There are several different ways to brew coffee; and we all have our own favourite method. Making good coffee is both an art and a science.  Since the advent of coffee consumption only a few brewing methods have gained worldwide popularity and these are culturally dependent. However, all the methods described below share the basic principle, which is to maximize the extraction of the beneficial flavours (the caffeol) of coffee, while minimizing the extraction of bitter and undesirable components.

General rules: The following general rules apply to each brewing method discussed. Coffee should be brewed using a ratio of 50 grams of ground coffee per litre of filtered water (195-205°F).  For brewing by the cup, use 2 tablespoons of coffee per 6 ounces of water. Filtered water and spring water are recommended. Tap water, depending on where you live, can impart off flavours to the coffee.

Filter / Drip Method - automatic 
The drip or filter method is possibly the most widely used method today. Drip brewing is simply pouring hot water over grounds in a filter and letting the brew drip out the bottom. To brew coffee in a drip electric brewer place a paper filter in the brewing cone (basket) and wet thoroughly with water. This helps remove the paper taste from the filter. Then freshly grind the coffee using a medium grinder setting and measure into basket. As the water reaches pre-set machine temperature, it will slowly release the hot water into the coffee filter. As the water pours over the coffee, shake the basket a bit  to ensure an even extraction.  Brew time and temperature are taken care of automatically.  If your electric filter brewer has a hot plate under a glass carafe, remove the carafe after the coffee is fully brewed to prevent the coffee from burning. A Neopolitan pot is another drip method brewer in which the ground coffee is secured in a two-sided strainer at the waist of the pot between two closed compartments. The brewing water is heated in one compartment while on the stove, then the pot is flipped over, and the hot water drips through the coffee into the opposite compartment.

manual drip There is the manual filter/drip version to this method.  In this method the only difference is that the water is heated with a kettle or some other heating container and is then manually poured over the grounds in the filter cone as above.  The resulting brew filters through the unit into a pot or mug and is ready to drink.

French Press / Press Pot / Cafetiere
The plunger method, said to have been invented in 1933, is the second of the two fastest growing ways to make fresh ground coffee.  The best way to control the time and temperature is to use a French press.  The French press offers unparalleled flavor due to perfect extraction time and delivery of the volatile oils that are often trapped in filters.  The pot is warmed, coarsely ground coffee is placed in the bottom, hot water is added to the grounds and stirred, leaving it to steep for three to five minutes before the plunger is pushed down to separate the coffee grounds from the coffee liquor.  This prolonged, direct contact of the grounds with the water allows for a more complete, more controllable, and even extraction.  Unfortunately, even with the highest quality burr coffee grinder or coffee mill, a coarse grind will still result in some very small coffee grounds.  These grounds are not filtered by the French-press filter and thus end up in the cup.  A cup of French-pressed coffee with be noticeably fuller, with much more body, and often with more flavor, it will often also have the tell-tale sediment at the bottom of the cup. Unfortunately, the French press is not quite as convenient as a drip maker due to preparation time and cleaning time.  The French press also loses heat faster than some other methods, but extraction at slightly varying temperatures will promote a more dynamic and complex cup of coffee.  

Espresso 
Today, espresso and cappuccino, which were invented in Italy, are the fastest growing methods of making coffee.  

Brewing espresso is a bit more complex than the above brewing methods. To do it justice, we will dedicate an entire section to this method on our website in the very near future.

The Moka (Stovetop Espresso) 
No Italian home is without one or more mocha pots of varying sizes, and no matter what you think of the coffee, their visual appeal is undeniable. Wonderfully designed double beaded stove-top pots, they combine the characteristics of espresso and percolator coffee.  They force the water, which has come to the boil in the lower chamber, up through a tube and then down through the finely-ground coffee. Handled expertly they can satisfy coffee cravings and produce an adequate 'espresso type' coffee in under a minute.  

Middle Eastern, "Turkish" or "Greek"
This is the most popular method for drinking coffee all over the Middle East, Greece and Turkey and is often misnamed as Turkish Coffee.  Another form of coffee infusion, this method uses a long handled narrow necked device called an ibrik where very fine, powdery coffee grounds are placed in the ibrik with sugar and water. Put on the heat to boil, the liquid inside begins to rise and a dark foam will come though the small opening of the ibrik. Your coffee is done and should be poured into demitasse cups immediately along with the very desirable foam. Middle Easterners seem to like to add spice to their coffee, and their spice of choice is often cardamom. The coffee is not filtered from the liquor and one is left with a thickly sweet, rich cup of coffee. In the western world this method is more of an occasional indulgence as opposed to an everyday brew. 

Concentrate Brewing 
The next method, concentrate brewing, or jug method, is very popular in Latin America and some other parts of the world.  It is the simplest brewing method of them all.  In concentrate brewing, large amounts of coffee are brewed with little water to brew a concentrate.  The coffee and grounds are strained and the concentrated liquid is then stored.  When one desires a cup of coffee, some of the concentrate is mixed with a little hot water.  The concentrate can either be brewed hot or cold.  When brewing cold you must let the coffee sit for at least a day.  The cold method results in a mild, light-bodied cup with little aroma or acidity, and the flavour is often muted. 

Vacuum Brewing  
The vacuum pot is a clever device invented in 1840 by one of our renown Scottish engineers, Robert Napier.  While the vacuum brewer is a great visual, scientific, and romantic experience, it does not always produce the best cup.  A great cup of coffee can be achieved with the vacuum brewer, but it does have its downfalls.  Firstly, the coffee is being extracted by water around 212F, while it should be extracted between 195F-205F.  Secondly, there is very limited control over the extraction time (the time grounds are in contact with water).  Some swear by this method and it is growing in popularity.

To prepare coffee in a vacuum pot add the proper amount of filtered water to the bottom bulb, attach the filter to the upper bulb and fit the upper glass bulb tightly over the bottom glass bulb. Place the vacuum pot on the stove making sure that the bottom bulb is completely dry on the outside. Use a medium grind and add the grounds when the water begins to fill the upper chamber. Leave the pot on the stove for 3.5 minutes.  The water in the lower globe begins to heat to a boil and as this causes the pressure in the lower globe to increase it forces the water up a tube connecting the globes and into the upper globe containing the grounds.  Once all the water has made this air pressure induced trip, the apparatus is taken off the heat source.  This allows the lower globe to cool down back to room temperature, decreasing the pressure in the lower globe and thus sucking the brewed coffee back down (through the filter) into the lower globe. Experiment with the heating and cooling cycles until the total extraction time is between 4-5 minutes. 

The Percolator

The percolator heats the coarsely ground coffee and cold water so that it boils and bubbles up into the top of the unit.  Continuous brewing of coffee grounds using boiling water which then turns to boiling coffee liquor will only lead to brewing over-extracted grounds and a thin, bitter, tarry cup. It is an excellent way to have the relaxing sound of the coffee liquid burbling and gurgling, and waft the aroma of coffee throughout the home, as all the volatile wonderful flavours go out of the percolator and into the air!  However, to show the variance of personal preference, I know of people that prefer this method.  There is possibly no worse way to make fresh coffee than this.