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The
4 Most Popular Coffee Brewing Methods
by: Craig
Barista
Coffee Brewing Methods range from
popular Espresso or French Press methods to lesser used methods
like Turkish. Here we explore the four most popular Coffee Brewing
Methods.
Let's start with the Drip Filtration style.
Drip Filtration is probably the most popular method of all. The
Drip Filtration machine works by spraying hot water across ground
coffee that is held in a conical shaped filter. The hot water then
slowly moves through the ground coffee. Once the water reaches the
bottom of the conical filter, it drips into a container beneath
it.
The most widely used conical filters are made of paper, while
expensive stainless steel or gold conical filters are also
available. Yes I did say gold. When buying paper filters, be sure
to use oxygen bleached paper. Chemically treated papers may affect
the taste of your coffee. Another point to be aware of with paper
filters is that you may also have some of the flavorful coffee
oils trapped by the paper filter. It is the oils that produce the
rich crema when you make an espresso.
The grind is also important with Drip Filtration. If the grind is
too fine, you may clog the pores of your filter. You can avoid
this by using a course grind (read about grinding here).
Finally, if you do not expect to drink the full pot of coffee,
either by yourself (all that caffeine....) or with friends, beware
the constantly heated coffee. It loses its flavor and may even
become bitter. And the golden rule....never reheat coffee.
One of the simplest of all Coffee Brewing Methods is the French
Press or Plunger. This is probably the easiest way to make great
coffee!
The French Press works by directly mixing ground coffee with near
boiling water. The coffee flavors get drawn out into the water and
then the press or plunger is depressed, separating the exhausted
coffee grind from the brew. While the process has a similar taste
to the Drip Filtration style, the French Press can extract more
flavor from the coffee grind by extending the brewing time. But be
careful. Manual infusion requires you to get your timing right. If
you let the brewing process run too long you may end up with a
bitter coffee. Conversely, if you brew too quickly you will have a
weak tasting coffee.
One more point, use a course grind. You don't want fine ground
coffee escaping through the metal filter and into the brew. A
dusty cup of coffee is not an experience worth having.
Probably the most popular of the Coffee Brewing Methods in
recent times is making an Espresso using a machine.
So how does an Espresso machine make a great cup of coffee? Super
hot, pressurized water is forced through fine ground, tightly
packed coffee. The pressurized infusion process ensures that the
water stays in contact with the coffee grounds long enough to draw
out much of the coffee ground flavor. The water then finds a path
through the coffee grounds. And the coffee commences to pour into
your cup. When the water finds a path through the coffee grind it
is referred to as the 'shot being pulled' through the group.
The sign of a good espresso, using fresh coffee beans, is the
richness of the crema. Crema is the hazelnut foam that sits on the
surface of the coffee. This is produced by the pressurizing
process and the oils of the coffee bean. Oils break down with
time, and so a rich crema will be produced using fresh beans.
And if you didn't catch it when I started talking about Espresso,
use a fine grind. Using a course grind allows the water to 'brush
past' the grind rather than infuse with it. Using a course grind
will still produce a good coffee, but it will taste more like a
coffee produced using a Drip Filter coffee brewing method rather
than true Espresso coffee.
The most Italian of all the Coffee Brewing Methods would have
to be making Espresso coffee using a Moka Pot.
The Moka Pot style is also known as a Stovetop coffee pot. Moka
pot's come in several sizes including 2, 4 or 6 cup capacities.
The Moka Pot a simple 3 piece pot. The water reservoir is at the
base, with a coffee basket in the middle and the brewed coffee
ends up in the top.
The coffee brewing method is very simple. The pot is placed on a
stove top which heats the water in the lower reservoir. As the
water reaches boiling point, the steam rises and the water starts
to push upward through the coffee grounds. This continues to
travel up the central funnel and seeps into the top chamber where
it comes to rest. The process finishes when the coffee stops
moving into the top chamber. This should only take a few minutes
to brew depending on the cup size of the Moka pot.
The grind should be a fine grind, similar or finer to that used in
an Espresso machine. If you want to fill the coffee basket the way
traditional Italian drinkers do, then heap the coffee grounds high
in the coffee basket and screw the two pieces together. Don't
worry about compacting the coffee. When the top half of the pot is
screwed on, the grounds will be compacted by the filter screen.
You should end up with a dry, compacted puck of coffee grounds at
the end of brewing.
So there you have it. The four most popular Coffee Brewing
Methods.
Cheers,
Craig.
http://www.the-java-cafe.com
About The Author
My website contains a wealth of coffee knowledge. Everything from
how to make an espresso and grinding coffee beans to the latest
recipes.
Cheers,
Craig.
http://www.the-java-cafe.com
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