# Different Brewed Coffee



## MarkT (Nov 21, 2015)

Ok so whilst my education on Coffee, I would like to know which brewed method do you prefer and why?

I am very much interested and willing to learn.

I have a french press at home.

I've recently discover drip coffee through a film about coffee and wanted to try that myself. Before I start collecting the equipment I would like to know your opinions please.

cheers.


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## DoubleShot (Apr 23, 2014)

Clever Coffee Dripper as its relatively inexpensive and pretty faff free.

Chemex has a good following, although I don't own nor made any using this method.

V60 also has a lot of fans here.

Aeropress obviously if you're after espresso.

Some mentioned in this thread.


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## MWJB (Feb 28, 2012)

In terms of tasty results I don't really have a preference (they all have their charms), if I want a quick cup I'll drip brew, or use an ibrik, or moka pot.

If I have 20-35 min then French press/Aeropress/Clever (I normally use this with both a permanent gold filter & paper)/Bonavita immersion cone.

If I have longer then a big French press or Sowden brew (should be a little cleaner than French press, both are methods I like to use in the office because you can start them brewing & don't have to be pedantic about brew time, a few minutes here & there won't be a problem).

Drip brews can take a little dialling in & you have to understand the effect of flow rate/pour regime/be more exact with respect to brew time. Immersion brews are harder to screw up, but can be bit of a waiting game.

French press is often under rated, a bit of care can result in very tasty brews. Ibrik/moka pot & Aeropress can make very strong coffee (not that I think that is an important aim, brews on the weaker end of normal can have great clarity).

I suppose I do have a preference for paperless brewers - Sowden, French press & Hario Cafeor (paperless V60) being my most common methods, but with any brewer the key is really to use it a lot, make notes & focus on getting a good cup out of it rather than flitting from brewer to brewer because you are unsatisfied with results.


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## Step21 (Oct 2, 2014)

I started out with the aeropress and Hario Skerton with mixed results. Taking advice from @MWJB , i started to develop a preference for long (20mins +) inverted brews because they tend to deliver the sweetness i prefer.

My next purchase was a good hand grinder (Hausgrind) which further improved my brews.

I then got a Bonavita Immersion brewer (similar to the Clever Dripper) and the brews are generally so good i've hardly ever touched the aeropress since. The key variables here are grind, brew time, brew ratio and temperature. Water poured over the coffee or coffee added to the brew water can make a difference as well (more so in the Clever IMO).

I then thought i'd like to try pourover so got a 6 cup chemex and a cheap plastic Hario V60 size 1 brewer. As MWJB points out it's not as simple as you'd think to get a good brew and you need to pay attention to a number of variables including brew temp/grind size/flow rate/brew ratio. I got a lot of good brews and my share of bad ones! Note that the type of paper or metal filter can impart different characteristics to the brew. I tend to favour chemex over V60 and metal to paper in the aeropress.

I now mostly use a Behmor Brazen Plus brewing machine for pourover which essentially takes care of the pouring regime and brew temperature. I use a Kalita wave paper filter. I find the brews from this machine very consistent and tasty. Basically it's cheating!

So for a quick brew i'll use the Brazen or the Bonavita (7 min steep or thereabouts depending on the bean)

For longer brews it's the Bonavita. I prefer finely filtered brews.


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## aodstratford (Sep 18, 2012)

I have tried aeropress which I found to be good but a bit of a faff. Recently I have tried a clever dripper - which I have found to be very easy, more forgiving and providing better results. Both used with a hario hand grinder. Just make sure you choose beans suited to brewing for more interesting results.


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## The Systemic Kid (Nov 23, 2012)

If you are interested in developing your knowledge of pour over, recommend Scott Rao's 'Everything But Espresso' as a good read. It explains how the relationship between a brew's flavour clarity/body varies from method to to method. Methods which don't use paper filters produce greater body in the coffee at the expense of flavour clarity. The thicker the paper filter, the more oils and fines (brew colloids) are removed thereby enhancing the flavour clarity. So, Chemex which uses very thick paper filters in comparison, say, to V60 will produce a brighter clean tasting cup. Brew methods such as french press which use metal or no filters allow more brew colloids into the coffee and have a characteristic bigger mouthfeel.


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## "coffee 4/1" (Sep 1, 2014)

Try Swiss-Gold, infusion method, full body as french-press, ready to drink in 4min, ideal for out the door quick in mornings.


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