Different Types of Coffee Makers | 5 Best ways to Prepare your Coffee

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In the world of coffee, there, are different types of coffee makers that have come over time from the first espresso machine to the most advance espresso machine today. These different types of coffee makers have several variations among them, making it more unique to enjoy coffee. From all of these types of coffee makers, it is impossible to fix it on a single coffee maker that might impress you consistently.

Here we take a look at the most popular types of coffee makers that brew various types of coffee, how they are working, and how to get the most out of these coffee makers.

Different types of coffee makers: Manual

Here we highlight manual coffee makers that require individual intervention in order to prepare coffee.

Pour over method

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Pour over method is one of the most traditional and more complex techniques that allow you to make a fresh cup of coffee. Although it is a complicated technique, it can also be considered a method that you can be familiarized with quickly. It is often misunderstood as drip coffee, which is entirely different from pour over.

This is a corn shaped device with a paper filter in it. Both are independent where the paper filter is set on top of the mug, ground coffee is added to the filter and hot water is poured through the ground coffee. The complexity of pour over can be classified by the different materials that it is used in, which are ceramic, plastic, and metal. These materials can have different kinds of flavor notes because of the variation of the material heat properties. A variety of shapes can also be considered for the uniqueness of the brew. Flat and cone shapes are the most common and contain entirely different filter hole setups.

In making pour over coffee it is recommended to have a gooseneck kettle, which allows the pouring to be efficient and precise. All over is done mainly to highlight the flavor and to taste complex notes in coffee, which is mostly for lighter roasts.

Vacuum Brewers

vacuum-brewers
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Also known as siphon brewers, vacuum brewers come in many styles and can be considered one of the most stylish modes of coffee brewing. Much like an hourglass, it consists of two chambers. The two are connected by a small hollow pathway.

The lower chamber is filled with water and finely ground coffee into the top chamber. When the lower chamber is heated, the water rises with steam to the upper chamber, is transported to the grounds above, and then the extraction process starts.

After that, the apparatus is removed from the heat source, resulting in the brewed coffee in the top chamber being sucked into the lower chamber as the pressure difference is created. This method of brewing can be the cleaner manual coffee brew method as it can be easily cleaned. 

French press

french-press
Photo by Daffa Z on Unsplash

A French press consists of a glass container which is known as an immersion brewer where the coffee grounds are soaked in the hot water initially and later are strained and separated from the grounds. This method of brewing will give a concentrated flavor compared to drinking drip coffee and provides a greater profile for the coffee.

It is mainly done by adding coffee grounds to the container, followed by steaming hot water just under the boiling point where the ground coffee is kept to be extracted in the water, which takes around 5 to 6 minutes. Then the grounds are strained using a filter attached to a plunger. The filter allows the oils to remain in the cup. This is why the french press method gets a flavor advantage. Frothing can also be done by the french press with warm milk added and moving the apparatus (plunger) consistently.

Aeropress

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Doubling down on the immersion brewing method Aeropress is also popular among travelers, who love to enjoy a cup of coffee on the go. This is a lightweight, but well-built apparatus to prepare coffee. Aeropress, the method is done by putting coffees to be soaked in a small chamber, then after a few. minutes the small plunger is pressed to extract the coffee through the paper filter.

Aeropress coffee has a strong profile and is mostly recommended for making espresso. It is also used to prepare Americano style drinks too. The extraction process is accurate because of the paper filter. However, metal filters and different sturdy design options are there to be chosen if preferred.

Moka pot

different-types-of-coffee-makers
Photo by Brent Ninaber on Unsplash

Because it employs pressure to brew coffee, a Moka Pot is also known as a stovetop espresso machine. However, the pressure of a Moka Pot is just roughly 2 bar, as opposed to the 9 bar of an espresso machine. As a result, it does not produce real espresso. Instead, it makes a really strong cup of coffee. For those who aren’t caffeine addicts, conventional practice with a Moka Pot dilutes the resulting brew into something resembling an Americano.

Percolater

Percolators were invented back in the 1950s and are known to be one of the first coffee brewing methods that became a common standard in the kitchen. The modern percolators are way more efficient than what they used to be and give a bold brew with excellent taste. 

Percolators work by filling up with water and the filter basket on top will be filled with ground coffee. When water starts boiling the water will travel through the central tube that is located in the middle of the kettle and to the coffee grounds and start the process of extraction. Since the boiling process is a continuous cycle, the number of cycles determines how strong the extraction process is.

Different types of coffee makers: Automatic

Drip Coffee Makers

coffee-drinks

Drip coffee makers do not have any complicated controls, in a few clicks it delivers great drip coffee according to the freshness of the beans. Drip coffee makers cannot typically have a variety of drinks prepared where you can enjoy a decent cup of coffee without a lot of complications in the process.

What you can find is a basket on the top with the filter where the ground coffee is placed and when the brewing is initiated, it goes through hot water from the water tank to the brewing chamber, and then it is dripped down to the carafe placed under the brew unit. There are many models of drip coffee makers, and you can find some of the best coffee makers on the market right now. If you like more varieties and like to try specialty coffee at home, then you need to buy an espresso machine which is expensive and has a lot of complications on the way.

Semi Automatic Espresso Machine

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Photo by Luke Porter on Unsplash

Semi-automatic espresso machines are basically a form of automatic espresso machine that requires close attention. You get a part of the brewing process to control and some semi automatic espresso machines even provides you with more customisability. What is traditionally controlled manually in a semi automatic espresso machine is the start and the end of the brewing.

Fully Automatic Espresso Machine

These espresso machine are mostly semi-automatic aswell, and in these machines you have to prepare portafilter and the tamping of grounds should be done. Then the machine will starts it’s brewing process and you will also have to manually froth the milk and a steam wand might also be in place. Therefore these machines might a have little learning curve in order to perfect the coffee output.

Super Automatic Espresso Machine

Super automatic espresso machines are the ultimate automatic espresso machines that does everything for you to make your favorite coffee. From grinding, tamping, extracting and pulling the shot everything is done automatically to deliver you the final coffee. These machines does not require any prior learning or experience these are basically ‘bean to cup’ machines.

Manual Espresso Machines

flair espresso maker

From these different types of coffee makers, these espresso machines are made to get an authentic coffee with proper metrics and standards. Pressure is done manually through a lever and these espresso machines require a steep learning curve to master the art of brewing coffee.