Brew Methods
When somebody asks you to make them a cup of coffee, what do you usually do? Most people would say pop a pod in their Keurig these days. There is nothing wrong with Keurig coffee, some of it can be pretty good, but there are so many other great ways to brew individual cups of coffee. At our East Lansing location we serve up coffee from the French Press, AeroPress, Chemex and Pour Over Method! We also sell your standard large batch brews.
Let’s explore the different ways to brew!
The method that produces the lightest brew is the Chemex brew. It is often compared to tea in the way that it is brewed and its consistency. It uses a triple filter, which removes the majority of the oils and acidity. The filter is placed in the Chemex, and wet to stay in place. The coffee beans are ground to a 6.5 grind (medium grind), the grinds are wet and allowed to bloom. Blooming is the initial contact of the hot water on the beans in which the trapped CO2 which holds the flavor is released. After the bloom, the rest of the water is poured over the grounds in one pour and the coffee is allowed to filter through. The light brew is easiest to drink and very smooth. For the demonstration a Costa Rican Roast with velvety, dark cherry undertones was used.
The Pour Over Method is very similar in theory to the Chemex. It produces a slightly heavier cup of coffee than the Chemex. It does not use the triple filter system that the Chemex does, and uses a slightly finer grind of 5. The brew process is identical, but the grind and filter paper change the smoothness and consistency of the brew. A Guatemalan Roast with orange and chamomile flover tones was used in this demonstration.
A popular method is the French Press. This produces the fullest bodied brew. This is because no filter paper is used, allowing the oils to remain in the final product. The French Press uses the coarsest grounds of all of our brew methods, with a grind setting of 9. The grounds are poured into the bottom of the press and the bloom pour marks the start of the brewing process, followed by the rest of the hot water. The press is then pushed down approximately one inch from the water line then when the steep time is complete it is pressed down the rest of the way to filter the grounds, then decanted to serve. A rich, toasty French Roast was used in this demonstration.
Our final brew method is similar to the French Press but looks very unique. The AeroPress has a devoted following of drinker and produces a single cup, while the other methods typically produce 1 ½ to 2 cups. It was also created by the same man who invented the frisbee! This process is done in an inverted fashion, meaning that the brewed coffee comes out the bottom, rather than being poured from the top. A filter is placed in the perforated cap of the AeroPress. Coffee ground at the 6 setting are poured into the upside down press followed by hot water. The cap is replaced onto the system and the system quickly flipped onto a waiting cup. The plunger is pressed down and mid bodied brewed coffee flows out of the filter and perforated cap onto the cup. For this final demonstration we used a Mokha Java Roast.
If you can't decide what brew and roast to try, play our dice game to find the perfect new combination, or ask a Gelatista what his or her favorite combination is. Next time you need your coffee to start up your day, consider trying something new!