Coffee, coffee, coffee…
Whether it’s the fuel that gets you out of bed in the morning or the pick-me-up you need before your afternoon meetings, coffee is always there for you when you need it, ready to give you the energy you require to get through the daily grind.
If you’re fed up with weak, bitter, uninspiring coffee, maybe it’s time to up your caffeine game with a new and improved coffee-making method. Contrary to popular belief, most of these methods take just a few minutes and little-no skill, so you can enjoy richer, more flavorful, and simply better coffee in the time it takes you to boil the kettle!
Espresso Machine
Keeping us caffeinated since 1901, anyone who’s ever visited a coffee shop has seen an expresso machine. These brewing devices push pressurized water through a chamber of finely ground coffee beans, forcing extracted coffee through a filter and collected in a mug or carafe at the end.
Espresso machines may seem like an expensive and indulgent purchase, but the cost can vary dramatically depending on the bells and whistles you expect your coffee machine to offer!
If you love the flavor of a tasty espresso but don’t fancy a modern electric machine in your kitchen, you can also pick up an artisanal (old-fashioned) lever espresso machine that you pump with your hand. They’re more effort to use but definitely look cooler!
Brewing Time: The brewing time will depend on your machine. Some commercial options may take up to 40 minutes to warm up before the first coffee of the day can be made, while a home machine usually wakes up in around 3 minutes. However, once the coffee maker is awake, most models will make your brew in 20-30 seconds!
Skill Required: Again, this will vary based on your machine. Super-automatic options can prepare tasty coffee with the touch of a button, while others might be a more involved process.
Grind: Most espresso machines require a fine, consistent grind.
Result: Espresso machines are basically the only way to make proper espresso. Strong, sharp, and absolutely full of coffee flavor. Add hot water to transform your espresso into an Americano, or add frothed milk for a latte or cappuccino.
Moka Pot
Moka pots also use pressure to brew the perfect cup of coffee via a 3-chambered brew process:
Pour water into the bottom chamber and ground coffee in the filter, then set the entire thing on your stovetop.
As the water in the bottom chamber starts to boil, the steam pushes water through the coffee grounds and up into the top chamber, where you’ll find tasty, freshly brewed coffee waiting.
It doesn’t quite offer the same flavor profile as a shot of espresso, but this coffee brewing method does provide a wonderfully bold taste that coffee fanatics will love.
Brewing Time: Once the water starts to boil, a Moka pot will have a fully brewed cup of coffee in just 5 minutes.
Skill Required: Getting a Moka pot coffee right won’t require you to undergo any formal barista training, but it can take a little trial-and-error to find the perfect grind. After a couple of practice runs, you’re sure to become a Moka pot expert!
Grind: The grind is the trickiest part of MokaMoka pot coffee: it needs to be coarser than the grind for an espresso machine but finer than drip coffee. A bit of trial and error might be needed here, but as a starting point, if your brew is too weak, it’s under-extracted, and you need a finer grind. If it’s too bitter, the coffee is over-extracted, and you need to go a little coarser.
Result: A Moka pot will brew coffee similar to an espresso shot; sharp, smooth, and strong.
AeroPress
The AeroPress might look like a science experiment, but this is actually one of the most fool-proof ways of brewing tasty coffee without the hassle.
AeroPress brewers are comprised of three simple components: the AeroPress itself, a filter, and an AeroPress Stir Stick. If you’re unfamiliar with AeroPress, you’ll be amazed by the selection of different coffee types you can create with it. It can even make an impressive cold brew and “almost-espresso.”
Brewing Time: Depending on the style of AeroPress coffee you fancy, brewing time can take as little as 60 seconds once your water has heated! Clean-up is also super-easy, so no worries there.
Skill Required: AeroPress machines are designed to be as effortless as possible, so even a novice or clumsy coffee maker can master this technique. That doesn’t mean the AeroPress is boring, however. Once you master one AeroPress method, there is always more to learn!
Grind: As if the simple brewing method wasn’t enough, it actually doesn’t matter what grind coarseness you put into your AeroPress! Pick the grind that matches your mood and enjoy a little experimentation to discover the perfect favorite coffee sensation for your tastes.
Result: AeroPress offers a “cleaner” tasting coffee than a French Press or Moka Pot. The AeroPress slogan is “Smooth, Rich, Pure, and Fast,” and we think that sums up AeroPress coffee perfectly!
French Press
The French Press utilizes a “steeping” rather than “brewing” method for creating tasty coffee. In simple terms, this just means the coffee grinds are immersed in hot water, left to work their magic, then separated from the coffee.
French Press coffee may be a simple enough method to understand, but it can take a little practice to get right. Leave your coffee steeping for too long, and your brew will be harsh and bitter, but removing the grinds too early will leave you with a weak and uninspiring cup.
If you’ve not used the famous French Press plunger before, this can also take a little getting used to. It doesn’t take much to slip and release gritty coffee grinds into your end brew! Take it slow and steady as you filter out the grinds.
Brewing Time: French Press coffee makers take just-under-brewed water to steep the ground coffee in, and then you’ll need to leave it to sit for a while. In total, you should be able to enjoy your fresh and tasty French Press In around 10 minutes (including boiling, steeping, and plunging).
Skill Required: It can take a couple of practice runs to perfect your French Press coffee, but overall it doesn’t take long to master.
Grind: French Press coffees require a coarse grind to ensure that all the coffee bean particles are removed from the brewed coffee. If your grind is too fine, you’ll get bits of coffee stuck in the filter, which will leave you with a gritty, over-steeped, and bitter drink.
Result: This coffee brewing method will leave you with a unique-tasting and aromatic coffee with a non-harsh, robust flavor. The beans you use will dramatically affect the taste of your French Press, so play around to find the perfect flavors for your mug. French press is one of the most popular coffee making methods, and our best way to make coffee.
Soft Brew
Invented as recently as 2010, SoftBrew is an exciting new addition to the world of coffee making and has been described as “primitive yet high tech.”
The brewing method works similarly to a teapot in that you fill a stainless-steel reusable filter with freshly ground coffee, add hot water, and leave it to steep. Use the brewer as a teapot when serving.
Brewing Time: SoftBrew coffee is ready in just 4-8 minutes (once the water has boiled).
Skill Required: This coffee brewing method was made to be zero-effort, so even the most amateur coffee brewer will be able to make the perfect coffee using this method.
Grind: The beauty of SoftBrew coffee is that the magical “high-tech” filter contains thousands of tiny little holes, which allow you to brew perfect coffee with ANY size grind.
Result: The coffee made from a SoftBrew tends to taste a little like a French Press, with plenty of depth, body, and flavor to be enjoyed. However, thanks to the magic filter, SoftBrew offers a cleaner coffee with no risk of stray grinds making it into your mug.
Electric Drip Coffee
Drip coffee makers are such a staple in American kitchens, and although they certainly don’t brew the best coffee we’ve ever tasted, we would be lost without one!
It is vital to start with whole beans and grind them fresh for every pot, and not brew more coffee than you need if you want a tasty cup.
There are loads of drip coffee makers available on the market, so you can pick one up these days to suit any budget or convenience level.
At a minimum, we like our electric drip coffee makers to include an automatic timer setting, so we can wake up to freshly brewed coffee every morning.
Brewing Time: A decent quality drip coffee maker will usually take 3-10 minutes to complete a full drip cycle. The bigger your machine is, the more coffee you’re making, and how long the machine has been on (how hot the water is) will affect the brewing time using this method.
Skill Required: Drip coffee machines can be as involved or automated as you want them to be. They take little-no skill to master once you’ve found the right coffee beans for your preferred brew.
Grind: Depending on the make and model of your drip coffee maker, you’ll usually want a medium-fine grind. Aiming for the coarseness of granulated sugar is usually a good start.
Result: Electric drip coffee makers certainly won’t be impressing any coffee fanatics, but reliable, convenient, and adequate coffee is a suitable way to get a quick and easy caffeine fix when you need it most.
Pour-Over
Pour-over coffee has been having a bit of a movement in recent years, with coffee lovers everywhere enjoying the ability to brew world-class coffee without fancy gadgets or pricy equipment.
You can pick up pour-over coffee makers in a range of sizes and materials, from beautiful glass (like this one from Uno Casa) to elegant ceramics or even workhorse plastic. Still, they all utilize the same principles of slowly pouring hot water over freshly ground coffee beans using a gooseneck kettle to produce fragrant, flavourful coffee that’s had plenty of time to bloom.
Pour-over coffees do take a little practice to master, as there are many variations you control that can affect the end result of this style of coffee brewing. For this brewing method, you control everything, including:
• The water temperature
• The pouring speed
• The coffee’s saturation
• The thickness of the filters
• The grind coarseness
• The beans
Literally everything else
But while pour-over coffees might sound complicated, it’s a surprisingly simple method to master, and it’s far quicker than you’d think (even including the wait times between pours) to create barista-quality coffee.
Brewing time: Depending on the pour-over brewer you buy, this coffee brewing method usually leaves you with freshly-made, delicious coffee within 3-4 minutes.
Skill Required: Just because there are so many variables in pour-over coffee, this method does require a bit more skill and practice than some other methods. That said, once you’ve masted the basics, you can enjoy a lifetime of delicious coffee completely hassle-free!
Grind: You’re going to want to play around a bit to find the perfect coarseness for your unique preferences with pour-over coffee. We recommend starting with a medium blend and adjusting accordingly.
Result: The end result of a pour-over coffee can be easily adjusted to ensure you’re always able to create that perfect cup. But no matter what your preferences, pour-over coffee offers a full and flavorful cup that any coffee lover will adore.
The Beans
Whatever coffee brewing method you choose, starting with the right beans will always make the difference between a tasty, flavorful cup of joe or one that’s weak, bitter, and uninspiring.
Look for beans as close to the roast date as possible, and always grind ONLY the amount you need immediately before brewing. This will ensure your coffee beans retain as much delicious flavor as possible, so you can enjoy a tasty cup every time.
Conclusion
So, there is our guide on the methods of making coffee and the different ways of making coffee. We hope this guide on types of brewing and ways to prepare coffee was helpful. The 4 best coffee brewing methods are all listed here, and the overall best coffee brewing is French press, and French press is also the best way to make coffee at home!
We hope our guide on ways to make coffee and coffee brewing methods was able to help you, thank you so much for reading! If you want more ways to make coffee and tea at home, Porch has a great article on how the best brewing methods to make coffee and tea!
