There comes a time in any coffee-drinker’s life when we’re ready for a change. Maybe we’ve been rocking out eight cups a day for the past five years on our sturdy Mr. Coffee, but we’re tired of that cooked taste we get after the carafe has been sitting on the burner for an hour (or four). Maybe we just had our first pourover (dare I say a natural Ethiopian?) at a nice cafe and are curious about single-cup brewing at home. Whatever the case may be, with all the different brew methods out there, it can be a challenge just to choose. Even when you have a few devices on your own shelf, how are you supposed to decide how to make coffee on any given day?
Let’s consider where you’re coming from and focus on your desired outcome. Maybe one of these categories sounds like you:
Ready to nerd out, happy to take time
That complex, nuanced cup brewed just for you by your friendly neighborhood barista just blew your mind. How can I get my coffee to taste like this? you wonder. First, of course you have to choose a bean with that particular flavor potential–go ahead, peruse those descriptors on the fancy coffee label–but then you need to brew it with the same level of care and attention shown by a professional barista. If you want cafe-quality coffee at home, you need to dive into the details and be prepared to take a little extra time. A digital scale and a quality burr grinder are essential, so that you can dial in your precise grind setting and manage your desired brew ratio consistently cup after cup. And if you want to do espresso, make sure you have a grinder that will produce a fine enough grind, with options for adjustment in that very-fine range.
Methods to try: Chemex, Hario V60, home espresso
Don’t want to think, need a fast cup
Bleary-eyed and incoherent until you’ve had your first cup? Don’t want to fuss around with pouring a steady stream of water over coffee grounds for three minutes? You need a method that matches your mode, something that requires only limited measuring and that can be easily replicated day after day.
If this sounds like you, try the Clever Dripper. You’ll still get the best results when you use a scale to measure your coffee, but because you pour all the water in at once rather than pouring over slowly, you can walk away and take care of something else (or just zone out and let the morning sun hit your face) for three minutes instead while your coffee brews.
If you’re open to just a *little* more of a hands-on approach, the Aeropress is also a good option. While there are many options for tweaking and customizing with an Aeropress, you can use the standard recipe and have a quick cup in about two minutes.
Both of these methods are very, very easy to clean up–a bonus when you’re in a morning rush.
Tired of auto drip, want to branch out
You’ve been drinking automatic drip for years, maybe decades. You can go through the motions in your sleep: pour the water in, count out the scoops of grounds, press the button. And the second half of the pot sits there on the burner for hours, ready to fill your second and third and fourth mugs midday, sending their stale, oily aromas throughout the house. There’s got to be a better way.
Oh hey, there is! If you want to embark on a new coffee adventure and experience the impact of brewing differently, here are a few methods to try:
French press is perhaps the most common manual brew method that most people are familiar with. You don’t need a paper filter, the instructions are straightforward, and there are many aesthetically-pleasing options that look great on your kitchen counter. Some of them are even insulated, so you don’t have to worry about that second or third cup getting cold before you get around to drinking it. The biggest downside is the cleanup, which can be a little messy and tedious.
Aeropress offers several avenues for customizing. You can achieve a small, concentrated result that mimics espresso (drink it straight, add hot water for something like an Americano, or add milk for a latte, hot or cold), or it can yield a full cup that’s not too different from your standard auto-dripped brew. The device is fairly small, durable, and many people like it for traveling.
If you want to try something quite a bit different, go for a South Indian filter. (I like this one made by Aramse.) You don’t need a paper filter, cleanup is pretty easy, and the resulting cup is full-bodied, balanced and smooth.
Love pourover coffee but want something less fussy
For years, Monday through Friday, I brewed my daily cup with a Clever Dripper. Weekends meant slower mornings, so I had the time and energy to use my Chemex. But a couple years ago, I decided I just wanted to press a button. It was time for auto drip.
Automatic drip coffee makers are essentially automated pour-overs: a spray head dispenses hot water over a bed of grounds, and the coffee drips down into a vessel below. The downfall of this particular brew method, though, is that most standard-issue, inexpensive products do not heat water to the ideal temperature for good extraction (195-205 F), and often the brewed coffee sits on a burner, which transforms coffee’s chlorogenic acid into quinic acid and results in extra-bitter flavors. But lucky for us, auto-drip brewer manufacturers have really stepped up their game in the past decade, and there are several options on the market. Industry stalwarts like MoccaMaster, Breville and Bonavita are always reliable; these brewers carry a stamp of approval from the Specialty Coffee Association. As with most things, you get what you pay for–but if your budget allows, you will not be disappointed with any of the following brewers:
-Ratio (I have the Ratio 4 pictured above and am in love)
-Simply Good (we sell this one at HG)
At the end of the day, there are countless ways to make coffee. Choosing one is more than half the battle. Understanding your desired result–and your energy for hands-on brewing–will help you decide the best way to take your coffee brewing to the next level.
And for more guidance on how to use any of the devices listed, we have a class for that.