Brewing Coffee

Here is a quick list starting from the best:

 Pour-Over

Choosing a fresh-roasted gourmet coffee is the first step toward a truly great cup—but how you brew it makes all the difference. One method that has earned its place among coffee lovers and professionals alike is the pour-over. While it might seem complicated at first glance, I assure you it’s much easier than it looks—and the results are worth it!

With just a few basic tools, you’ll be able to craft a clean, flavorful, and incredibly satisfying cup of coffee. Ready to give it a try? Let me walk you through the simple steps to brewing the perfect pour-over coffee at home.

To begin, you’ll need three essential things: fresh-roasted coffee, clean water, and a pour-over brewing device. A gooseneck kettle and kitchen scale are helpful, but not required. For the brewer itself, I recommend a Chemex, or Bodum pour-over, each offers its own benefits, but all produce an excellent cup when used correctly. For the coffee, you can’t go wrong with a single-origin like our Ethiopia Yirgacheffe, Panama Boquete, or Kenya AA. These coffees shine in pour-over brewing because the method really brings out their unique flavor notes. As for water, filtered or bottled spring water works best.

Now that you’ve got what you need, here’s how to brew a pour-over like a pro.

The Method:

1. Start by heating your water. You want it just off the boil—about 200°F. If you don’t have a thermometer, let boiling water rest for 30 seconds before using.
2. Use 3 tablespoons (or about 20 grams) of fresh ground coffee.  Grind it to a medium-fine texture—think kosher salt.
3. Place a clean filter in your pour-over brewer and pour some hot water through it. This removes the paper taste and warms up your brewer. Be sure to discard the rinse water.
4. Add the ground coffee in the filter and gently shake to level the bed.
5. Begin the bloom. Slowly pour just enough water to wet all the grounds—about 40 grams (or twice the weight of your coffee). Let it sit for 30 to 45 seconds. This helps release any trapped gases and kickstarts the brewing process.
6. In a slow, circular motion, pour the remaining hot water over the grounds, avoiding the sides of the filter. Try to pour steadily, and aim to finish pouring around the 2:30 mark.
7. Allow the water to completely pass through the coffee. The total brew time should be between 3 and 4 minutes.
8. Once the water has drained, remove the brewer and give the coffee a little swirl. Then sit back and enjoy one of the cleanest, most flavorful cups you’ll ever taste.

I’ve found through lots of experimenting that this is a reliable method for consistently great pour-over coffee. But just like with French Press brewing, part of the fun is fine-tuning your process. Try different coffees, adjust your grind size or water ratio, and see how your cup changes. The pour-over gives you an incredible level of control—so once you’ve got the basics down, the sky’s the limit.

Happy brewing!

Choosing a fresh-roasted gourmet coffee is only half the battle when making a superior cup. The brewing method you use can be just as important. Coffee experts around the world agree that the best way to brew coffee is to use a French Press. Unfortunately, most people are too intimidated to try this method. This shouldn't worry you, however, because I am about to let you in on the simple secrets behind a great cup of French Press coffee!

To start, there are three things you need to make a French pressed coffee: water, coffee and a French Press. Bottled spring water is the absolute best water for pressing coffee. Fresh, course ground coffee from CoffeeAM is a necessity. Some of my favorites for pressing are Mexico 'Spirit of the Aztec,' India Mysore 'Gold Nugget,' and Organic Bali Blue Moon. Any coffee can be pressed though, and I encourage you to try many of our fine coffees. The Bodum Chambord French Press is the final piece to the puzzle. I recommend this model for its quality and durability.

Now that you know the things you need to properly press coffee, just follow these directions for the best coffee you ever tasted.

The Method:

1. Begin heating the water.
2. Grind 8 TBS of fresh, course ground coffee and place in the empty French Press.
3. Just before boiling is reached remove from heat, start the timer and pour over the grounds.
4. Stir the water and coffee for a couple second just after you have finished adding the water.
5. Stir the water and coffee for a couple second just before you have reached the desired brew time.
6. At 3 minutes and 55 seconds depress the plunger. Once the plunger reaches the bottom it is recommended that the brewed coffee be removed immediately to stop the brewing process. If the coffee remains in the press it will continue to extract and cause huge variations in the cup.
7. Sit back and enjoy a wonderful cup of coffee.

I have found over years of brewing with a French Press that this is the best method, but I know that experimenting with your coffee preparation is one of the great things about gourmet coffee. Once you master the method I told you about, please try some variations to find that perfect cup of coffee just for you. Different coffee, amounts of coffee and brew times will all change the taste of your cup. Good luck and happy pressing!

Vacuum brewers aren't very common, but they make coffee just about as well as a French press since the coffee and water are brewing together.  A vacuum brewer has an upper and a lower chamber connected by a tube with a small filter inside. Coffee grounds are placed in the upper, and water is placed in the lower. As the lower chamber is heated, the water rises up to meet the coffee in the upper chamber where the brewing begins. After brewing, the water (now coffee) cools and seeps back down into the lower chamber leaving the used coffee grinds behind in the upper chamber.  Normally, the upper chamber is then removed and the lower chamber is used as the decanter for the finished coffee.

Vacuum brewers can be electric, stovetop, or even used over a sterno can for dramatic tabletop brewing!

The toddy maker uses an unusual cold-brewing method that creates a coffee concentrate. This concentrate is then mixed with hot water to make coffee. The concentrate can be stored in a refrigerator and used to make one cup at a time if you so desire. This method makes for extremely low-acid coffee, which is recommended for coffee drinkers with stomach conditions.

Although this method sounds rather odd, the result in taste is very surprising. One drawback is the amount of time it takes to brew. A good idea is to brew the coffee overnight. Once brewed, the concentrate can produce more than just one pot of coffee, so it's not a nightly event for morning coffee!

Permanent filters are nice because they allow for better coffee taste. As mentioned earlier, paper filters can filter out more than just coffee grinds. Flavorful oils can be left behind in the filter and not make it to the finished brew. Since permanent filters allow for more liquid to pass through, the end result is more flavorful. Gold-plated perma-filters are the best since they don't add any unwanted metallic taste, and they are resistant to corrosion.

The most common brew method happens to be the one with the least amount of flavor and aroma. However, mornings usually need to be made quick and simple. Most people have never had their coffee brewed any other way.  If you are one of these people, do yourself a favor, get a small French press maker, and start experimenting!