The different coffee brewing methods: Chemex, Aeropress, French Press, Siphon, Moka Pot, Turkish Coffee

A topic not directly related to Nespresso and its capsules, but there’s so much confusion and lack of knowledge about the various machines and devices that can brew coffee these days that we thought of writing a quick breakdown of them all, and for what they are best used for.

Just a brief description of what they are and what type of coffee you can expect to brew with each of these brewing methods. Enough to know how to differentiate them.

Chemex

A Chemex is a glass brewing machine that looks like an hourglass carafe. It comes in a few slightly different shapes, but usually all have a wooden or cork collar and leather handle in the middle. First constructed in 1941 by Dr. Peter Schlumbohm out of chemically inert, high temperature resistant glass, it does not absorb odors, being thus very adapt to brew unique blends or origins of coffee without mixing their flavors.

Its principle of operation is percolation: pouring boiling water over coffee, which is in turn put over a filter, usually of paper but not necessarily. The brewed coffee goes in the lower part of the Chemex, ready to be poured in your cup and drank. The coffee brewed with a Chemex has a pronounced aroma, with a clear, aromatic and delicate taste. No fats or oils come through paper filters, producing a sediments-free coffee. Metal filters, instead, don’t filter out the fats and oils in a coffee, whereas cloth ones do, partly. Thus, according to how oily you like your coffee, you can use paper, cloth or metal filters in your Chemex.

One advantage of this tool is its intrinsic beauty: it is so elegant and appreciated that the Chemex appeared in an exhibition at the Museum of Modern Art in New York as one of the 100 best designed objects of contemporary applied art.

The other advantage is the price: $20-40 are more than enough to bring a basic model home. More advanced models are larger, have a more refined, luxury, handle or have more included filters. But $20 + the cost of a few paper filters are enough to get you started.

Dripper / Pour over

Brewing coffee with a dripper is like brewing with Chemex, although a completely distinct taste is obtained. Dripper have various shapes, and come in porcelain, glass, plastic or metal. Generally, they are all made of two pieces, one above where there’s the filter and where water and coffee mix, and a lower one that collects the brew. There are drippers available with a reusable, metal, filter or with paper filters. The most popular model is the dripper Hario V60, from the Japanese brand Hario Glass Corporation, existing on the market since 1921.

Its “rival” is the Kalita Wave. Both works in practically the same way. It is only slightly different in shape, with a flatter bottom compared to the more conical V60. This require some adjustment in the way you can brew with this coffee brewing method, but nothing big.

Whereas the Chemex is usually big, 400-500ml in capacity or more, the dripper is smaller, with only a few being as big as containing 700ml of brewed coffee, with the majority being only 2-300ml large. It is a coffee method for 1-2 cups of coffee, thus better for single coffee drinkers or couples. If you often drink more or brew for the whole family at once, a Chemex is more handy.

Due to the metal filter usage, the coffee from a dripper is slightly stronger than with a Chemex. If a mellower taste is desired instead, a paper filter is better. In general, both methods are meant to be barely bitter and to enhance all the flavors of the coffee beans. A subtle type of coffee, more a tea-like experience, wholly different from the one to be had with a Nespresso machine.

Aeropress

In appearance resembling a thick plastic syringe, it comprises an acrylic tube in which the coffee is placed. The device is actually composed of two cylinders, one with a flexible airtight seal that fits inside the larger, external, one. One cylinder hosts the actual extraction of the coffee, while the other is pushed through the coffee to separate the grounds from the liquids, making a sediments-free cup of coffee.

The history of the Aeropress dates back to just 2005, making it the youngest of the devices in this list.

Coffee brewed in an Aeropress allows you to extract from it a whole range of flavors – roughly the same intensity as an espresso, and thus more similar to the coffee that a Nespresso machine can brew compared to a Chemex or Dripper. The final cup is more intense, with a heavier body than the previous 2 brewing methods. Overall very smooth and clean. Different ways to brew with an Aeropress have been developed by its fans, creating quite different results. It is possible to push the internal cylinder fast and strong enough to create a resemblance of a foam, like it was an espresso.

Siphon

One of the most arcane looking devices to brew at home, the Siphon uses the laws of physics to brew coffee. When preparing the coffee in the siphon, start by heating the water in the lower chamber, from where – thanks to the pressure created – it gets into the other chamber, placed on the top. That’s where we put a measured amount of coffee grounds and, without stirring but only allowing the coffee to sink, we measure the brewing time. Depending on the siphon and preferences, this time ranges from one to two minutes. After this time, the burner switches off, thanks to which the brewed coffee starts to flow into the lower container. All that remains is to savor the aromatic aroma and taste of freshly prepared coffee.

The Siphon may produce 2 to 5 cups of coffee, depending on the shape of it. Another method that works especially well with light roasted beans, it will highlight the mellower notes of those coffee, yet with a full body. It is a more complex device than a Chemex, coming thus at a steeper price: one will easily set you back easily between $80-100, and up to three times that for the most sophisticated models. Definitely the Siphon is one of the most fascinating brewing methods out there, not only to make coffee. Not the most portable one though, as it is quite fragile and is virtually impossible to pack unless you are willing to disassemble it and reassemble it once you are at your destination.

French Press

One of the cheapest and popular methods ever to brew coffee, with models starting at just $10, the French Press is similar in functioning to the Aeropress but the materials are different. Whereas the Aeropress is of plastic and uses paper filters, the French Press is commonly of glass and uses a metal filter that can be washed after use. The working principle is indeed similar to the Aeropress: coffee is extracted by being immersed in hot water for an amount of time depending on how strong it is desired, and then the filter is pushed down to separate the liquid from the solid coffee. As the French Press uses a metal filter instead of a paper one, sediments of the coffee grounds do remain with the coffee you drink, which is something many drinkers dislike.

More oils are kept with this method compared to any of the previous ones, resulting in a heavy bodied coffee, much closer in this aspect to a proper espresso or a Nespresso.

Lovers of dark roasts, of intense coffee, with a thick body often love the French Press more than a Chemex or an Aeropress. As it is extremely cheap, it is advisable to have one to play with if you are a Nespresso drinkers as it can make an espresso-like coffee at a very low cost, providing an alternative to the Nespresso capsules for when you want a very long cup of coffee, with little crema on top.

Moka Pot

A device that is arcane or extremely popular depending on where you live, the Moka pot is quite similar in results to the French Press. Yet the working principle is wholly different.

The Moka uses the power of steam pressure, bringing water to boil, pushing it through the metal filter from the lower part of the pot where the coffee grounds are put. This gives start to the, brief, extraction. The brewed coffee ends up in the upper part of the pot, from where it can easily be poured in your cup.

The Moka is extremely popular in Italy, where it was invented, and in many Mediterranean countries. For many, it is either a very difficult method of brewing coffee or the very best one. There are many factors that can make a Moka brewed coffee great or bad, and coffee experts have been discussing how to optimize the brewing with this little and economical device for decades.

When optimally brewed, the result of a Moka pot brew is a strong, dark, heavy bodied cup of coffee. Most of these pots can make 2-8 cups per brew. It is the closest method to an espresso there is, albeit it may be easier to get a foam with a French Press. With the Moka pot it is usually no foam or just a thin one.

Turkish Coffee

Probably the oldest brewing method still in use today, the Turkish coffee is centered on the “cezve“, a specifically shaped pot. The coffee is prepared by steeping the grounds directly in the water, optionally with sugar too. The coffee should be nearly boiled, but not quite, up to 3 times, and immediately drunk when it’s still very hot.

Turkish coffee is quite dark, bitter and intense. It is conceptually similar to the Moka Pot but while the latter uses pressure to brew, and does it only once, the cezve allows it to brew it again and again, as long as you prefer. Many can’t stomach the burnt coffee taste that coffee heated again and again with a cezve makes. It is an acquired taste. It is today still extremely popular in the Arab world, the Balkans and parts of Africa. Making Turkish Coffee is a ritual, with plenty of regional variations of the recipe, with pots that are as big as to brew for large families, decorated cezve that serve as gifts, with the most beautiful ones being passed on from parents to children for generations.

Without going to these extremes of affection, a cezve is inexpensive, with the cheapest ones to be had for less than $10. Making a good Turkish coffee takes many tries, and its taste isn’t appreciated by anybody. But if you have the time and like bitter coffee, buying a cezve is a recommended purchase.

If you liked it, please share!