With a Starbucks or some other coffee chain on just about every urban street corner it is fair to say that our coffee options have expanded. Thanks to the proliferation of online retailers like Amazon and Alibaba, you can buy premium coffee equipment and have it at your door tomorrow.
Now it isn’t just a question of the type of coffee you want, but also how you want it made. Even at home you have tons of affordable options for making that perfect brew. You have the single serve brewers, French press, Chemex and your regular old coffee maker. So which one will give you the best cuppa joe? Let’s look at 5 ways to brew coffee.
- Percolator
This is an old school sitting around the campfire way to make coffee. It will be a strong brew, but it isn’t going to make you the best cup of coffee. Most of the time you end up boiling the coffee, which makes for a very bitter cup of coffee. The other problem is that your coffee can taste a little “metallic”.
- Automatic Coffee Maker
You probably have one of these in your kitchen right now, slap in a filter, add coffee and water, turn the machine on and in a few minutes you have a steaming hot cup of coffee. This makes a perfectly acceptable cup of coffee, you can control the strength and the type of beans you use and it is quick and easy. Most have timers so you can set them the night before and have piping hot coffee ready when you wake up.
- French Press
The French press is popular among those who are very particular about the type and blend of coffee that they drink. It is easy to use and it gives you a full flavored cup of coffee. The drawback is it doesn’t make very much at one time and it takes a little more time than your automatic coffee maker. There is also more to clean up after. But if you savor a strong cup of coffee, the extra work is well worth it.
- Pour Over Method
Like the French press it is fairly easy to make a good cup of coffee, you pour water over the coffee grounds and it filters down into an individual cup. Again it has the same drawback, you’re making coffee one cup at a time. It is however, the least expensive way to make coffee.
- Chemex
This uses special filters made by Chemex and the coffee maker is a bit different than what you are used to. The Chemex makes a nice strong cup of coffee with little or no bitterness.