When was the last time you had a really good cup of coffee and want to explore a new brewing method? Many options allow you to brew your coffee at home and get outstanding results, so let’s explore the best way to make coffee for coffee lovers.
You might be thinking to yourself how important coffee is when you’re getting up in the morning and enjoying a cup before you go to work. If you’re a lot like the 1 billion people all around the world who enjoy drinking coffee, you can always learn a new coffee brewing trick or two. Though there’s nothing wrong with your standard auto-drip coffee maker, it doesn’t often do freshly roasted beans the kind of justice they were meant to achieve.
All over the world, many of the best coffee machines often define a country and these methods are deeply rooted in rich coffee culture. Take a look at France and Italy and their historic love affair of coffee and strong coffee like espresso. And while many of these traditions traveled over the Atlantic to America, some of these old-world brewing methods were ultimately lost. It’s not until you start to look at things your grandparents or great-grandparents kept as keepsakes and you’ll uncover some of the coffee makers we’ll discuss here. Old brewing processes are certainly coming back like never before especially with the expansion of local coffee shops.
Yet over here in America, it’s not hard for us to watch any movie without hearing a reference to coffee and know that it’s part of everyday life. But if you’re unfamiliar with the lesser-known alternative brewing methods to making good coffee, you’ll find plenty of new choices here. We want to introduce you to the best ways to make coffee that are fun to learn.
From popular coffee brewing methods to the most obscure — we’ll explain the many ways you can make coffee — from French Press, to AeroPress, and New Orleans Iced style. When it comes to brewing coffee, traditional methods can be categorized into two groups; immersion brewing and pour-over. Below are the devices that can be used to brew coffee using either of these two methods. For additional information on each one of these brewing devices, click the link featured in each section to be taken to our complete article on each brew method.
MAKING COFFEE WITH FULL IMMERSION BREWING DEVICES
Making coffee by way of full immersion coffee isn’t very complicated and doesn’t take much more than some simple measuring of your coffee grounds and adding these coffee grounds to hot water. It’s not as time-intensive as the pour-over brewing process but does yield a fine cup of coffee depending on how you like the intensity, bite, and flavor that it produces. You’ll also see that brew times can very a great deal. Unlike brewing pour over coffee, where a few extra minutes can produce disastrous results, full immersion brew time can go on for 24 hours.
To master immersion brewing, you’ll learn more about the various brewing vessels that make this brew method nearly foolproof. You’ll also learn about how these vessels work with the advantages and disadvantages that they present. Even if you’re not a coffee guru but consider yourself a coffee lover, immersion isn’t going to be a costly investment. Many of the products for brewing are more cost-effective than you had previously thought.
But for enjoying a good cup of coffee in the morning or anytime you’re looking for a pick-me-up, you can choose an immersion method that works best for you. You’ll also learn a little more about the additional gadgets and everyday kitchen appliances that will make brewing immersion coffee more practical for you to save more time. There are plenty of tips and tricks you can learn along the way for brewing a quick cup of good coffee right away.
French Press
This immersion method is named by the plunger pot invented in Italy in the 18th century, also known as melior, plunger coffee, press pot, etc. A container with a plunger and filter screen that presses hot water through coarse ground coffee creates rich earthy coffee taste in your cup. See more on French press coffee VS drip coffee and VS pourover. Learn more about brewing piping hot coffee with a French press. Read More
Secura
Cold Brew
Not to be confused with iced coffee; the critical catch here is time. To achieve a more balanced coffee taste, it will sometimes take up to 24 hours of brewing. A mix of water and ground coffee should be steered and left to cool overnight. The day after, before serving your cup, strain the mixture to remove the excess coffee. Read More
Cold Brew Bottle
This divine beverage is produced by grinding beans to medium-fine, so they look like granulated sugar. A mix of ground coffee and water should sit in the refrigerator for 8-12 hours, and the result you get afterward is a delicious fizzy drink!
Hario Brewing Bottle
Siphon
The Vacuum Coffee Maker (Siphon) is the key machinery for this immersion brewing process. Coffee is brewed by two chambers where the vacuum and vapor pressure work together to create a perfect cup of coffee. The Siphon coffee maker works by heating and cooling the water gases from the carafe chamber to the infusion chamber and back again until we get finely brewed coffee.
Yama
AeroPress
In this immersion brew, coffee is steeped for 10-50 seconds and then pressured through a filter by pressing the plunger through the tube. You can use either the AeroPress paper filters or thin metal filters in the shape of a disc. This method produces a single cup of coffee that is, in my opinion, completely pure and makes a great coffee gift. Read More
Original AeroPress
Bialetti – Moka Pot
This brewing method is named by an electric coffee maker invented by an Italian engineer Alfonso Bialetti in 1933, better known as the Moka Pot. It brews coffee by passing boiling water pressurized by steam through the ground. Read More
Bialetti Express
Espresso
A perfect cup of espresso is crafted when pressurized water passes through finely-ground coffee. beans Ristretto is a type of espresso brewed slightly differently than a traditional espresso. Beans used for espresso are roasted for a more extended amount of time, which creates a single cup (or shot) of thick coffee with magnificent crema on top. The most common method for brewing espresso is using an espresso machine, but there’s more than one way to skin a cat here, see some alternative brewing methods to yielding full rich strong coffee like espresso . Read More
Gaggia Espresso Machine
Abid Clever
The Abid Clever brewing process is a unique variant when it comes to the pour-over devices since there is a built-in secret that makes it more full immersion than just pour-over alone. You can control the flow of your pour time and perfect the flavor extraction, so using this brewing device will take a bit of practice before you get it right. Learn the best-kept secrets of how to use the Abid Clever correctly the first time without making fist-time mistakes. Read More
Abid
Pour-over brewing is often thought to be a masterful skill that takes a bit of patience and determination to create gourmet coffee. It’s actually a bit of science mixed with basic skills that can be learned in a very short time using a variety of pour-over brewing vessels. Not every pour-over method is exactly the same but the basic principle applies each time.
If you’re new to pour-over brewing there are simple rules that you do need to learn including the type of grind setting, water temperature, filter preparation, and lastly brew time. What used to be an obscure method for brewing has blown up substantially into a revolution of coffee craftsmen who are now learning to make top-shelf coffee at home instead of paying through the nose at specialty coffee houses.
Pour-over brewed coffee is a challenging and satisfying art that will impress friends and show your passion for making the perfect cup. So this method won’t be without including some essential kitchen equipment that helps to make your presentation and brewing more effective. Since this brewing process is most technology-based, timing and accuracy count for getting the best results. A gooseneck kettle is a great investment if you plan on perfecting your pour over skills. You want a steady hand for your coffee pouring effectiveness, but as you’ll learn, some of these pour over devices are more forgiving than others.
If you want to create mind-blowing great coffee that offers a different flavor than others you’ve tried before, the manual pour over brewing method might just change your mind about making super-refined coffee.
Drip
Drip brewing is done during the process of pulling cold filtered water out of a reservoir and then warming up the water with heat and pressure so it can be siphoned up through the drip machine. The hot water is, then, filtered down through the grounds so the freshly brewed coffee can pass through the paper filter and into the carafe making a refined nuanced beverage. This is the most common way to make coffee. Read More
OXO 9-Cup Coffee Maker
Hario V60
This is one of the newest entries into the pour-over selection that became an iconic accessory for specialty coffee shops in the mid-1990s and through the early 2000s. Now, this device is more common in modern kitchens due to its simplicity. This is another Japanese design that is similar to using Chemex and other brewing vessels, so it does take a bit of practice due to the dramatic cone angle.
If you’re into precision, the V60 is a masterful brewing method that you’ll appreciate when it comes to attention to detail. Read More
Hario V60
Chemex
The trick with this brew is the infusion method and it is similar to drip coffee regarding body and taste. Chemex filters are 20-30% thicker than those used in other pour-over methods, which results in a slower brew and exuberant coffee tastes. Read More
Chemex
Nel Drip
Nel Drip coffee is the traditional Japanese method of brewing where a cotton cloth is used instead of a paper filter. Coffee from a Nel is sweet, thick and has a silky structure.Read More
Hario Woodneck
Melitta
Back when the Melitta cone was first invented back in 1908, it was one of the first that offered a direct cone filter method for brewing coffee. It’s simple to use and has always been a standard method to make coffee for any avid beginner. Many new variants are similar but are essentially updated versions of the same concept. This is the starting point for learning about a trusted pour-over method that never fails.
It’s also the celebrated version that never went away and has been copied several times over with improved designs from various coffee vessel designers. Read More
Melitta
BeeHouse
This is a design that is almost like the Melitta cone but instead of a single hole where the coffee is draining and there are two drainage holes instead. This helps to manage the draining pressure but also allows you to use a different coffee filter then you might use on a Melitta cone. Learn what makes the Beehouse pour-over maker a brewing method that delivers highly forgiving coffee. Read More
Bee House
Walküre
If you’re looking to impress friends with a bit of old-world nostalgia, the Walküre is a German invention that’s been around since 1899. It might be challenging to find an affordable model but not impossible to still find them being sold online. Because it doesn’t require paper filters, you’ll learn how ceramic filters can create a cleaner cup of coffee that still allows flavorful oils to give every fresh cup you brew have a distinct flavor. Read More
Walküre
Kalita Wave
If you’re looking for obscure and interesting, you can’t get much more impressive design perks than the Kalita Wave brewing vessel. Just like any standard Melitta cone, this version will have three drainage holes instead of one. Because it’s designed in Japan, the way that filters are placed into this cone increase and controls water temperature while the coffee drains. The result is a cup of coffee that is unmistakable from other pour-over methods. Read More
Kalita Wave Lotto
Enjoy in the sweet torment of picking your best way to make coffee to find a way a brewing method that makes coffee which suits your palate. Welcome to the world of coffee geeks. For more ideas, see the various types of coffee. There are so many majestic tastes to test.