Coffee Brewing Processes Explained

Drinking coffee has been around for thousands of years. There are several stories about how the coffee bean was discovered and by whom. Today coffee is brewed and severed in countries all around the world. Coffee is usually named after the region in which the beans are grown (origin). Blue Jamaican Coffee, for example. Sometimes the name of the coffee style comes from the country that brews it. Turkish coffee, Italian coffee, etc. Coffees are diverse, and so are the methods used for brewing it.

Turkish Briki:

The coffee that is used in the Briki is super fine like a powder. It takes between 7 and 11 minutes to make a cup of coffee using the Briki. The coffee is very strong and rich in flavor but clear.

French Press or Plunger:

The French press coffee pot produces a varied range of coffee flavor. Depending on how long the coffee is brewed, short brewing time: light, smooth yet rich coffee. Long brew time: very strong with a bitter taste from the coffee beans. This all depends on your individual taste preference. Hot water is added to regular or coarse ground coffee and allowed to brew for the desired time. The plunger is then pressed down, forcing the ground coffee to the bottom of the plunger. The filter is usually fine mesh stainless steel, there will be some small grinds in the bottom of the cup. It takes between 5 and 8 minutes to brew 4 cups of coffee.

Percolator:

The coffee made in a percolator is strong, clear, and has a lot of flavor. A percolator needs a heat source such as a stove top or gas burner. This process heats the water, forcing it up through the ground coffee and into the top of the percolator. to uses regular grind coffee. It takes between 13 and 18 minutes to brew 6 cups, depending on the size of the percolator.

Automatic Drip Coffee Maker:

The coffee made in an automatic drip coffee maker is clear. This process is not as hot as other methods. Automatic drip coffee makers use fine ground coffee. Hot water is slowly dripped over the top of the ground coffee and filters through the ground coffee. The result is coffee dripping from the filter and into a glass jug to pour the coffee. It takes between 6 and 10 minutes to make 6 cups of coffee using an automatic drip coffee maker.

Espresso Machine:

The coffee is very strong, rich with a great depth of flavor. Espresso is now the base of many coffees. Like the cappuccino and latte. Very fine coffee grounds (pressed) into a fine stainless-steel filter basket. Water is forced (under pressure) through the tamped, ground coffee. This extracts the coffee oils from the ground coffee producing a thick, rich espresso. It takes between 25 and 40 seconds to make 30ml (1 oz) of coffee using an espresso machine.

Other helpful articles – How to Make Great Coffee at Home and The Origin of Coffee.