4 different coffee brewing methods

Here we explore the four most popular Coffee Brewing Methods: Espresso, French Press, Drip Filtration and Mokta or Stovetop method. Coffee Brewing Methods range from popular Espresso or French Press methods to lesser used methods like Turkish. Espresso The water then finds a path through the coffee grind it is referred to as the 'shot being pulled' through the group. 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. Super hot, pressurized water is forced through fine ground, tightly packed coffee. Probably the most popular of the Coffee Brewing Methods in recent times is making an Espresso using a machine. 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. And if you didn't catch it when I started talking about Espresso, use a fine grind. Oils break down with time, and so a rich crema will be produced using fresh beans. This is produced by the pressurizing process and the oils of the coffee bean. Crema is the hazelnut foam that sits on the surface of the coffee. The sign of a good espresso, using fresh coffee beans, is the richness of the crema. French Press 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. 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. Drip Filtration
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. 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.
Mokta Pot/Stovetop 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.

Here we explore the four most popular Coffee Brewing Methods: Espresso, French Press, Drip Filtration and Mokta or Stovetop method. Coffee Brewing Methods range from popular Espresso or French Press methods to lesser used methods like Turkish.EspressoWhen the water finds a path through the coffee grind it is referred to as the 'shot being pulled' through the group. And the coffee commences to pour into your cup. The water then finds a path through the coffee grounds. 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. Super hot, pressurized water is forced through fine ground, tightly packed coffee. Probably the most popular of the Coffee Brewing Methods in recent times is making an Espresso using a machine.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. And if you didn't catch it when I started talking about Espresso, use a fine grind. Oils break down with time, and so a rich crema will be produced using fresh beans. This is produced by the pressurizing process and the oils of the coffee bean. Crema is the hazelnut foam that sits on the surface of the coffee. The sign of a good espresso, using fresh coffee beans, is the richness of the crema. French Press Drip Filtration



Mokta Pot/Stovetop

various espresso coffee makers you can choose from

No avid espresso drinker's life feels complete without an espresso coffee maker that will deliver espresso the way the espresso drinker likes it each morning. Surprisingly, many people still go plop down $2 to $4 at the local coffee shop instead of buying their own espresso coffee makers . If you are one of these people that for whatever reason still has not purchased an espresso machine, stay tuned.

Of course, you don't want to just throw money at the first espresso coffee machine that comes along. You need to decide how lazy you want to be with your espresso machine. Odds are that the reason you don't own one has some correlation to not wanting to spend a whole lot of time making your espresso. But just in case you are interested in all of the details of making espresso, we'll discuss manual espresso coffee makers too.

Manual espresso coffee makers basically require you to already have your coffee beans ground and to manually put the grounds and the water in the machine. Also, if you like frothing, most of these have a pump you can use to add frothing.

For a little more convenience, you can get a mostly automatic espresso maker. To use these machines, you have a pump you start and then wait about thirty seconds for extraction. These are about the most popular home espresso coffee machines because they are inexpensive and relatively small. For a little more money, you can get a slightly larger mostly automatic espresso machine that has self on-off control built in as well.

Of course, if you are a true espresso aficionado and you spend a lot of money on espresso already, you might as well have an automatic one that will make you that perfect espresso each time at whatever time you have espressos scheduled. How automatic is automatic? The thing taps right into your plumbing. You just have to occasionally check your coffee bean reservoir and disposal bin.

espresso coffee maker espresso coffee makers

espresso cups 101 a complete guide to expresso cups

Surprisingly, there's a certain art to making a proper espresso cup, and when you go shopping for a new set there are some things that you may want to consider. Also called demitasse cups, these tiny little mugs look as though they belong a Barbie Dreamhouse. Espressos are great, but you aren't really enjoying good espressos if they aren't in proper espresso cups. Depending on whether or not you prefer a cream cap or sugar in your espresso, you may want to get slightly larger cups. Typically, each cup has room for two or three ounces of beverage. First of all, espresso cups are traditionally made out of porcelain. If you're a serious espresso drinker, you may want to consider investing in a designer set of espresso cups a saucers. From old world Italy straight to your kitchen counter, porcelain cups can be plain or intricate, expensive or fairly affordable. While there is a lot that can be said for an old world, traditional style of espresso cups, modern technology has its benefits as well. For example, there are many modern designs available on the market that feature double walled insulated glass. These cups keep your espresso hotter longer than their porcelain counterparts. Whether you prefer traditional or new age modern technology, when you look for a set of espresso cups you should keep your eye on quality. True espresso drinkers know that even the best cup of espresso won't be great unless it's in an equally quality espresso cup. If it's thin, not only is the cup prone to chipping (in which case you should immediately throw out the cup), but it also allows the heat to seep out. Nobody likes lukewarm espresso. You can find a fairly affordable (and decent) set for $35, but you can also easily blow a couple hundred dollars, too. In terms of pricing, espresso cups pretty much run the gamut.

Surprisingly, there's a certain art to making a proper espresso cup, and when you go shopping for a new set there are some things that you may want to consider. Also called demitasse cups, these tiny little mugs look as though they belong a Barbie Dreamhouse. Espressos are great, but you aren't really enjoying good espressos if they aren't in proper espresso cups.Depending on whether or not you prefer a cream cap or sugar in your espresso, you may want to get slightly larger cups. Typically, each cup has room for two or three ounces of beverage. First of all, espresso cups are traditionally made out of porcelain.If you're a serious espresso drinker, you may want to consider investing in a designer set of espresso cups a saucers. From old world Italy straight to your kitchen counter, porcelain cups can be plain or intricate, expensive or fairly affordable.You can find a fairly affordable (and decent) set for $35, but you can also easily blow a couple hundred dollars, too. In terms of pricing, espresso cups pretty much run the gamut.