Brew Guide

Regardless if you’re an avid coffee drinker or new to the brew, it's convenient to have a coffee-making guide handy for future reference. This brew guide will go through how to make coffee and various coffee brewing methods, including the best way to make coffee. A brew guide is exceptionally helpful when you’re learning how to make coffee in different ways, like traditional drip coffee or coffee with a French press. At the end of this guide, we’ll include a coffee vs. water cheat sheet so you can easily find the ratio needed to make your cup of coffee. So, let’s start by learning about different types of coffee and various coffee brewing methods.

How to Make Coffee

The most popular types of coffee include drip, french press, moka pot, pour-over, and cold brew. Using a Chemex is also another popular way of making coffee. However, these various types of coffee require different equipment and brewing methods to make a cup. So, let’s go into each of these types of coffee and how their coffee brewing methods differ.

Drip Coffee

Drip coffee is perhaps the most common type of coffee in America. When you’re thinking of how to make coffee, you’re probably thinking of making drip coffee. Drip coffee is made with ground coffee beans and a traditional coffee maker. Of course, these coffee makers are found in almost every home and restaurant in the US. In this coffee maker, boiling water passes through the coffee grounds in the basket and drips into the coffee pot below the basket.

French Press

For French press coffee, you’ll obviously need a French press device. French press coffee flavor is bold and popular among avid coffee drinkers. To make this type of coffee, you add coffee grounds and hot water together into the device. Then, you place the filter press in the device and press down. As a result, the brewed coffee separates from the grounds, allowing you to enjoy your French press coffee. 

Moka Pot

Making coffee with a moka pot results in coffee similar to an espresso. For this method, you place water in the tank at the bottom and place your chosen coffee grounds in the upper tank above the filter. The next step is to place the moka pot on your stovetop to boil the water. As the water boils, the steam goes through the filter and coffee grounds and condenses into coffee in the top reservoir. 

Pour-Over

There is a variety of different pour-over devices available– whichever one you use comes down to preference. Pour-overs are a great way to make just one cup since the pour-over device sits on top of a coffee cup with a filter. After you set the device up this way, add coffee grounds to it and pour boiling water on top of the grounds. The brewed coffee trickles down from the filter and into your coffee mug, ready to drink. 

Cold Brew

Cold brew takes the longest to make out of the coffee types in this brew guide, however, it’s well worth the wait. To make cold brew coffee, you mix coffee grounds and room-temp water and place this mixture in the refrigerator for a couple of hours or overnight. The longer you let the water and coffee grounds sit, the stronger your coffee will be. However, cold brew coffee is typically naturally sweeter than other kinds of coffee. 

Chemex

The last of the popular ways of making coffee we’ll describe is with a Chemex, which draws inspiration from chemistry equipment for its design. This method is similar to the pour-over, but it can make more than one cup of coffee. You place special filter paper in the top reservoir. Next, you add coffee grounds to the top reservoir. Finally, you pour hot water over the coffee grounds and the brewed coffee filters through to the bottom reservoir, ready to drink once the temperature cools. 

Out of these different ways to make coffee, what are the ratios of coffee to water needed for a cup? We’ll go through that next. 

Best Way to Make Coffee

Of course, the best way to make coffee is the way you prefer. Even if you’re not familiar with some of the types of coffee we’ve detailed in this brew guide, you can try them! Maybe you’ll find your new favorite way to make coffee. However, for each type of coffee, there is technically an ideal way to make it based on the right coffee-to-water ratio, so the coffee isn’t too diluted or bitter. Here’s a quick chart to reference when you’re making one standard 6oz cup of coffee. Remember, you can change the measurements to make the coffee stronger or weaker.

For the steps involved in each method, be sure to refer back to the aforementioned details. You’ll also want to make sure your coffee-making device is clean so you can make a fresh brew!

From using a moka pot to a Chemex, there are a lot of different ways to make coffee. Each method makes coffee that has a different flavor profile and texture. Trying each method with your favorite coffee is a great way to compare them. You can also adjust the ratio for either the coffee grounds or water to make the coffee stronger or more diluted. Be sure to use this brew guide to help you make coffee using different methods. Perhaps you’ll find your new favorite way of making coffee!