During these pandemic times and the stay-safe measures, we all miss spending time in our favourite cafes to enjoy a good cup of coffee

While we can support the local small coffee shops by purchasing a coffee-to-go, we can also go the extra mile: buying the coffee beans we love from our favourite cafes and brew our own coffee at home.

At first, it might seem a difficult task to deal with… But don’t get intimidated! We have listed the 5 most popular manual coffee brewing methods to help you overcome this challenge and make the perfect cup of coffee! Knowing how to brew your own coffee at home is a life-changing skill!

But wait! Let’s first understand about coffee brewing!

What is coffee brewing?

Coffee brewing is the act of pouring hot water onto ground coffee beans, allowing it to brew. The water flows slowly through the ground coffee, absorbing its compounds, and then passes through a filter. The coffee grounds are retained in the filter, while the brewed coffee is collected in a vessel.

There are several techniques and methods for brewing coffee. Each one of them will result in a completely unique coffee… So, you must be asking: which one should I choose? Or…

What is the best way to brew coffee at home?

Well, the best way to make your own homemade cup of coffee depends on your taste and preferences! Keep in mind that the range is wild: from a full-bodied cup of coffee to a bold and smooth brew, you will come across a variety of methods to have your caffeine dose well fixed.

You also need to consider using high-quality ingredients. Fresh organic whole coffee beans can make all the difference (you can have them ground as per the specific method chosen). But this is a topic for another post!

So, for the coffee enthusiasts, here are the 5 top popular ways to manually brew a perfect cup of coffee at home.

5 methods for brewing your own coffee at home

Our top picks for making coffee at home are French Press, Pour Over, Moka Pot, Aeropress, and Chemex.

1. French Press

French press is one of the most classic and easiest methods for brewing coffee. It consists in soaking and steeping ground coffee directly in hot water and then straining it by slowly pressing a plunger down to separate the grounds from the coffee. It extracts the most pure and complex flavours from the ground beans. The coffee’s flavourful essential oils, caffeine and antioxidants are well diffused and preserved.

Pro-tip: serve immediately or transfer to another vessel! While in contact with the hot water, the coffee grounds will keep brewing and the coffee will get bitter.

  • Type of grind: coarse
  • Ground coffee: 2 to 2.5 tbs for one cup
  • Brewing time: 4 minutes
  • What you will get: full-bodied and rich coffee

2. Pour Over

Pour over is one of the oldest and simplest ways to brew coffee. This technique consists in pouring hot water through coffee grounds placed in a coffee cone with a filter. The coffee will drip slowly into a cup or pot. Coffee cones can be made of plastic, glass, stainless steel or ceramic. Be aware that the shape of the cone and its filters will influence the final flavours of your brewing.

Pro-tip: Rinse the filter with a bit of hot water to minimize the paper taste and seal the filter in place. Discard the excess of water.

  • Type of grind: fine to medium
  • Ground coffee: 3 tbs for one cup
  • Brewing time: 2 to 4 minutes
  • What you will get: smooth coffee

3. Moka Pot

Moka pot is a style of stovetop coffee maker. This method allows you to brew a luscious and strong espresso-like coffee. It’s all about pressure! In a few words, the Moka pot uses steam pressure from boiled water in the lower section to pass through the coffee grounds in the mid compartment of the pot. The brewed coffee will be in the topmost part.

Pro-tip: When filling the filter basket with ground coffee, make sure to do it evenly but not pressing the grounds too hard.

  • Type of grind: fine
  • Ground coffee: 2.5 to 3 tbs for the equivalent of a double espresso shot
  • Brewing time: 5 minutes
  • What you will get: strong and expressive coffee

4. AeroPress

AeroPress is a relatively new technique of brewing coffee. This method involves gently pressing down a plunger to create air pressure, forcing soaked and steeped ground coffee through a filter and into a cup.

Pro-tip: While assembling your AeroPress make sure that all its components are completely dry. Remember that even a small drop of water can influence the device’s seal.

  • Type of grind: Fine to medium
  • Ground coffee: 2.5 tbs for one cup
  • Brewing time: 1 to 2 minutes
  • What you will get: sharp and full-bodied espresso-style coffee

5. Chemex

Chemex is a full-of-charm specific type of pour over. It has its particularities: its paper filters are 20 to 30% heavier than others. It is an hourglass-shaped vessel with a heatproof wooden collar around the neck, allowing it to be easily handled once full of hot coffee. Similar to other pour over techniques, you just pour hot water over coffee grounds in a paper filter letting the brewed coffee drip into the vessel.

Pro-tip: The pre-infusion process of this method is crucial for the final result: the coffee will “bloom”, moistening all the grounds. Enjoy the wonderful aroma that will come off in this process, also known as “blooming”.

  • Type of grind: medium coarse
  • Ground coffee: 2.5 to 3 tbs for one cup
  • Brewing time: 4 minutes
  • What you will get: bright and clean coffee

We all know that manual brewing coffee not only allows the coffee enthusiast to have closer quality control of the specialty drink but also gives the opportunity for a whole coffee experience. You can give your own touch to your own cup of coffee! Is there anything more special than this?

It’s time to brew a proper cup of coffee! So, go online and get yourself a bag of freshly roasted organic coffee beans, ground them for your preferred brewing method, and enjoy the fascinating coffee world!