Now that you know a little about the history of coffee, it's time to move on to its preparation. There are as many different methods as there are coffee varieties and coffee-growing countries. The important thing is to find the balance between the method that works best for us and the one that highlights the attributes of our favorite coffee. Methods filled with love, passion, and dedication that are still used by great baristas around the world today.
Let's learn a little more about the history of filter methods, so you'll feel like an expert every time you make a cup of coffee at home.
First manual preparation devices
Once they discovered the beverage, the Turks ventured into manual coffee preparation. They ground the beans using mortars and pestles, then added them to water and boiled them in a vessel called a cezve. This became the most widely used method, even reaching the Sultan's kitchen.
When coffee arrived in Europe, it was generally prepared by adding ground beans to water in a "pot" and then boiling it. (A method similar to that of the Turks.)
In the midst of the Industrial Revolution in the 19th century, the drip method of preparation was developed in France, a method that became popular at that time when the most consumed beverages were beer and wine, thus causing a sensation, as it was called a “SOBRIETY” drink.
So, with this method, the ground coffee was placed in a container between two chambers of a pot, and hot water was added to the upper chamber. It then dripped through the coffee and into the container at the bottom for serving.
THE MOKA COFFEE MAKER
In 1933, Alfonso Bialetti invented the Mok coffee maker, designed to be used on a stovetop. It forced boiling water to pass through a tube and the ground coffee grounds as steam until they reached the upper chamber. It was an immediate success, and the company continues to produce it today, despite competition from coffee capsule machines and other devices.
FRENCH PRESS
Paradoxically, the French press we know today was invented by two Italians, Attilio Calimani and Giulio Moneta, in 1929. This particular method consists of a total immersion device, meaning the grounds are in complete contact with the hot water for approximately 4 minutes before the plunger is lowered. During pouring, the filter keeps the grounds in the carafe, creating a clean cup of coffee.
THE CHEMEX
The Chemex coffee maker, invented by German chemist Peter J. Schlumbohm in 1941, works by passing water through a bed of coffee and filter paper. Since the filters are generally 20-30% heavier than regular filters, they retain more suspended oils during extraction and exclude more solids, resulting in a cleaner cup of coffee.
THE KALITA WAVE
Kalita Co. is a Japanese company that has been producing coffee equipment and paper filters since the 1950s. They created the Kalita Wave line of coffee drippers in 2010. This method features a flat bottom with three extraction holes, which eliminates water channeling into the coffee bed and slows the flow of water through the grinds, resulting in a crisp cup of coffee. Contact between the dripper cone and the filter is minimal, keeping the temperature consistent and dispersing the water evenly.
Thanks to its flat bottom, the water flow is restricted in a more stable and predictable way than with other manual drippers. This creates a flatter grind bed for more even flavor extraction.
THE HARIO V60
It's also a method invented in Japan a few years ago and takes its name from the angle at which the filter is placed. The V60 has three characteristics that affect its extraction ability. First, its conical shape allows the water poured over it to flow toward the center, for a longer contact time with the grounds. Second, its single hole means the coffee's flavor can be modified by changing the speed at which the water is poured. Finally, the cone has spiral grooves on the inside, allowing more air to be released and maximizing ground expansion. The V60 was first introduced in ceramic and glass, then plastic, and finally metal. A copper version was also released for greater thermal conductivity.
THE AEROPRESS
The AeroPress was created by engineer Alan Adler in 2005 and is a device from the US. It was created out of a need for a less bitter cup of coffee. They realized that, to achieve this, the extraction time needed to be shortened. He created a closed chamber to increase the pressure required during extraction, and this also resulted in a much faster extraction time compared to most manual devices available on the market.
Regardless of your preferred method, the most important thing will always be to be able to enjoy a delicious coffee, but equally important is discovering new flavors and experiencing all the attributes that these methods add to our coffee.