Techniques

Auto drip – one of the most widespread ways of brewing coffee in the US. The technique is pretty simple: pour the boiled water over the coffee grinding and let the brew flow out the coffee maker’s bottom. This technique is very good and may give you a wonderful cup of coffee; the only concern about this is that the drip machine doesn’t maintain the right temperature which is essential and the paper filters these coffee makers are supplied with are no good. As to the temperature, you should be very attentive while brewing coffee and as to the filter, get yourself a gold-plated (reusable one) that will serve you for a long time and provide you with a high quality coffee drink.

The next technique is called Concentrate Brewing and is famous all over the world, especially in Latin America. It also begins to gain popularity in the United States as well. The principle consists in the following – a large quantity of coffee grounds is brewed with a little water amount that results in a thick bitter drink. Coffee boiled in such way can be served either hot or cold. If a person wishes a cold cup of concentrate coffee, the beverage should sit a day or two and only after that it can be served. Such coffee has a light consistence and loses some part of its aroma and taste; however it has its own adherents.

French Press Brewing or Press Pot is certainly the most popular technique because of its numerous advantages. First of all, the person boiling coffee in such a device has total control upon it and the final beverage is the joint collaboration of the machine and the man. The coffee type brewed in such an appliance is coarse - when put in a water bottle, the water of a preferable temperature is poured down the grounds and the upper piece is put back to its place. After the brewing is done, the mesh wire filter or plunger is pressed into the coffee grounds extracting a kind of coffee liquor up. Thanks to the meshy filter system, this fluid along with all the coffee particles that have been disintegrated and not only will later be poured down into your cup to give you incomparable delight.

Due to the close cooperation of water with grounds and a little prolonged period of brewing, the coffee concentrate results in smooth liquor with a full body, a lot of flavor and saturated palate. The only minus with using such a technique is that not all coarse grounds will be filtered by the cleaner which will end up in your cup. However the taste and aroma of such coffee drink are worth giving it a try.

Middle Eastern, "Turkish" or "Greek" – the name already implies the origin of this technique. For this brewing, the finest milling is used. The coffee is usually brewed with sugar but that is not the essential condition. Knowing the culture of Arabs, Greeks and Turks one will easily understand their adherence to various kinds of species – the East is famous for using them in all fields of life. This refers to coffee brewing as well. Cardamom is almost always present in all coffees prepared according to this Turkish or Greek technique. The coffee drink isn’t subject to the filtration as in case with coffees prepared by other methods and is served with a savory dense opaque beverage. However this way of coffee brewing isn’t very popular in the west and is seldom prepared as a kind of exotic drink.

Percolation – the technique is a ceaseless brewage of coffee grind with boiling water which then turns into coffee liquor brewing the exhausted coffee grounds. One can say this is a non-waste production and helps save money. It’s hard not to agree with this statement but just think about how much harm this technique brings to your health and the problem of economy will pale into insignificance. First of all, the fact that coffee is prepared with boiling water while the drink is ready at 195º -205ºF (~82º -87ºC); then, repeatedly brewing the coffee liquor means that you’ll receive a weak acid coal-black beverage that is far away from the original drink called coffee. In any case, this technique has right to existence as there are many people who like it and wouldn’t stop drinking this kind of coffee beverage.

The sixth and the least coffee brewing techniques is the most complicated one and unfortunately not the best way of preparing your coffee grounds; its name is Vacuum Brewing and you’ll know why it is called like that in the short run.

The device has a stylish look that consists in two glass spheres that are joined together with a leakproof seal. One of the balls (or even both) is fitted with a filter that serves as a mean of sorting the coffee grounds from the coffee liquor. The upper globe is intended for the coffee grind and the lower one is for boiling water in it. When the water begins to bubble, under the heat pressure it goes up a pipe joining the two glass balls to the coffee grounds. As soon as all water amount rose to the grounds, the device is taken off the fire and is giving time to chill; the pressure in the bottom part is decreased and the result is the coffee liquid sucked down into the lower globe. Your coffee is ready, it needs nothing more but to be poured into your cup. However, no ointment goes without a fly. The coffee grind turns into coffee drink at circa 212ºF (~90ºC) while the normal temperature for this is 195º-205ºF (~82º -87ºC). And another concern is that the control over extraction period- this is the period when the water is in contact with the coffee ground – is very restricted. Thus the coffee fluid turns out to be not even and complete as it should be. However this technique is popular as well and the proof is the number of its adherents adoring the vacuum boiled coffee.

See also: Conditions