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Making coffee at home is actually not a complicated matter; it basically depends on your coffee needs and budget. Coffee is a beverage, almost identical in nature to tea. Many times when we go to a café to spend money, it's purely "I just want to drink a cup."
Someone asked Front Street, do you need to buy very expensive equipment to make coffee at home? How can you choose the method that suits you? Let Front Street explain one by one below the common home brewing methods, for you to choose from.
Suitable for: those of you who love studying coffee
Generally composed of a gooseneck kettle, dripper, and filter paper.Making pour-over coffee lets you get a slightly different-tasting coffee with every brew, and this is also the daily serving method at Front Street's shops.Water temperature, blooming time, flow rate, circling technique, number of pours, grind setting, etc.,these details are all factors that affect the flavor of pour-over coffee.This is a very popular brewing device,its name comes from its shape—a cone with a 60-degree angle.
It can bring you a clean and rich flavor expression.By adjusting parameters such as water temperature, grind size, and coffee-to-water ratio, you will also get coffee with different tastes.tips: On your first try, you can choose to use medium-fine ground coffee; after a 30-second bloom,use a thin stream of water to pour in concentric circles over the coffee grounds.(For more V60 dripper brewing methods, you can also check out articles published by Front Street Coffee~)Kalita's wave dripper is similar to the V60, but the principle is quite different.
First, the bottom of the wave dripper is flat and has three small round holes; this detail design also affects the water flow,water can contact the coffee grounds more evenly, for stable extraction and a balanced taste.The method of using this device is the same as the V60: use medium-fine ground coffee, and after blooming, pour in concentric circles over the coffee grounds. Note that whether you use a fast or thin stream, the thickness must remain consistent from start to finish, and do not pour onto the edge of the coffee grounds and filter paper. Of course, you can try different pouring methods. For example, multi-stage pouring & pouring a small amount each time, completing the pour in multiple stages.Suitable for: those of you who pursue convenience and like a balanced taste
The Clever Cup is simple to operate, with relatively few variables.The Clever Dripper is, besides the AeroPress, another convenient, simple, fast, and stable good choice.A coffee device invented by a Taiwanese person, brewing coffee with a concept similar to making tea: first place filter paper in the Clever Cup, rinse the paper with hot water and warm the cup, letting the water drain through the clever device (the gate in the middle pushes the valve up and it opens automatically, hence it is called the Clever Cup). As for the coffee grind setting, Front Street would suggest medium roasta more balanced tastecoffee beans are more suitable for this device, such as Front Street Bird of Paradise, Front Street Huilan, Front Street Strawberry Candy, etc.
Its method of use is slightly different. First, whether to wet the filter paper is up to you; after pouring the coffee grounds into the dripper, first pour in a small amount of hot water, then you can stir or choose not to stir. After blooming, pour in hot water according to the coffee-to-water ratio; here it is not required to pour in concentric circles. After pouring is complete, you can stir to help extraction. When the steeping time is up, place the dripper on the server, the valve will open automatically, and the coffee extraction is complete.Suitable for: those of you who are obsessed with the mouthfeel of high-body coffeeThe AeroPress was born for convenience, a portable device that can quickly make a cup of coffee. It has an annual World AeroPress Championship. But rather than calling it a competition, it's more like everyone hoping to celebrate this great invention in this way. Its playstyle is varied and highly operable, with no absolute rules.Coffee made with the AeroPress has a full mouthfeel, and there is also a lot of room for experimentation. The AeroPress is very easy for beginners to get started with.AeroPress standard and inverted brewing methods/differences
Front Street believes the biggest difference is that when you pour water using the standard method, some coffee will be filtered out at the same time, which affects the completeness of the mouthfeel; using the inverted method can avoid this problem.
As for the AeroPress brewing parameters, if you ask Front Street for a standard AeroPress brewing parameter, then we'll probably have to say sorry to everyone (shrug.jpg). There are two insights though: the material of the AeroPress determines that it dissipates heat slowly and loses little temperature; but too high a temperature easily leads to over-extraction, and too low a temperature also leads to under-extraction. Using a lower water temperature: using a temperature in the range of 84 degrees plus or minus 2 degrees, you can get a smoother, more balanced taste.
Suitable for: those of you who are heavily obsessed with drinking espressoThe moka pot is also called the "Italian drip pot."Like the French press, it is a common coffee brewing device.The moka pot has three chambers: the bottom chamber holds water, the middle holds coffee grounds; the top layer holds the brewed coffee liquid, and between each layer there is a metal filter,after placing the moka pot on the stove to heat, steam is produced, increasing the pressure in the bottom layer, causing water to pass through the middle coffee grounds layer, and finally stay in the top layer as brewed coffee. Usually the coffee at the tail end of the moka pot is not used.Compared with espresso's 9 bars of pressure, although the moka pot brews coffee at 1.5~3 bars, compared with other brewing methods it is still richer and more full-bodied, and can retain crema, making it very popular. And if you want to easily extract coffee with crema, Front Street believes freshly roasted medium-to-dark roasted coffee is especially important; here we recommend Front Street Classic Blend Espresso Beans, Front Street Commercial Blend Espresso Beans, and Front Street Sunflower Warm Sun Blend Espresso Beans.
Suitable for: those of you who want to drink coffee in the simplest, simplest way
This should be the most widely known and also the simplest coffee brewing device in the world.Most French presses on the market are affordable and simple to make with; a large-capacity French press can also make multiple servings of coffee at once.In terms of mouthfeel, it has high body, but it cannot very well display all the flavors of the coffee beans.If you have noticed the surface of brewed coffee, you can find that coffee itself contains oils. The French press method is to put coffee grounds into a French press, steep them in hot water for a certain time, and then extract; and the French press, unlike pour-over filter paper, does not filter out part of the coffee's oils, so compared with pour-over it will have a different aroma and mouthfeel.Suitable for: Chemex is especially suitable for artsy youth & suitable for those of you who want to brew multiple servings of coffee at once
A large Chemex can brew 8 servings of coffee at once.For coffee, the most noteworthy thing about this dripper is the special filter paper it uses.Chemex-specific filter paper is thicker in texture, and in the final filter paper more oils are always retained. However, because of the Chemex device's deep V design, consistency of mouthfeel is relatively hard to master. Unlike other pour-over devices, the Chemex is more suitable for using a medium-coarse grind setting. The coffee's taste is especially clean and the flavor is obvious, but consistency is hard to guarantee and requires practice.Suitable for: "refined players" who are deeply & heavily in love with coffeeHome coffee machines can mainly be divided into fully automatic espresso machines, semi-automatic espresso machines,drip coffee machines, and capsule coffee machines, these four types.
Fully Automatic and Semi-Automatic Espresso Machines
Fully automatic and semi-automatic espresso machines: fully automatic ones require no manual operation, can automatically grind, fill coffee, and make coffee; just put in coffee beans and enjoy coffee. Rich functions correspond to a more complex structure, and maintenance costs are relatively high. Semi-automatic machines are called the most professional coffee machines, with extraction better than fully automatic ones. But they require manual dosing and tamping, with higher demands on the operator. Compared with fully automatic ones, their structure is simple and maintenance is easy.
For this type of equipment, because it uses pressurized extraction, plus extremely fine grinding and high water temperature, if you choose coffee beans with a lighter roast level, it is easy to get a sour and astringent taste. Therefore Front Street suggests prioritizing dedicated espresso coffee beans, especially coffee with flavors of nuts, cocoa, cookies, chocolate, caramel, such as Front Street Classic Blend Coffee Beans, Front Street Commercial Blend Coffee Beans, Front Street Dark Cocoa Blend Coffee Beans, Front Street Sunflower Warm Sun Blend Coffee Beans, etc.
Drip coffee machines are also called American-style fully automatic.
Drip coffee is relatively light in concentration, and operation is also relatively simple; it can produce a finished product in 5-8 minutes, very suitable for home and office use. But because it uses normal-pressure hot water, it cannot extract coffee oils, and the coffee concentration is not high either. If you don't want to drink instant coffee, but also don't pursue espresso, then a drip coffee machine is recommended.
If you want to drink espresso but are also afraid of trouble, then a capsule coffee machine is the best choice.
You only need to use coffee capsules with one-button operation to enjoy the deliciousness of espresso; some capsules can also be paired to make fancy coffee.
The downside is the higher cost of use: a single espresso from a fully automatic or semi-automatic machine costs 1-3 yuan, while the capsule cost is 3-9 yuan; in addition, capsules from various brands are not compatible. Choosing a capsule coffee machine is actually choosing a system; the capsule system determines the number of capsule types you can enjoy later and the price of the capsules. A home coffee machine can make the high-body espresso you love, and at the same time can also train yourself to be a barista.
The above is a rough introduction to devices suitable for home use. They all have one thing in common: you only need to master simple brewing techniques, and you can get a cup of coffee of your own!
The above content is compiled by CoffeeHunters, a coffee news website.
