If you love to be caffeinated and very often have an espresso from Starbucks thinking nothing could beat this, probably you like the aroma, texture, and the taste of the coffee. Certainly, other ways of coffee brewing offer different aroma, taste, and benefits.
The different coffee brewing methods also defer nutritional value and the antioxidant amount that plays a role in reducing heart disease, cancer, and other diseases. Finding the right one can help you a lot, not to mention the process of finding is exciting as well.
If you are interested, then here we bring some popular methods of coffee brewing that you can try at home.
Coffee brewing methods: A quick abstract of the article
- Espresso
- Drip coffee
- Pour-over
- French press
- AeroPress
- Turkish coffee
- Moka pot
- Cold-brew
All Types of Coffee Brewing Methods
There are many coffee home brewing methods available, and you can choose the best one that suits you. Every brewing method extracts coffee offering their signature tastes. Here, we provide a coffee brewing methods chart to help you to choose your most suitable brewing method.
Coffee Brewing Methods Comparison Chart Table
| Coffee Type | Brew Time | Grind Size | Brew Nature | Difficulty |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Espresso | 2-3 minutes | Salt like consistency | Rich & strong | Medium-high |
| Drip coffee | 5 minutes | Salt like consistency | Strong & clean | Medium |
| Pour-over | 6-7 minutes | Coarse grind | Strong flavor than Drip coffee | Medium-high |
| French press | 5-10 minutes | As preference | Full bodied & sediment-y | Medium |
| AeroPress | 3 minutes | Finest grind possible | Smooth & clean | Low |
| Turkish coffee | 3 minutes | Not too coarse or too fine | Sharp & thick | Medium |
| Moka pot | 5-7 minutes | Sand like coarse | Sharp & strong | Low |
| Cold-brew | 12-24 hours | Coarse grind | Very smooth | Low |
Espresso
You must have heard of the name espresso, whether you are into coffee or not. There are many espresso machines available that vary in sizes and designs, but the basics are the same. By pushing pressurized hot water through a chamber of ground coffee beans that contains a filter, give you a perfect shot of espresso.
An espresso shot largely depends on the espresso machine. A home-based machine may take 3-5 minutes to warm-up where commercial machines take more time. After warming up, the coffee brewing process takes less than a minute. Another important thing is to select a fine and consistent type of grind to get a perfect shot.
Espresso is well-known for highly concentrated coffee, strong aroma, and full of flavor. It also is famous for its appealing foamy layer on the top. It contains much of coffee oils and solids. Some espresso machines have a Panarello wand to froth milk to make milk-based coffee.
Getting a perfect espresso shot requires adequate training and skills. If you like to have a cup of coffee completely done for you, a fully automatic espresso machine is a great option. However, if you want to make it artistically, a manual espresso machine will give an experience of brewing coffee right from your hand.
By providing highly concentrated caffeine brew, an espresso machine costs you a lot. Also, you may not like a big machine in your small kitchen. But espresso shots are unique, and if you are in love, you will surely get one in your home.
Drip Coffee
Automatic drip coffee is one of the most popular coffee brewing methods. This method includes pouring hot water over coffee beans enclosed in a filter.
A perfect cup of drip coffee depends on appropriate grind size, brewing time, water temperature, type of filter used, and overall technical skills. The appropriate grind size is important as this determines caffeine concentration, aroma, and overall taste of the coffee.
When you grind finer, water passes slowly through the compact coffee, and if coarse, water passes too fast that results in under-extraction. Under extraction causes flat coffee, little caffeine, and no aroma. So, crushing too coarse will offer tasteless coffee as water doesn’t get saturated fully. Again, too fine grinds allow more soluble solids to pass through the filter that may disappoint you.
Crushing your coffee at home is the best you can do. You are going to get the freshest grinds without losing any aromas and flavors. Ground coffee loses its aromatic oils within half an hour after crushing if left open. You can grind the beans with the best quality coffee grinders at home just before brewing to get the maximum aroma from the beans.
Be careful with the coffee filters!
Most people use standard paper coffee filters that contain chlorine and carcinogenic chemicals like dioxins that can accumulate in tissues and disrupt hormones. So, we recommend sticking to the unbleached paper filters or switch to reusable hemp coffee filters to keep the mother nature happy.
Pour Over
Pour over in another drip coffee method that produces a cup of delicate and smooth textured coffee. When the ratio of the water used to the ground coffee is perfect, a pour-over coffee will offer the most expressive flavor. Many people recommend “Pour-over” as the best coffee method. Hario V60, Chemex are popular pour-over coffee makers.
A dripper is required where a paper filter fits in to prepare a cup of pour-over coffee. At first, you have to boil some water and keep it for cooling for 1-2 minutes. The water must be of high quality as it is a vital element of coffee.
However, the dripper is placed on the coffee maker and places the paper filter into the dripper. Place the grounds on the filter and make sure to flatten the surface of the grounds. Pour the water on the grounds slowly so that all the grounds can get wet evenly to get a strong and intense flavor. Don’t pour a whole cup of water altogether. Pour water four times, maintaining pause between each of them. Pausing between the pours will allow you to extract coffee evenly.
The strength of the coffee largely depends on the water to coffee ratio. If you use more grounds, you’ll get a strong brew, whereas fewer grounds will provide lighter coffee. The filters are used to restrict oils and fatty acids from going to the cup that helps eventually to get a richer taste.
The pour-over method requires extreme focus and care. It requires your patience also, as you need to pour water multiple times to saturate the coffee grounds gently. As the grounds stay in contact with the water for a longer period, pour-over coffee is usually rich in caffeine.
You Can Also Read: 5 Best Automatic Pour Over Coffee Maker Reviews in 2020
French Press
The French press is one of the inexpensive and simplest brewing methods that people have been using since long ago. It is a very simple yet popular method where you only need a simple coffee brewing device known as French press or press pot with a beaker and filter.
The preparation process includes pouring hot water over the coffee’s grinds to steep for a few minutes. Once steeping is done, the filter is pressed down to separate the grinds from the coffee. However, one important thing to take care of is choosing coarse coffee grinds. If you add fine grinds, the filter won’t be able to separate those from the liquid. You may visit a detailed French press coffee tutorial here.
French press coffee offers a medium body that is lighter than espresso but denser than drip coffee. The intense aromatic coffee is full of flavor. Nevertheless, we recommend leaving the last few sips of each cup as the coffee is sediment-y.
One reason why many people avoid the French press is the presence of oil. Even though an oily coffee is enriched with flavor, oils such as cafestol and kahweol are responsible for increasing cholesterol in our body. Hence, the risk of getting heart diseases increases.
AeroPress
AeroPress is one of the best manual coffee brewing methods in the list. People make coffee using the gravitational force to extract flavor from the beans in this method. AeroPress is loved by the people who want the coffee instantly. The portable and durable device is used by most of the travelers, hikers, or sailors.
When you buy an AeroPress, the device allows you to make three types of coffee: regular coffee, cold brew coffee, and almost similar to an espresso.
The method of AeroPress coffee includes pouring hot water over the top of the coffee grounds and quickly stirring the coffee with a paddle stirrer or spoon. Then, by inserting the plunger, press down hard until you hear a noise. Check back whether you like the strength of the coffee or not. You have the flexibility to add more hot water to make it weaker.
The ‘Pour and Push’ brewing technique of AeroPress coffee is strong with ample body and lovely in color and taste. The brewing process requires only about 30 seconds that makes it one of the fastest coffee brewing methods.
An AeroPress is so easy to use that you don’t need prior experience of coffee making. But if you are a coffee enthusiast, there’s always an option to explore other techniques of brewing.
Turkish Coffee
Traditionally Turkish coffee involves fine coffee grounds brewed in a brass pot. The grounds are infused in nearly boiled water. You don’t need any electrical device to make the excellently flavored coffee in your house.
The uniqueness of preparing Turkish coffee lies in very fine grind size. The ground coffee is crushed into powder to ensure the fastest extraction possible. The household burr grinders are not capable of grinding as fine as you need to make Turkish coffee.
You either need commercial grinding machines or manual machines. Even if you need manual grinding, it’s worth enough to make the coffee. If you don’t want any hassle for grinding, you may try Mehmet Efendi Turkish Coffee though we recommend you take time to grind by yourself. After all, pre-ground coffee decays easily than the beans.
First, you need to measure the amount of water and pour it into the cezve (the brass pot). Add fine grind ground coffee and sugar without stirring. Hold the cezve on the stove at a low temperature. Don’t stir until the coffee starts to sink into the water, and the sugar melts. A foam will show up on the surface. Then, take the cezve off the stove and continue to stir until a thick foam layer appears. Its the perfect time to serve the coffee.
If properly prepared, Turkish coffee is strong with a full-body, saturated with soluble solids. One thing not to forget is not to boil Turkish coffee ever. If you do, the taste will be so strong. Also, the coffee loses its taste when the foam disappears.
Moka Pot
If you don’t want to spend a few hundreds of bucks on an espresso machine, still want an espresso-like coffee, the Moka pot is the most suitable for you.
The secret behind the Moka pot lies in its three-chambered brew process. Boiled water that stays in the bottom chamber produces steam that pushes water up through the coffee grinds on the top chamber, similar to the espresso method.
The best way to find the perfect type of grind to prepare Moka pot is to go through the trial and error process. You can start with coarser grinds and see the texture and taste of the coffee. If unsatisfactory, use the finer coffee grinds next time to have the perfect texture and taste of your coffee. But don’t go for too coarse or too fine. Both the type will ruin the taste.
The espresso-like Moka pot coffee is prepared with much lower pressure than real espresso coffee. Still, the coffee comes out of the Moka pot is very bold and sharp. You can brew multiple cups of coffee at once to make a number of people caffeinated. Stovetop Moka pot lacks the crema and aromatic oils. This inexpensive coffee machine is a decent alternative to an Espresso machine if you are in a budget.
Cold Brew
Cold-brew is also a very famous brewing method that is loved most by people with acidity problems. If regular hot coffee creates problems in your stomach, Cold brew coffee is the solution. The coffee is brewed cold that justifies its name.
The Cold brewing process implies dripping cold water slowly through coffee grinds and let steeping for long periods like 12-24 hours. After that, filter the coffee grounds from the solution and freeze the coffee to serve later. As it takes significant time to brew, people often prepare a large amount of coffee and store them to drink fresh for more than ten days.
Your patience in brewing the coffee will be highly paid off with an intense, bold, and unique tasting coffee. Cold brew coffee contains no acid or bitterness. You will get instant freshness drinking the coffee. However, don’t be confused about mixing Cold brew with regular cold/iced coffee. It’s more than that. Cold-brew provides super smooth aftertaste.
Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)
The Bottom Line
So, now you confidently know the best coffee brewing methods. You can either try preparing at home or have a general idea of which coffee to order that serves your need.
There’s no limit to enjoy a cuppa coffee, and you are always welcome to experiment with different brewing methods. Who knows, someday you’ll be discovering a new coffee brewing method!!