot water over the grounds. The coffee dripped through the paper and into the cup underneath. The used, wet grounds and the paper went right into the trash and the pot and mug clean up was much simpler.

She was able to share this more enjoyable cup of coffee with family and friends and the results were excellent. Everyone loved her more enjoyable cup of coffee. She decided to start a drip coffee company.

The Kaiserliche Patentamt (Imperial Patent Office) granted her a patent in June 1908. In December 1908, her company was entered into the commercial register as “M. Bentz.” Her family helped her with business duties including contracting a tinsmith to manufacture the devices.

Her husband Hugo and her sons Horst and Willy were her first official employees. When the first World War broke out, metals were rationed for use other than Zeppelin construction. Paper and imported coffee beans were also rationed. The budding business was halted during this time.

Things picked back up again after the war ended and the company expanded very quickly. By 1928, demand was so high they hired 80 employees to work in a double-shift system.

In 1930, Horst took over the business, then called Bentz & Son. Bentz transferred the majority of business operations to both her sons in 1932 but kept a hand in the business. She mostly worked on making sure the employees received great benefits from Christmas bonuses, up to 15 vacation days a year and a five-day work week. She also started the “Melitta Aid” system, which was a social fund for company employees.

She also edited the original filter into the ribbed cone shape most of us are familiar with today.

By this time, World War II had broken out. The company had to stop their regular production and help produce goods needed for the war. After the war, production picked back up but not in their main factory as it was still being used as a post for troops. Employees were temporarily relocated to old factories and even pubs to get the company moving again.

By 1948, things has returned to normal. Bentz died just two years later in 1950. The company remains in operation in Minden, Germany by Thomas and Stephen Bentz, Melitta’s grandchildren, and distributes coffee, paper filters and coffee makers as part of the Melitta group. They employ approximately 3,500 people.