Lowes has a wonderful selection of superb coffee machines, all of which you can save money on with Lowes Money off Coupon from We Are Coupons. However, do you know the different methods of brewing coffee? Here they are
Not so long ago coffee was that quick fix to kick-start your day or that hot beverage on the move. Little attention was paid to the brewing and as long as it was hot, dark and had a taste resembling coffee it was good enough. Today coffee has become much more of an art, like wine drinking and whisky drinking coffee has now become a pastime for the connoisseur and this even extends to how coffee is made in the humble coffee shop or even at home and not just to impress friends.
No matter how much of a connoisseur or not you are there are essentially only 4 ways to brew coffee other than using instant coffee:
Steeping
Possibly the most commonly used and misused coffee brewing technique. Firstly the plunger should be cleaned thoroughly before use. Secondly, the glass jar should be warmed whilst the kettle is boiling. Thirdly, don’t rush but at the same time to be too slow; push the plunger down slowly and don’t slide it up and down in the hope to make the coffee stronger – it does nothing. The other most common mistake is the grind of the coffee; it must be a medium to coarse grind to avoid the filter from being clogged.
Decoction
This was one of the most popular methods of making coffee until the mid-1900s. Taking a pot with coffee and water and simply boiling overheat releases the oils and tannins in the coffee often creating a fairly strong taste, nothing complicated.
This method is well demonstrated in Poland in its most simple form where coffee, often the cheapest most un-coffeelike filter coffee is spooned into the bottom of a glass and hot water poured over and then served. Yes, that is it and whilst it works it does not deliver the greatest cup of coffee. This came about only because instant coffee was very expensive and actually tasted worse than the cheap dark brown coffeeish filter coffee.
Turkish Coffee is made through Decoction, the small pot with a narrow top is used, brought to the boil and removed swiftly. Still very common in the Middle East and the coffee can be boiled three or four times resulting is a uniquely strong Middle Eastern Coffee.
Filtration
Commonly seen and easily recognised this method of brewing coffee uses gravity to allow water to slowly flow through the coffee grinds. The method is simple, and a filter or filter paper is pretty much all that is needed, the strength of the coffee is dependent upon the speed the water flows through the coffee and the grind of the coffee.
Coffee Percolators are very common and use a small build-up of pressure created through heat to force the hot water through the coffee essentially allowing gravity to help make the coffee. Single filters are available and allow for a single cup of good filter coffee to be made with ease and enjoyed.
Pressure
Almost boiling water is forced through Compacted Coffee Grinds to create an espresso coffee. A rich and strong coffee that is either consumed as is or is used as the base for many coffee beverages. Machines using coffee pods today use this technique and this is perhaps the fastest-growing of all coffee brewing techniques with a growing choice of coffee varieties and even flavours now available.
There is a wide variety of equipment used for making coffee and all use one of the four methods above. Whichever method you choose the real key lies in your choice of coffee and its freshness. Made Coffee should be drunk immediately, coffee does not keep for long and deteriorates rapidly and many people blame their equipment or technique for brewing coffee for bad coffee; the fact is good coffee becomes bad quickly – so make it and then drink it!
