Brewing Tips

Most of these brewing methods will produce a quality coffee beverage; decoction and percolation are the exceptions, because over-extraction leads to undesirable tastes.

Steeping (French Press)- coffee grounds in a container are mixed with hot water, left in contact with the water for an arbitrary length of time, and then separated from the extract or brew.

Decoction- loose coffee grounds are mixed in a container with water that continues to boil for an arbitrary length of time.

Percolation- ground coffee is placed in a container with water that serves both as a brewing chamber and as a means of separating the grounds from the beverage. A pump moves the hot water to and through the coffee again and again.

Drip filtration- the grounds are placed in a container that serves both as a brewing chamber and as a means of separating the grounds from the beverage. In this method, however, the hot water flows through the coffee only once.

Vacuum filtration- this method uses a two-chamber device and is a variation on the steeping method.

Pressurized infusion- highly pressurized water is forced through the coffee grounds, which are compacted into a small cake in the brewing chamber (espresso).