A guide to 11 appliances for brewing coffee at home. Which ones have you tried?

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Coffee lovers may have experienced this: when you have used familiar utensils to brew coffee for a long time and drink too much, you will inevitably feel a little tired and eager to find new and interesting utensils to play with. In fact, productivity and creativity are highly developed now, and there are many utensils for coffee lovers to choose from. The coffee brewed by each utensil tastes different, and of course the difficulty of operation is also different.

The most attractive thing about specialty coffee is brewing coffee. You can adjust it flexibly and find the flavor you like. The adjustment process may be discouraging, and the coffee may become more and more unpalatable. But don't worry, we have summarized some differences caused by different brewing utensils and provide some brewing tips.

1. Filter type

1. V60

Named after its 60-degree angle structure, it is a very popular brewing device. The brewed coffee has a high consistency and clean flavor characteristics. It is also easy to find out some brewing parameters from experiments, such as water temperature, grinding degree and powder-water ratio.

Use a medium-fine grind and, after steaming, pour water in concentric circles over the coffee grounds. You might also try drip brewing, adding small amounts of water in batches.

Reasons to choose V60: If you want clean-flavored coffee, want to try adjusting the brewing parameters yourself, and are willing to accept its brewing difficulty.

2. Kalita Wave

Kalita Wave is a hand-brewed coffee filter, similar to V60, but with several key differences. First, the bottom of the filter is flat and has three small holes, which affects the flow rate of water, allowing the water to stay at the bottom of the filter before flowing out of the filter. Conversely, this will make the brewed coffee more stable and more forgiving. The recommended brewing method is the same as V60, and the suitable grinding degree is medium to fine.

Why you should choose Kalita Wave: If you prefer a more forgiving brewing method, you can try this filter cup.

3. The Chemex

The Chemex filter cup is very eye-catching visually, and it is even on display at the Museum of Modern Art in New York. Unlike other hand-poured filter cups, the Chemex can brew eight cups at a time. The best thing is that it can filter coffee, because it retains the oils in the coffee, so the brewed coffee will be mellower. However, due to the deep V-shaped design of the Chemex, it is more difficult to maintain consistency when brewing. Unlike hand-poured, the grinding degree is recommended to be medium-coarse.

Why you should choose a Chemex: You want clean coffee and want to brew more than one serving at a time, but consistency isn't your primary concern.

4. American coffee maker

In the past, people often associated American coffee pots with poor quality, burnt coffee that had been left for several hours. However, this has changed because many smart American coffee machines have emerged. These American coffee machines are easy to control. You can set the closest water temperature, simulate human hand pouring, control the steaming time, etc. Most importantly, you can even set the water temperature change to control the extraction.

In the past, it was recommended to brew with a medium grind size, but with the introduction of new models, it is still recommended to brew according to the grind size recommended by the machine.

Reasons to choose an American coffee maker: You want to brew consistent quality coffee for many people at once, and you don’t mind spending a little more money on the device or sacrificing the fun of the hand-brew process.

2. Immersion

1. Smart filter cup

This device may look like a hand-brew filter cup, but it actually combines filtering and soaking functions. There is a valve at the bottom of the filter cup, which allows the coffee powder and water to be fully soaked to extract the coffee. When the soaking stops, just open the valve to filter out the coffee liquid. It is recommended to use medium grinding.

Reasons to choose a smart filter cup: You want to taste both the flavor of soaked and filtered coffee, or you pay attention to the stability of brewing.

2. French Press

The most well-known and simplest brewing device, the French press is often looked down upon by those who drink specialty coffee, but there are still many tips to improve the flavor. The most important thing is to make sure that the coffee is poured out gently when the brewing is completed. If the action is too rough, the extracted fine powder will remain in the coffee and continue to be extracted, and more bitter substances will be dissolved in the later stage of extraction, making the coffee unpalatable. It is usually recommended to brew with a coarse grind, but some people try to find a better balance between grind size and steeping time.

Why you should choose a French press: You want a full-bodied cup of coffee and prefer a simple brewing method.

3. AeroPress

The lightweight, portable and durable device invented by Aerobie has since become a favorite device for people when traveling, allowing them to quickly make a cup of good coffee whether they are climbing a mountain or going to the sea.

Coffee made with AeroPress will have a full taste, but there is still a lot of room for improvement. AeroPress is very easy for beginners to use, and it is also one of the few brewing devices that has its own world competition besides espresso machines. There are usually two brewing methods: reverse brewing and positive pressure brewing.

Inverted: Inverted brewing method

1. Turn the brewing cylinder upside down and place the AeroPress brewing base on the cylinder, with the bottom about one centimeter from the cylinder.

2. Pour freshly ground coffee into the brew base, using a fine or medium grind depending on your preference.

3. Add water to steam the coffee powder.

4. Add remaining brewing water all at once and stir (recommended).

5. After doing all this, put on the filter paper holder (with the rinsed filter paper on it), and place the AeroPress on the cup to press out the coffee.

Traditional: Traditional positive pressure method

1. Place the filter paper in the filter paper holder and wet the filter paper. Then install the filter paper holder on the brewing base and place it on the cup.

2. Pour in freshly ground coffee, using a fine or medium grind depending on your preference.

3. Add your water and allow the coffee to bloom.

4. Add the remaining brewing water at once

5. Stir

6. Insert the pump into the brewing base about one centimeter and pull it up slightly to allow suction to prevent water from flowing down.

7. When the brewing time is up, press down to release the coffee liquid.

Reasons to choose AeroPress: You want to be able to make coffee on the go, or you want a cup of coffee that is easy to make and has a full taste.

3. Pressurization (concentration)

1. Home espresso machine

For those who love espresso, only a few people have an espresso machine at home, which is a heavy burden in terms of cost, whether it is the machine itself or the peripherals. The starting price of a home espresso machine is about 1,000 yuan.

You can buy a portable or handheld coffee maker, which has fewer features and produces lower quality coffee than a coffee maker, but they are still cheaper and can be used on the go.

Of course, espresso is completely different from the brewing method of hand-brew or immersion: before putting the powder into the filter cup of the brewing handle, the coffee powder must be ground very finely. After tamping, the coffee is brewed in a very short time, which is very suitable for adjusting the brewing recipe (depending on the quality of the machine).

Reasons to choose a coffee machine: You really love espresso and don’t mind spending a higher amount of money on it.

2. Moka Pot

The Moka Pot is just like the French Press. This traditional brewing device is often not well received, but like the French Press, there are some ways to improve the quality of the coffee you brew.

It is very simple to put finely ground coffee powder into the brewing base and add water, and then place the moka pot on the heating stove. However, the coffee brewed by the traditional moka pot will cause the coffee to taste burnt and bitter. In order to avoid this, the water should be heated first. If room temperature water is used, the coffee powder will be in contact with the heated metal for too long.

A moka pot is designed to be a stove-heated espresso machine, however, a moka pot cannot create as much pressure as a coffee machine when brewing, and pressure is very important for espresso extraction.

Reasons to choose a moka pot: You want coffee that tastes like espresso, but you don’t want to spend too much money on equipment.

Next, let’s look at some uncommon brewing equipment (note: these equipment are not suitable for beginners)

4. Boiling

1. Siphon pot

If there's one brewing device that makes you look like a scientist while brewing coffee, it's the siphon. It combines immersion with filtration, involving a heating source, a glass brewer, and scientific principles, and usually produces a fuller-tasting cup of coffee.

Reasons to choose a siphon pot: You don’t mind the troublesome production process, like the full and clean taste, and want a very showy brewing process.

2. Turkish pot

This unique and historic brewing device originated in Turkey during the Ottoman Empire. The coffee brewed here has a strong bitter taste and requires a particularly careful brewing process combined with extremely fine grinding. You must also buy a special coffee grinder to grind such fine powder.

You must buy a Turkish pot to make coffee. Add water and sugar (sugar is optional) to the pot and place it on the stove or bury it in hot sand. When it boils, add coffee powder, and when it rises to the top of the pot, quickly remove it from the heat and place it back on the fire. Repeat this three times and you can enjoy your coffee!

The brewed coffee has a full taste and is traditionally brewed without filtering the coffee grounds. It is usually brewed in front of guests or visitors. This coffee is also called Turkish coffee.

Reasons for choosing a Turkish pot: You want to experience the culture of a Turkish pot, like bitter or sweetened coffee, and are not afraid of the trouble of brewing.

There are many more brewing tools that are not mentioned here: the third wave of coffee has brought constant innovation, but the 11 mentioned in this article are the more common ones.

No matter what brewing equipment you choose, you are encouraged to try different brewing recipes, such as grinding degree, powder-water ratio, water temperature, stirring and other parameters. Isn’t the adjustment of these parameters the charm of brewing your own coffee?

Article content reference: Perfect Daily Grind

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