In this article, we’ll show you the essentials to brew coffee at home using different methods. You’ll learn the basics of extraction and the key equipment, so you can experiment and adjust each brew to your own taste.
We recommend visiting specialty coffee shops to try the main methods and find the one that best fits your profile, saving time and money. That’s why we’ve created a post and a map with the best specialty coffee shops in Barcelona. We’ll also explain the main steps of each manual brewing method and link to more detailed articles and courses for those who want to go deeper. So grab a coffee and enjoy the read!
Dripping coffee is extremely popular around the whole world. It's very likely that you have already seen a MELITTA FILTER extracting coffee. This German brand has been a pioneer in dripping extraction methods, and HARIO V60 is an evolution to that.
Hario is a Japanese Brand who has a filter support that is very well-known in the specialty coffee world. Perhaps, their champion product is the V60 Filter Support. The name comes from its characteristics, a V shaped cone with the angle inclination of 60 degrees. The Hario V60 has a single hole in its bottom and some circular grooves from top to bottom, that allows the water to pass through faster, therefore providing a very clean and delicate extraction.
People whithout insight into the specialty coffee world may find at first, that the V60 extraction method provides a watery cup of coffee, almost like a tea, but once they get to know this world better they see that it enhances lots of aromatic and sensorial nuances of the bean.
As we made this fast introduction into the first method, lets see what we need to make a very decent version of a V60 coffee. We will give you links to the products to buy here in SPAIN, that we think are suitable for that.
Gooseneck Jar - It is very important that you are able to pour the water in a very even, smooth and delicate way into the filter, but it is not MANDATORY! If you are still consideringto enter amazing world (we think you should and will holdy by the hand along the way!)
Hario V60 Filter Support - The most important device, along with the paper filter.
Hario V60 Filter - We strongly recommend to use the white instead of unbleached paper, cause it can leave a more perceptible paper taste.
Hario Manual Grinder - Hario has a great set of products, and their manual conic grinder is very suitable to brew at home, especially because you can regulate the granulometry and so test different extractions, and of course use it in other methods as well.
Coffee Jar - you will need a container to pour over your coffee, but of course it is not mandatory, as you can always put it on the cup itself or in a jar you already have at home.
Hario V60 Kit - on Amazon, you can also find the complete kit, and can save some money buying it.
Weight Scale - a home weight scale is very useful, not only for coffee extraction. We recommend you to buy one with chronometer too, so in the extraction is much easier to follow the volume of water with time demanded on each step.
If you want to know more about HARIO V6o extraction, you can click on those links below. There are several techniques and methods, and you can go much deeper as you will be getting greater on doing it. We also let here some links for specialty coffee courses here in Barcelona proximities.
More V60 Methods https://prima-coffee.com/learn/article/brewing-guides/v60-brew-method-review/28774
Perhaps one of the most iconic and charming coffee devices is the Moka Pot. Invented by Luigi de Ponti, and patented for Alfonso Bialetti, this “macchineta” (wikipedia link) uses the vapor pressure to extract coffee, as you can see in the diagram below. It is such a robust machine that this exact same model is still sold by Bialleti and many other companies that copy its design, and if it is taken care properly, maybe you will only need one throughout your whole life to brew coffee.
Many people call the coffee brewed from the Moka an espresso, but it is not really an espresso, although it has many similarities: it is extracted with pressure, and has as outcome a very strong and bodied coffee. But, differently from the espresso extraction, the moka has a higher water temperature (cause it is vapor) and less pressure than in an espresso machine. If you love strong coffee and are not very afraid of bitterness (many coffee specialists do not like Moka because it is considered to over extract coffee, but we use it and like it a lot), and like simplicity, that can be your choice of method. It is also a great option for milk blended receipts!
Brewing specialty coffee in a Moka machine has its tricks. Unlikely low quality or commodity coffee, having it over extracted would not be a problem because the quality of the bean is already so low it makes no sense doing a great extraction. But when it comes to specialty, you do not want it over extracted, so let's follow those steps below:
One last tip: you can also put a very thin layer of water in the upper chamber of your Moka, so when the extracted coffee goes up, it does not hit an extremely hot metal and the burn factor is very diminished.
Aeropress invention history *astronaut*
Aeropress method is one great extraction method for many reasons: it has greater body than dripping extractions, you can control all the variables in the extraction process, it enhances the flavors in a very great way, it is so easy to clean (which is very important once we are talking here about brewing at home), and finally, aeropress has a very fast extraction time, oscillating from 1:20 to 2 minutes in consevative extraction ways. Because of that is one of our most recommended methods, in which you should definitely order in coffee shops to see if the method suits your taste and if so, go for it at home!
Many people get confused and think Aeropress is the same as French Press, but it is not. Aeropress has a more clean cup, even though it still has lots of oils in the cup, but the French Press has still some solids, which makes a more bite coffee, and differently from the aeropress, the French Press has the capacity to do more than one cup. We will be talking about the French Press as well!
The Aeropress device can be seen almost like a syringe, without the sharp point in its bottom, but the physical principle is the same: pressure. Unlikely dripping methods, Aeropress uses immersion to extract coffee (you put the ground coffee in the chamber and add water right away), which optimizes it, once it extracts in a uniform temperature. Unlikely espresso method, it prolongs the extraction time, increasing saturation. The other great factor about aeropress is that in lower temperatures (usually between 80 and 90 degrees celsius), you can avoid over extracting and so bittering your coffee.
Has that been said, lets go to our apparel needed.
Aeropress is a very versatile method, so we will give you the basics and after that you will be able to play around with the many variables of the process, after you get comfortable with the basics of it. But we can assure you that is extremely satisfying to do those uncountable variations until you reach your ideal cup of coffee. Let's go than, to the basic steps:
