If you’re used to making a stop at your local café every day – or even multiple times per day – then you may be a great candidate for an at-home brewing setup. One of the world’s most-popular, best-tasting beverages is actually incredibly easy to prepare at home. And, with enough practice, you can learn to craft coffeehouse-worthy beverages in just a few days.
From the classic French press to the exciting espresso machine to modern alternatives like coffee pod makers, there’s a lot to choose from. So let’s not waste any more time. Here are the top six methods for brewing coffee yourself.
1) Drip Coffee & Pour Over: A Traditional Approach
When you think of a classic coffee machine, it’s most likely an auto-drip machine. These produce coffee by letting a slow drip of water run over steamy coffee grounds. A filter catches oils and sediments for a more traditional-tasting cup of coffee.
Similarly, pour overs work by pouring a steady stream of boiling water over coffee grounds, and gives better control over flavors, strengths and mouthfeel. This is likely to provide the most run-of-the-mill taste, but operates efficiently at high volumes, which is great for those who can never seem to get enough rocket fuel.
2) French Press & Cold Brew: Immersion Technique
Another classic and easy approach to brewing coffee at home is by way of immersion. Simply put, this is when you leave coffee grounds to sit in a container of water and let the flavors mix, creating a delightful end result.
The French press and cold brew methods are popular in this category, where coffee grounds are mixed with water and left to sit for a few minutes, up to several hours.
3) Turkish Coffee: The Strongest Coffee
Turkish coffee, also known as cowboy coffee, is generally made with something called an ibrik. This type brewing method produces the strongest and overly coffee on this list, and isn’t for the faint of heart. You can expect an extra-strong dose of caffeine, more than what’s in a double-shot of espresso.
For Turkish Coffee, finely ground beans are placed above a container of boiling water which extracts its complex flavors.
4) Percolator Coffee: The Once King Of Coffee Makers
Until the 1950s, the percolator was king of the coffee makers, and the most commonly used brewing device in homes and offices throughout the world. However, by the 1970s, the percolator had almost been uniformly replaced with the more efficient drip coffee machine. Regardless, they’ve seen a resurgence in the modern era, because percolators can brew stronger, cleaner coffee compared to their drip counterparts.
These work by continually cycling boiling water upwards through a tube to the top of a perforated basket, distributing atop the coffee grounds before returning into the boiling water to repeat the process.
5) Coffee Pods & K-Cups: A Modern Single-Serve Spin
The most popular brewing methods in use today were being used a hundred years ago or longer. Both the French press and espresso machine were invented in the 1800s, for example; percolator coffee makers are even older. But, one trend that has broken into the mainstream are single-use coffee pods and plastic cups.
While these provide relative convenience and efficiency, they’re a drag on the environment and don’t support many of the world’s small, local farmers that are committed to sustainability. To add on, they’re almost always more expensive for the same product in bean or ground form. A fresh bag of coffee beans will always be the economically smart, eco-friendly and tastier choice.
6) Espresso: Pressure Infused
For those who prefer higher concentrations of coffee in smaller quantities, an espresso is the drink for you. To make an espresso, you need a special machine that infuses water and coffee grounds under an extremely high amount of pressure. The result is usually one to two ounces of espresso that’s consumed like a shot.
With a thicker-bodied finish, foamy head and high amount of caffeine, the espresso drink is a star beverage of the coffee industry.
Try one of these popular coffee brewing methods today!
Now that you have six great ideas for brewing up coffee, you can move on to researching specific recipes, equipment and other essential components of your preferred coffee making method.
Whether you’re looking for strong, complex flavors in a robust Turkish brew or the bright, refreshing aromas of an immersion-based cold brew, there’s something for every aspiring barista to try their hand at. So, skip the daily trip to the local café and put that money toward an at-home setup that rivals any commercial operation. Soon, you’ll be brewing up batch after batch of award-worthy beverages.
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