Coffee Brewing Methods & How They Taste Different
Introduction to Coffee Brewing
How you choose to brew your coffee greatly influences the taste and experience of drinking it. When you visit your local café, do you order an espresso or a cappuccino? Let’s see what are the main coffee brewing methods.
You might not know that these two drinks are made in different ways and end up tasting quite different from each other, just because the brewing methods used are different.
Here’s how the most common coffee brewing methods work and what makes each one special!
1-Immersion Coffee Brewing Method
When it comes to immersion brewing, the key is in the name. The ground coffee is immersed in water and then left to brew until it is appropriately extracted and ready to be consumed.
The immersion method refers to boiling the ground coffee beans with hot water in a pot, allowing them to steep for about three minutes before straining the liquid. Immersion has the advantage of being able to make large amounts at one time because you can use any size pot and it’s easy to see when your coffee reaches its desired strength by looking at the color.
This means that rather than focusing on controlling the pour, brewers need to be thinking about the brew time. Immersion method coffees are great for when you want a full-bodied cup with a smooth taste.
Immersion coffees are often served with cream and sugar because they’re less acidic than other methods.
Immersion does not work well for brewing iced coffees because it usually tastes bitter when cold brews are mixed with ice cubes.
Coffee brewed using the immersion method can take anywhere from 5 minutes to 12 hours!
2-Pour Over Coffee Brewing Method
The pour-over coffee brewing method involves pouring hot water through coffee grounds in a filter. The water drains through the coffee and filter into a carafe or mug. Pour-over is also known as filter coffee or drip coffee, although these terms also include batch brewers.
3-Drip Coffee Brewing Method
Drip Coffee brewing method is one of the oldest, simplest, fastest, and cheapest ways to brew coffee is the drip method, using a coffee cone and paper filter. Hot water is poured evenly over the coffee grounds in a paper filter.
With gravity, the brewed coffee drips slowly and directly into a cup or pot below the brewer. The three lesser-known coffee brewing methods are the French Press, Turkish/Ibrik Pot, and Vietnamese Iced/Cold Brewed Method.
The 4 coffee pressure methods are Espresso (the most intense), French Press (the heaviest), Pour Over (medium-strength), and Aeropress (lightest).
4-Stovetop Coffee Brewing Method
To brew Stovetop Coffee, please follow the steps given below
- Using coffee grounds for the stovetop fill the filter basket so it is level at the top.
- Fill the water reservoir just below the safety valve.
- Place the filter basket into the water reservoir and screw in the top brew chamber.
- Place it on your stove (preferably the smallest burner).
- Allow brewing at a medium heat setting. The 3 Lesser-Known Coffee Brewing Methods: The French Press, The Clever Dripper, and The Bodum Chambord
- Fill the base with water off the boil for better flavor results. (Watch out! The base is very hot! Use a tea towel or oven mitts to hold them.
- Use freshly ground coffee for the best flavor.
- After removing from the heat, run the base under cold water to stop the brewing process. This will reduce bitterness.
- Dilute with hot water to make a long black consistency.
- AeroPress – has been used by over one million people since 2005 and produces the lightest-tasting coffee because it extracts fewer oils than other methods do.
- Use heated milk frothed with a plunger. Added to the coffee, the results are much like what you can achieve from espresso machines. One thing they don’t share is the use of pressure. The four methods of pressure brewing include AeroPress, Moka Pot, Chemex, and the Siphon Filter. The difference between these methods lies in how they extract the flavors that comprise your morning pick-me-up beverage.
Where to Buy AeroPress, Moka Pot, Chemex, and the Siphon Filter
- AeroPress Original Coffee & Espresso Maker – Quickly make delicious coffee without bitterness
- CAFE CONCETTO Filter for use in AeroPress Coffee Makers (Fine) – Brew Tips Included
- Bialetti Moka Express 1-Cup (2 Oz – 60 Ml) Aluminum Stovetop Espresso Maker, Silver
- Chemex Pour-Over Glass Coffeemaker – Classic Series – 8-Cup – Exclusive Packaging
- Barista Warrior Compatible for Hario V60 & Chemex Pour Over Coffee Filters – Reusable Stainless Steel- Best Coffee Maker and Bar Accessories
- Boeng 5-Cup Coffee Syphon Tabletop Siphon (Syphon) Coffee Maker
It’s a joyful activity for the whole family to make your own coffee by using any of the above brewing machines at home.
5-Espresso Coffee Brewing Method
Espresso is brewed at 195 °F to 205 °F, (90 °C – 96 °C). A regular, single shot is made with around 7-8 grams of ground coffee.
You can play a bit with this but start with the standard to get a decent shot, and then experiment your way to greatness.
The brew ratio for espresso is 1:2 up to just under 1:3. The higher the water-to-coffee ratio, the more full-bodied the taste will be and the less caffeine will be extracted from the coffee beans.
The crema on espresso is important too—it’s the right amount of foam that tells you how well it was brewed. If there isn’t enough crema or the color is dark brown instead of golden brown, the espresso was over-extracted. Under-extraction results in no crema or barely any foam.
6-Moka Pot (coffee pot) Coffee Brewing Method
- Preheat the water.
- Grind your coffee.
- Pour the hot water into the bottom pot; always fill it up to the bottom of the safety valve, regardless of the number of cups you intend to make.
- Fill the basket with a mound of coffee, then flatten it with your finger. You can add more grains if the level is too low.
- The Moka Pot (coffee pot) uses pressure and steam from boiling water to brew the coffee. The coffee is brewed in the top part of the Moka Pot, which features a boiler or a heating element for boiling the water.
7-Cold Brew Coffee Brewing Method
Cold brew is really as simple as mixing ground coffee with cool water and steeping the mixture in the fridge overnight.
The next day, you strain the mixture, leaving you with a concentrate (it’s strong, so you’ll want to dilute it) that can be served right away or stored for up to two weeks.
Conclusion
The 7 Different Methods of Brewing Coffee & How They Taste Different. The French Press, Turkish/Ibrik Pot, and Vietnamese Iced/Cold Brewed Method are less well-known.
The 4 coffee pressure methods are: espresso (the most intense), French Press (the heaviest), Pour Over (medium-strength), and Aeropress (lightest). The 3 Lesser-Known Coffee Brewing Methods: The French Press, The Clever Dripper, and The Bodum Chambord.
The Moka Pot (coffee pot) uses pressure and steam from boiling water to brew the coffee. Cold brew is as simple as steeping coffee with cool water and leaving it in the fridge overnight. The higher the water-to-coffee ratio, the more full-bodied the taste will be.
