Im curious to know what everyone's Favorite brew method would be? Lets say for this conversation we leave out Espresso. Lets stick with other methods. Drip, French Press, Vacuum, Balance Brew, Turkish, Perculator, boiling coffee with egg yokes, whatever. Just curious what different types of brew methods us professionals are using out there. Follow up question, if you have a shop, do you use that method in your shop? As I bring this discussion up I am brewing myself a cup of Tanzanian Peaberry, Bring about 10oz of fresh cool water to about 180
degrees in a cast iron tea pot & pour the water through 2tbsp finely ground coffee in a paper filter straight into a hot heavy mug. Unadulterated & pure. I normally only brew myself coffee 1 cup at a time but if I was brewing more than 1 cup, then I prefer the Vacuum Brewer (I have a Bodum Santos for that) or the Balance Brewer (same basic principal of the Vacuum Brewer but looks cool!)

You also can never go wrong with a good French Press. But for the most part I make my daily cup 1 drip at at time whether it be hand poured or an electric "drip drip". How about you? How do you prefer to wet your daily grind? Happy Brewing,
Mitch
Bella Caffe

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I know you said to keep espresso out of it, but man, i love taking different origins through the espresso machine. It doesn't always produce the best results but there is just something about tasting different origins that have been put under pressure. BUT if i had to choose something else i'd have to say drip coffee...i dont know i guess i like french press a lot too. its hard to say because i havn't experienced a lot of different brewing methods other than those three and its really sad for being in the industry for 9 years...but whatever...all in time.
Big fan of the pour-over, and chemex, of course. I think it preserves nearly all of the flavor of the french press and avoids the gross sediment, I guess I just like a cleaner cup.
At this point I'm rockin' a Chemex and I'm really happy with the results, my only real complaint is that I have a hard time maintaining the correct temperature during the brewing process but I do my best with the electric stove top I have and some aluminum foil, I've found you really get out of it what you put in. In the end I think that different coffees warrant different brewing processes though.
VAC-POT.

That is all.
I notice noone has mentioned the cowboy method. You know, coffee grinds & a whole egg (shell & all) thrown into boiling water then sip the coffee through your teeth to help filter the sediment. Always a good one!

After reading everyones responses I guess I need to pick up an Aeropress. I've always wanted to try one out just havent gotten around to it. And a Chemex. I just love the look of that one! I've got a couple of VacPots (one Electric & one stovetop) & the Balance brew (which I love but it takes so much work & cleanup I dont get it out often!)
For me it depends on the mood. Normally its a good brew of french press, but occasionally I want a nice smooth cup of iced coffee. For iced coffee I use the Toddy method, for those who aren't familiar this is where you brew the coffee by soaking it in room temp water for 24 hours, then you strain the coffee through various methods.

My method is rather interesting as I first strain the coffee through a wire mesh with a cheesecloth in it. Then I strain the coffee one more time through a dusting cloth. I use the dusting cloth because it is more porous than a regular coffee filter but less porous than a cheesecloth and it filters most of the sludge out without compromising the flavor too much by removing the oils. Then I refrigerate the Toddy at full concentrated strength and then I dilute it per glass over ice water.

This has some really amazing results with Rwandan coffees.
Melitta drip for my hot joe... I also enjoy Brazilian coffees prepared in a Toddy brewer.
I've never tried a brew method I hated, but there are some I prefer less than others.

Let's make this easier.

I love all brew methods for a great variety of reasons, and just "like" moka.

If I want to get up close and personal with a coffee, I pull out the TCA-2. If I want to enjoy a clean cup, I pull out the Melitta. If I want a more "rustic", oilier cup, I grab my french press. If I say, "and now for something completely different", I pull out the Aeropress. I don't have an Ibrik, but I've had Turkish a couple of times and really enjoyed it each time.

I've noticed that I rarely ever touch my moka pot.

Even within each brew method, there are so many variables to experiment with to get different results.

And yeah, I'm hip with the silver spoon et al, but I'm not posh enough for a rocks glass. I just use capp cups and dose accordingly.

Perc doesn't count as a "brew method" just like water boarding doesn't count as a "shower".

Boiling coffee with egg shells (not egg yolks) isn't something I'd care to try either. Under such circumstances, I'll McGuyver a brewing apparatus of some kind rather than put trash in the brew to "fix" a flaw in the method.
yeah, vac-pot is my overall favorite.
I enjoy almost all brewing varieties, including some unusual forms such as: Cowboy Coffee, Arabic Coffee, Vacuum Coffee, and Cold Toddy Coffee, but one of my favorite brewing method is the French Press.

I am in the habit of enjoying French Press Coffee every evening after dinner. Either my wife or I will make it. We have a four cup beaker, that can squeez in five cups. We use the slightly coarser than for drip grind, which is pretty standard.
We measure the amount of coffee and place it in the glass beaker, then we pour in hot water, just off the boil. Next we allow it to steep for about 4 minutes, plunge it and pour it. Mmmmmmmmmm, Sluuuurrrrpp!

I like my espresso as a doppio machiatto, mini breve style! My favorite espresso blend would be a Northern Italian.
I dont think I've heard anyone mention the Clover method. I know this isnt a method that people are doing at home but Im sure there are a few people with it in their shops or they've at least tried it. Sadly, I dont think I've got anyone within hundreds of miles with a machine for me to try it. Will just have to wait until I make it to another Coffee Fest or something. Any thoughts on the Clover machines? Is it worth 11000.00 for one of these suckers!
That is highly dependent on who you ask, and for what it's worth, I think it would be best to try it and decide that for yourself.

Not that it matters now days anyway, since the Coffee Equipment Company was bought by Starbucks.

Mitch Buckner - Bella Caffe said:
I dont think I've heard anyone mention the Clover method. I know this isnt a method that people are doing at home but Im sure there are a few people with it in their shops or they've at least tried it. Sadly, I dont think I've got anyone within hundreds of miles with a machine for me to try it. Will just have to wait until I make it to another Coffee Fest or something. Any thoughts on the Clover machines? Is it worth 11000.00 for one of these suckers!

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