There are a variety of different brewing methods when it comes to making coffee and there is not necessarily a right way to make it. Coffee is a personal thing and the right way is how you like it best. That said, there are of course a few fundamentals which will help you to achieve your goal of brewing the perfect cup of coffee. Buying good quality coffee is but the first step and it can all be for nothing if the brewing is not done correctly. Unfortunately it is very easy to ruin otherwise excellent coffee with improper brewing.
So our coffee brewing guide will help get you started with four popular brewing methods including the Aeropress, with its cult like status, or the all popular French Press Cafetiere. Maybe try the iconic Moka Pot, or if you’re in search of a method that gives you complete control over brewing extraction then a pour over method with something like the Hario V60 could be the answer. We encourage you to experiment with lots of different preparation methods as so much of the enjoyment when it comes to coffee is down to the preparation.
Cafetiere (French Press) Coffee Brewing Guide
Whilst using a cafetiere (otherwise known as a French press) can appear to be one of the simplest ways to brew coffee, there’s still some technique and know-how required if you want to ensure you end up with a tasty cup of coffee as opposed to a muddy mess.
The first thing to pay attention to is the grind. A cafetiere takes a courser grind than drip brewing so grind your beans with that in mind. The filter on a cafetiere is not as fine as a paper filter so a courser grind will ensure that coffee won’t pass through the filter. The image below shows you what you should be aiming for but ultimately you’ll know from the taste. If the coffee tastes a little bit weak and insipid, try a finer grind. If it’s a little bit strong or you’re getting bits coming through, coarsen it a little more.
Next you need to work out your coffee to water ratio. As a rule of thumb we recommend 7g of coffee to 115ml of water, a 1:16 ratio, however this can be adjusted to suit your taste preferences. You’ll need to know the size of your cafetiere for this and whether it’s a ‘3-Cup’ or an ‘8-Cup’ for example. One thing to realise is that a cafetiere ‘cup’ is not equivalent to a standard coffee cup and is in fact equal to one demitasse half-cup, about 120 ml. So for an 8-Cup cafetiere try starting with 60g of coffee.
Water is a key ingredient in your coffee, so if you can use bottled or filtered water. Boil your required amount of water plus a little extra and then let it sit for a minute or two as you want your water at between 92-96C before brewing.
Start by preheating your cafetiere with hot water, swirling the water around before then discarding it and adding your ground coffee. Then pour in about a third of the water and leave for 30 seconds. Stir the grinds to make sure that all the grounds are well soaked and then add the remaining water. You should be leaving your coffee to sit for about 4 minutes before plunging as that will mean the water has the right amount of time to extract the flavour, caffeine and complexity from the grounds.
Whilst you wait you can use some more hot water to warm your cups in preparation. Then when the time is up, stir once and scoop the grinds off the top and then plunge. It’s worth noting that even though the press filter separates the grounds from the coffee, the brewing process hasn’t stopped. So if you let the coffee sit in the cafetiere, that sediment at the bottom will still affect the taste, so the best thing is to decant the coffee and transfer it to something else.
Once your done, all that remains is to serve and enjoy.
Pour Over Drip Filter Coffee Brewing Guide
The Hario V60 is one of the most common drip filter methods and it’s also one of the simplest ways to make a great cup of coffee. The V60 is a cone-shaped dripper with spiral ridges along the inner wall and a single, large opening at the bottom. 
The design means the filter paper doesn’t stick to the walls of the cone and encourages extraction at the bottom and sides of the filter. The cone itself can either sit directly over your mug or over a larger receptacle if you are brewing for more than 1 person.
For the pour over coffee brewing guide method you’re looking for a grind between fine and medium – a bit like sea salt. Here, the hot water is not in contact with the coffee for as long, so you need to offer a greater surface area to ensure the coffee has enough depth and body. The paper filters you use with a V60 are far finer than the metal gauze in a cafetiere so there is no risk of grinds ending up in your cup. The image below is roughly what you aiming for.
Next you want to work out your coffee to water ratio. As a rule of thumb we recommend 7g of coffee to 115ml of water, a 1:16 ratio, however this can be adjusted to suit your taste preferences. So to begin with try for example 30g of coffee with 500ml of water, which would give you two good cups of coffee.
As with any coffee preparation water is a key ingredient in your coffee, so if you can use bottled or filtered water. Like other methods, boil your required amount of water plus a little extra and then let it sit for a minute or two as you want your water at between 92-96C before brewing.
Drip filter coffee brewing guide top tip: Whilst you’re waiting for your water to come to the boil you can place your cone on the top of the receptacle you are using and tuck in the paper filter. Next you want to wet the filter with some of your hot water. Allow the water to drip through the filter into the receptacle. Not only does this help remove any starchy papery taste but it also warms your cup or dripper jug. Discard this rinse water and then reposition the cone on top of your jug.
Now add your ground coffee to the filter and gently tap to level the surface of the grounds. Use a finger or teaspoon to create a little well or indentation in the centre of the grounds.
You’re going to be adding your water in stages and the best way to keep track of this and the different amounts of water you should be adding is by using a digital scale. So before doing your first water pour, place your dripper or cup together with the V60 filter onto a scale and set it to zero.
Your first pour is to allow the coffee to ‘bloom’. As hot water first hits the grounds, CO2 that was trapped inside the coffee beans is released creating a blooming effect and the grounds rise up and bubble. Releasing the CO2 trapped in the grounds in this way helps to ensure a better brew as otherwise it can add an unpleasant acidic flavour to your coffee as well as interfere with the extraction process.
So aiming for the central divot you made, start by pouring just enough water to cover and wet the grounds (approx. 100ml) and then let it rest for 30 seconds. Continue adding the water bit by bit, pouring slowly, starting in the middle and moving in and out in concentric circles without touching the paper filter directly. By distributing the water across the grounds in this way you will be facilitating a more even extraction.
With this next pour, if using the 30g to 500ml recipe, pour until your scale reads 250ml. Allow the coffee to drip and then before the dry grounds are revealed start your third pour, this time adding water until your scale reads 400ml. Finally add the remaining water – to 500ml – and then leave to allow all the water to drain through. You should find that your total brewing time will be between 3 – 4 minutes. Once the water has fully drained, you can discard the paper filter and coffee grounds and then enjoy your fine, full-bodied cup of coffee.
Aeropress coffee brewing guide
Invented in 2005, the Aeropress has since developed a bit of a cult status, with numerous AeroPress competitions around the world and even an annual World Championship where baristas compete to see whose recipe and technique delivers the best cup of coffee. The Aeropress is a single cup coffee brewing system and like a cafetiere it uses a plunger to force water through coffee.
If you search online for Aeropress coffee brewing guide recipes you’ll find a number of different approaches, with varying brewing temperatures, grind size, brewing times and even plunge times. Apart from recipes, there are two main methods that you can try. There’s the regular top down brewing method as described in the instructions that ship with the Aeropress and then there’s what’s known as the inverted or upside down method, which is the method that we’ll cover here. It’s our preferred method, principally because with the standard brewing method you can sometimes get leakage before brewing is complete.
When it comes to grind size the manufacturers advise somewhere between drip and espresso, a medium to fine grind, and we’d recommend starting with 17g of coffee which is approximately one single Aeropress scoop.
Once you have boiled your water, first warm your brewing chamber. Then place the plunger securely into the chamber, pushing it down just enough so that it is secure. Next add your ground coffee, using the Aeropress funnel to ensure your grounds drop to the bottom. Place your paper filter inside the filter cap and in a similar way to the V60 rinse with warm water.
Having let your boiled water sit for a minute so that it’s at a temperature of between 92-96C you can now start pouring. Start with a bloom stage, saturating the grounds evenly, stirring and then letting it sit for 30 seconds whilst any CO2 is released. Then continue to add water to the top of chamber before then screwing on the filter cap. It’s best to hold onto the Aeropress where the plunger and the chamber meet whilst you are doing this to avoid any mishaps.
As we said earlier there are different brewing times you can use depending on your preference, something you can experiment with over time. But a good place to start is to leave for a total brew time of 90 seconds before then taking the Aeropress and flipping it over onto the top of your mug. Again be sure to hold both chambers whilst you’re doing this so you don’t end up with a lapful of hot coffee!
Using a slow steady press, push down your plunger until it just begins compacting the coffee at the bottom. You can then remove the brewing unit from your mug and disassemble it. One of the nice things about the Aeropress is that it’s easy to clean up. Just remove the filter cap and over a bin push the plunger the remaining way and this will then eject the coffee grounds. All that’s needed then is to rinse your Aeropress and then put aside ready for its next outing.
You now have in your mug a coffee concentrate and you can choose to either dilute your coffee a bit by adding some more hot water or just to enjoy it as is if you prefer a more espresso like beverage.
Moka Stovetop Pot coffee brewing guide
A Moka is two-chambered stovetop espresso pot that uses steam pressure to force water through a strainer containing finely ground coffee. Italian-made, you’ll find one of these pots siting on most Italian stovetops as they are both inexpensive and easy to use whilst producing a great full-bodied coffee.
When it comes to the grind, you want something fairly fine (as pictured). The hot water boils through the pressed coffee fairly quickly so you need a finer grind to ensure you get a good extraction. It’s important not to go too fine however as otherwise you’ll find you end up with grinds in your cup.
You’ll need enough coffee to fill the filter basket, which is approximately 17g for a 4-cup moka pot. Although your moka pot is going onto the stovetop, it’s a good idea to heat your water first. This helps to avoid the moka pot getting too hot and essentially cooking the coffee, which can then impart a metallic taste into your brew.
Add your heated water to the lower chamber up to where you see the line and then insert your filter basket. If there’s no line to show fill level an easy way to test if you’ve got it right is to insert the empty filter basket and make sure that once in place, no water seeps up through the strainer.
Next add you coffee, levelling off the surface and brushing away any loose grounds so that none get into the thread and affect the seal with the top chamber. Don’t pack it down as this could potentially result in too much pressure. Screw the top and bottom together so that they are sealed well but not overly tight. You need to ensure there is a perfect seal otherwise when the water begins to boil it will spew out the sides.
Place the pot over a low flame or low heat making sure the handle of pot is not subjected to any heat. A low heat is important as in order to extract the full flavour of the espresso you will want the heat to warm it slowly.
Remove the pot from the heat as soon as the coffee starts to gurgle, before it starts to rise and bubble. That way you’ll be sure to extract only the best parts of the coffee. Once the coffee stops bubbling out you can then pour it into cups, adding sugar or diluting with a bit of hot water depending on your preference.
It’s not hard to learn how to make coffee using a moka pot and as with any brewing method, part of the enjoyment of coffee is actually making it.
Image Credit for Coffee Grinds: INeedCoffee
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