Coffee makers aren’t just to make coffee anymore. There are so many different types of coffee makers on the market that do so many different things that coffee lovers might find themselves owning several of them. Here are some of the different types of coffee makers out there that you might find you need for your coffee habit:

Roasters or Brewers: There are some coffee lovers that prefer a dark, bitter coffee and want to buy those beans that they can roast themselves and then brew their favorite cups. But, without the right equipment, you cannot do this. There are some coffee makers out that will actually offer you the chance to roast your own coffee beans and then brew them to your liking.

Espresso Machines: Espresso machines are becoming more and more popular and affordable. These coffee makers make a hot steamy cup of espresso by using high heat and pressure. They make a delicious hot, dark cup of coffee but are served in smaller cups since it is so rich.

Electric Coffee Makers: These are normally only seen in restaurants and coffee houses, but they are starting to become smaller and get into more and more houses. These coffee makers are great in the fact that they do everything to create your perfect cup of joe in a small amount of time – even before you get up. They will automatically grind up and brew coffee beans so that you can enjoy fine gourmet coffee without paying a high price for it.

Cappuccino Machines: Love a good cup of cappuccino, but do not love paying for it at the coffee shop? These home coffee makers that create a yummy cup of cappuccino offer a small machine that will fit on your counter top, yet still give you the big taste that you love and crave. You no longer have to pay those high prices for a cappuccino when you can easily enjoy one at home.

Grinders: While not technically coffee makers, grinders are becoming an essential part of making gourmet coffee at home. You can find all sorts of different grinders, from little to big, so that you can grind up the perfect amount of coffee for your day. You will find many different kinds of grinders, from automatic to hand-cranked so that you can enjoy the perfect amount of grinding for your coffee tastes.

Automatic Coffee Makers: Many people already own these and enjoy automatic cups of coffee when they wake up or throughout the day. While there are varying levels of automatic coffee makers, you can easily find the right one for you and your budget so that you don’t even have to worry about creating your coffee first thing in the morning and worry about getting around for your day.

There are also so many great specialized coffee makers that you can find online to create your perfect cup of coffee and still be easy on your budget. With all of the different types, it does not matter how picky you are or how you like your coffee.

Coffee Brewing Methods range from popular Espresso or French Press methods to lesser used methods like Turkish. Here we explore the four most popular Coffee Brewing Methods: Espresso, French Press, Drip Filtration and Mokta or Stovetop method.

Espresso

Probably the most popular of the Coffee Brewing Methods in recent times is making an Espresso using a machine. Super hot, pressurized water is forced through fine ground, tightly packed coffee. The pressurized infusion process ensures that the water stays in contact with the coffee grounds long enough to draw out much of the coffee ground flavor. The water then finds a path through the coffee grounds. And the coffee commences to pour into your cup. When the water finds a path through the coffee grind it is referred to as the ’shot being pulled’ through the group.

The sign of a good espresso, using fresh coffee beans, is the richness of the crema. Crema is the hazelnut foam that sits on the surface of the coffee. This is produced by the pressurizing process and the oils of the coffee bean. Oils break down with time, and so a rich crema will be produced using fresh beans. And if you didn’t catch it when I started talking about Espresso, use a fine grind. Using a course grind allows the water to ‘brush past’ the grind rather than infuse with it. Using a course grind will still produce a good coffee, but it will taste more like a coffee produced using a Drip Filter coffee brewing method rather than true Espresso coffee.

French Press

One of the simplest of all Coffee Brewing Methods is the French Press or Plunger. This is probably the easiest way to make great coffee! The French Press works by directly mixing ground coffee with near boiling water. The coffee flavors get drawn out into the water and then the press or plunger is depressed, separating the exhausted coffee grind from the brew. While the process has a similar taste to the Drip Filtration style, the French Press can extract more flavor from the coffee grind by extending the brewing time. Manual infusion requires you to get your timing right. If you let the brewing process run too long you may end up with a bitter coffee. Conversely, if you brew too quickly you will have a weak tasting coffee.

One more point, use a course grind. You don’t want fine ground coffee escaping through the metal filter and into the brew. A dusty cup of coffee is not an experience worth having.

Drip Filtration
Let’s start with the Drip Filtration style. Drip Filtration is probably the most popular method of all. The Drip Filtration machine works by spraying hot water across ground coffee that is held in a conical shaped filter. The hot water then slowly moves through the ground coffee. Once the water reaches the bottom of the conical filter, it drips into a container beneath it.

The most widely used conical filters are made of paper, while expensive stainless steel or gold conical filters are also available. When buying paper filters, be sure to use oxygen bleached paper. Chemically treated papers may affect the taste of your coffee. Another point to be aware of with paper filters is that you may also have some of the flavorful coffee oils trapped by the paper filter. It is the oils that produce the rich crema when you make an espresso. The grind is also important with Drip Filtration. If the grind is too fine, you may clog the pores of your filter. You can avoid this by using a course grind (read about grinding here).

Finally, if you do not expect to drink the full pot of coffee, either by yourself (all that caffeine….) or with friends, beware the constantly heated coffee. It loses its flavor and may even become bitter. And the golden rule….never reheat coffee.

Mokta Pot/Stovetop
The Moka Pot style is also known as a Stovetop coffee pot. Moka pot’s come in several sizes including 2, 4 or 6 cup capacities. The Moka Pot a simple 3 piece pot. The water reservoir is at the base, with a coffee basket in the middle and the brewed coffee ends up in the top.

The coffee brewing method is very simple. The pot is placed on a stove top which heats the water in the lower reservoir. As the water reaches boiling point, the steam rises and the water starts to push upward through the coffee grounds. This continues to travel up the central funnel and seeps into the top chamber where it comes to rest. The process finishes when the coffee stops moving into the top chamber. This should only take a few minutes to brew depending on the cup size of the Moka pot.

The grind should be a fine grind, similar or finer to that used in an Espresso machine. If you want to fill the coffee basket the way traditional Italian drinkers do, then heap the coffee grounds high in the coffee basket and screw the two pieces together. Don’t worry about compacting the coffee. When the top half of the pot is screwed on, the grounds will be compacted by the filter screen. You should end up with a dry, compacted puck of coffee grounds at the end of brewing.

So there you have it. The four most popular Coffee Brewing Methods.