You will find primarily six popular methods for brewing coffee (excluding espresso), each a permutation associated with brewing variables - brewing temperature, introduction of the water to coffee, and separating the brewed liquor through the coffee grounds. These methods are Turkish brewing, concentrate brewing, percolating, vacuum brewing, drip brewing, and French Press brewing.
Middle Eastern, "Turkish" or "Greek"
Middle Eastern, "Turkish" or "Greek" brewing involves boiling in water coffee that has been ground into a really fine dust. Traditionally the coffee is often brewed (boiled) with huge amounts of sugar, nonetheless it can be brewed minus the sugar.
Middle Easterners appear to want to add spice to their coffee, and their spice of choice is normally cardamom. The coffee just isn't filtered from the liquor plus one is left with a pungent, thick, and muddy brew. In the western world this technique is more of an intermittent indulgence rather than a day to day brew.
Concentrate Brewing
The next method, concentrate brewing, is very popular in Latin America and some other areas around the globe, and is needs to make a commercial appearance in the usa. In concentrate brewing, considerable amounts of coffee are brewed with little water to brew a concentrate, when one desires a cup of coffee, a few of the concentrate is combined with some heated water. The concentrate may either be brewed hot or cold. When brewing cold one must let the coffee sit for at least a day. This method leads to a mild, light-bodied cup with little to no aroma, and often little acidity and a muted flavor. Some do prefer this kind of brew, a good example locally with this type of brew is the coffee at Peter Shear's.
Percolating
Percolating, the procedure that involves continuous brewing of coffee grounds using boiling water which then turns to boiling coffee liquor brewing over extracted grounds. This technique, while practical, is a disparaging disgrace to your coffee bean.
Even brewing with boiling water is bad enough (coffee should really be extracted at 195 - 205 degrees F), then actually boiling the liquor is asking for a thin, bitter, tarry cup. To include insult to an acceptable mangling, the causes are continuously being over extracted.
However, to show the variance of personal preference, i am aware of people that prefer this technique. I could only imagine the preference is only able to stem from either positive memories related to it, an acclimation to it over several years of knowing hardly any other, or perhaps the same phenomena that produces people stop to stare at a car or truck wreck.
Vacuum Brewing
Vacuum brewing uses an elegant looking device that is composed of two glass globes that fit along with an air-tight seal. Either in one of many globes, or between your globes, is a filter to split up the lands from the liquor. Ground coffee is put in the upper globe, often in addition to the filter, and enough water to brew the causes is put in the lower globe.
The globes are then fitted together while the lower globe using the water is heated. The water into the lower globe starts to heat to a boil and also as this causes the stress in the lower globe to increase it forces the water up a tube connecting the globes and to the upper globe containing the lands. Once all the water has made this air pressure induced trip, the apparatus is taken off the heat source.
This permits the reduced globe to cool down back once again to room temperature, decreasing the pressure in the lower globe and thus sucking the brewed coffee back down (through the filter) in to the lower globe. The coffee will be poured out of the lower container and enjoyed. Well, perhaps not always enjoyed. Because while the vacuum brewer is a great visual, scientific, and romantic experience, it will not always produce the most effective cup.
A good cup of coffee may be accomplished utilizing the vacuum brewer, nonetheless it has its own downfalls. Firstly, the coffee has been extracted by water around 212F, whilst it must be extracted between 195F-205F. Secondly, their is quite limited control of the extraction time (the full time grounds come in connection with water). Some swear by this method and it's also growing in popularity. Perhaps I need more trained in the technique, but I've never had very much luck with vacuum brewing. If you would like try vacuum brewed coffee, i do believe there is the brewers at more up-to-date houseware stores, and I think they may sell the Bodum version at Starbucks, or you ask nicely I'll loan you one of mine for a test run.
Autodrip
Autodrip! Here is the most well known option to brew in the usa. Drip brewing is just pouring heated water over grounds in a filter and letting the brew drip out of the bottom. Drip brewing is a very good way to brew and will give an excellent cup in the event that correct equipment is employed.
A primary issue with autodrip machines is that they don't brew during the right temperature! I have read that Bunn is just one of the few companies who's machines are calibrated to extract at the best temperature. If one has a great autodrip machine or one decides to heat and pour the water themselves, the second issue to surmount may be the filter. Paper filters can impart a taste on the coffee as well as don't allow most of the coffee oils and organic compounds through.
A beneficial gold-plated reusable filter (we do carry some) is a great selection for drip brewing. Provided you neat and rinse it well after each use, it won't impart a taste in the coffee, as well as don't trap just as much associated with coffee's essence as a paper filter. Another slight drawback is that drip brewing, in general, will not supply the operator much control of extraction time.
French Press or Press Pot
French-press brewing gives the operator complete control. While it may be more labor-intensive than autodrip, the brewing variables can easily be and directly controlled. Coarsely ground coffee is placed in the glass carafe, then water in the desired temperature is poured on the grounds as well as the top is positioned on.
When brewing is complete, the plunger (a mesh filter on a stick) is pressed down, pressing the causes to the bottom and leaving the coffee liquor on the top to be poured off. The filter isn't as tight as a paper filter and because of the larger pores, a coarser grind is necessary and so the grounds are filtered out, in addition to plunger will not become almost impossible to press down.
The mesh for the filter allows the coffee oils and all sorts of those delicious dissolved and undissolved solids through without an issue. Also, because a coarser grind is needed, a lengthier steep time is necessary (due to the decreased surface area to volume ratio). A brew time passed between 3 to 6 minutes is common for French-pressing. This prolonged, direct contact for the grounds using the water allows for a far more complete, more controllable, as well as extraction.
Unfortunately, despite having the best quality burr coffee grinder or mill, a coarse grind will still bring about some very small coffee grounds. These grounds are not filtered by the French-press filter and so land in the cup. A cup of French-pressed coffee with be noticeably fuller, with even more body, and often with an increase of flavor, it will often also provide the tell-tale sediment at the end of the cup.
Julius Mordvinov
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