6 Popular Methods for Brewing Coffee at Home

A filter sits in a coffee basket at the bottom. Coffee grounds rest in the brew chamber where hot water is added then immerses/steeps the coffee. To extract the coffee, a plunger is pressed down creating air pressure to force brewed coffee through a filter and into a cup.

• Grind of Beans: fine-medium
• Ground Coffee: 2.5 tablespoons of coffee (17g)
• Brewing Time: 1-2 minutes
• Flavour Profile: espresso-style coffee
• Cost: $40-50 (extra cost for filters)
• Produces a single cup of coffee
• Easy to clean
• Portable.
• Requires AeroPress micro paper filters (or a fine metal filter)

stovetop style coffee makers use steam pressure from boiled water in the lower section to pass through coffee grounds in the mid chamber of the pot. Brewed coffee then sits in the higher chamber. A well-designed stovetop pot will create better pressure.

• The grind of Beans: Fine-Medium Coarse
• Ground Coffee: 2.5-3 tablespoons of coffee (17-22g)
• Brewing Time: 5 minutes
• Flavour Profile: espresso-style coffee, strong and can be bitter
• Cost: $20-60
• Requires a gas stove
• Produces the equivalent of a single or double shot
• Easy to clean
• Portable and durable
• No extra filters required

Coffee grounds are added to the upper vessel and vapor pressure forces hot water up to immerse the coffee. Once the heat is removed, gravity pushes the brewed coffee back through a filter into the bottom vessel.

• The grind of Beans: Medium coarseness
• Ground Coffee: 6 tablespoons of coffee (40g)
• Brewing Time: 6 minutes
• Flavour Profile: mellow and delicate flavors
• Cost: $70-160 (extra cost for filters)
• Produces several cups of coffee
• Finicky to clean
• Delicate and hard to store. Not portable.
• Requires candle or butane burner (unless it has an electric heater), metal or cloth filter

• Before use, rinse filters with hot water to remove any chemicals on the paper. 
• For the pour-over methods, employ a slow and steady pour of hot water in a spiral motion from the center outwards to thoroughly saturate all the coffee grounds evenly, which ensures optimal extraction.
• Start with cold, filtered water when possible.
• Use freshly roasted beans and grind the beans just before brewing
• Hot water should be just off the boil (205F or 96C).
• Rinse the makers and cups with hot water in advance to keep coffee hot for longer.