Coffee Equipment

The coffee is already grown and processed, roasted, milled and finally brewed.What more interesting we could learn about this drink? Actually, there is a point that shouldn’t be forgotten or put aside and that is equipment. Let’s discuss a little which important elements we need while trying to prepare a cup of coffee at home.

There are no prizes for guessing what coffee device we need first. Yeah, you’re right, it’s a roaster. So what kinds of roasters are available on the coffee equipment market? Let’s begin from the simplest one:

- It looks like a stew pan with a lid and a special holder with a kind of a lever on it that allows you to stir the roasting beans in order not to burn them; for use on the stove only. But be careful when considering buying this kind of equipment – the thermometer in the lid is the essential element that will allow almost a total control over the roast process.

- There are many other roasters with more complicated structure that are used both in professional purposes and at home. They have built-in thermometers, air-circulating controls (which is also very important in a roaster), revolving reservoirs, heating gear controlled by a thermostat and a timer that automatically stops the roaster at a proper time. However, in spite of the mechanism’s complexity, it leaves a persistent specific smoke;

- The third and the most popular device is similar to popcorn popper both functionally and externally. While the coffee beans are green, the hot air circulates among them resulting in an even roast and taking away all sort of debris that occurs while the bean’s crust breaks (however, not all of these kind or roasters are provided with such function). By the way, the majority of popper roasters have a glass vessel that let a person visually control the situation.

- And finally, the drum roasters which are as good as the previous ones. In some way they are even better as they allow a large quantity roasting and are designed in such a way that the bean roasting is controlled not only form the bottom (as in any other devices) but also from inside by a rotating drum. Thus the beans are evenly roasted, without remaining raw.

Ok, the beans are roasted, what’s next? After roasting you’ll definitely want to grind your coffee berries; that’s why it will be essentially to provide yourself with milling equipment. Until the grinder is bought, let’s discuss the types of such kind of equipment and the criteria we should follow while choosing it. Actually, the main coffee grinders that are commonly used all over the world have been already discussed in one of the previous article Coffee grinding. These are blade and burr coffee grinders.

- As stated before, blade coffee grinder is the cheapest solution when milling coffee at home but not the best one. Such kind of mill makes a coarse grinding with big particles that cannot be used for all types of coffee brewing.

- Burr grinder has 2 varieties – wheel burr and conical burr. The first one is cheaper but has its own disadvantages. Due to the spinning, the device is very noisy plus the resulting grounds are dirtier than usual. The conical burr is respectively more expensive but provides you with much more advantages. It rotates slower than the wheel burr, thus it is quieter and can be used while grinding oily beans. It will not be as clogged and the beans are not as messy as it happens with other grinders.

The beans are roasted, grinded and almost ready for preparation. One more step and you’ll get a fresh aromatic coffee drink made at home. So, it’s brewing and the equipment related to it. Let’s examine the variety of coffee makers available in coffee industry:

- Coffee pot is a vessel with a long handle and no lid. It is settled directly on the stove and has a pretty simple construction. The coffee grounds are poured into the pot after what it is filled with water. The consistence should be brought to the boil and let it boil for several minutes.

- French press or a cafetiere in other words is a tall, narrow glass container with a piston supplied with a metal or nylon filter. The name not occasionally implies the word press. The cafetiere makes coffee in the following way: the mix of coffee grounds and the boiling water are given several minutes to interact, than the press is pushed down so that the grounds remain under the piston and the coffee liquor turns out to be above it.

- Vacuum brewer is another coffee maker consisting of 2 glass cylinders that are connected by stuffing box acting like an airtight packing (looks like a sand glass). The lowest globe is filled with water and the upper one – with coffee. When the water begins boiling, it rises towards the grounds and mixes there with coffee. When all possible fluid is in the upper ball, the coffee brewer is removed from the stovetop and is given a couple of minutes to get cold. Thus, the pressure that was in the lower globe tails and the coffee consistence is sucked down to it.

- AeroPress is the upgraded French press model. This device unites both soaking and squeezing. The cylinder with coffee grounds is saturated with boiling water and shortly after that the coffee is pushed through a paper filter by pressing it. The coffee drink results to be finer and less messy than brewed in a cafetiere.

- Drip brewer is the most popular coffee maker device that is surely available almost at each house. It looks like a kind of cabinet with a removable glass or better stainless lower carafe which sits on a heat-plate and the upper steady reservoir for coffee grounds and water. The hot water can be manually poured onto the grounds in the filter in the upper container or it can be automatically heated in the device itself. When the coffee liquor is ready, it begins dripping into the lower part. Why it is better to choose a drip brewer with a stainless jug? The answer is simple – it keeps your coffee flavorful and warm for a longer period of time that the glass one. If you let your drink stay in a glass tank for more than 20 minutes, it can begin burning. So be careful and select the right option.

- Indian coffee filter is a very simple device that consists of 2 cylindrical stainless steel sections that are settled in a dual row. The upper cylinder has small holes and an alike perforated pressing plate with a handle and a lid. The finely ground along with chicory is put into the upper device, the plate covers this mass and the hot water is poured over.

- Espresso machine is a special coffee maker device that is used for brewing Italian coffee espresso. The machine is a rather commercial coffee brewer that prepares coffee in the following way: hot water (at between 195°F (91°C) and 204°F (96°C)) under pressure is let through pressed coffee tablet. The device has a special lever that let the final coffee fluid be poured down directly into your cup or into a special container meant for several cups.

- Moka pot is a three-level device commonly known as Italian coffeepot. The lower element contains water, the middle part – coffee grounds and the upper reservoir collects the final beverage. This coffeepot is usually heated straightly under direct fire or calefactor and the process of making coffee takes place in the following way: the boiling water from the bottom piece goes up to the grounds in the middle element divided by a filter from the top tank where the final coffee is gathered. The coffee form the moka pot is almost as powerful as it is in the espresso machine only without crema.

Now that you know all coffee equipment, you are able to choose any device you like (depending on price and quality range) that is more convenient to you and meets the case. Good luck and have a nice coffee party!

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