Which Brew Method is Right for You?

With so many different coffee brew methods on the market, have you ever wondered what the differences are and how to pick one that is right for you?

We’re breaking it down for you in a quick brew method guide. Listed in order from light-body to heavy-body, we’ll compare how a few different popular brew methods change the taste of coffees as well as the ease of use of these different brew methods.

Chemex is a beautiful and user-friendly brew method. With its custom filter and non-porous glass, it produces a very clean cup of coffee. It’s simple to use, and you can alter your brew recipe however you like. You can even make an iced coffee in it!

The Chemex company has its own patented filters. They’re 30% thicker than other filters, so you can imagine how much more is filtered out of the coffee. The body is very delicate, almost tea-like, and you can taste all the flavors of the coffee. It’s a great way to taste a new coffee.

What do we like about the Chemex? We would be remiss not to mention how aesthetically pleasing it is: you can serve coffee to your guests right out of the brew method! On that note, it’s big enough to brew coffee for a group, which is a pro. The resulting light-bodied clean cup of coffee is a big selling point for this brew method as well!

Hario V60 is a very popular brew method for a reason. It’s incredibly easy to use, while also being completely customizable. You have total control over this brew method, changing your recipe or coffee grind size quickly changes the results of your brew. You can even alter your recipe to be iced. It’s also a very fast brew method!

The V60 provides a clean cup, filtering out most particles and leaving you with clear tasting notes of whatever coffee you’re brewing. It doesn’t alter the taste of the coffee, rather it allows the true flavors to shine. This also means the resulting coffee has a light body.

In summary, this a very low-maintenance easy-to-use brew method that produces light-bodied flavorful coffee. We think of it as a staple brew method and a great addition to any home coffee collection.

The Kalita Wave dripper is another popular pour over in the specialty coffee community. It’s quite similar to a V60 as far as brew methods go. The main differences are that the Kalita has a flat bottom and is stainless steel. It’s still fast, easy, and totally customizable.

The flat-bottom design of the Kalita Wave does change the taste of the coffee: it allows more extraction than a cone-shaped brew method. You do get a lot of tasting notes in your coffee, but you also get more body. It’s not as delicate in body as a cone-shaped pour over.

Pros to this brew method? It’s durable due to its stainless steel construction: great for travel or camping! The resulting coffee is balanced and full of tasting notes but with a bit more body than a V60. And it’s very easy to use.

Now that we’ve covered some popular pour overs, we’ll move on to the AeroPress. This brew method is unique in that it is a bit of a combination of full immersion and dripper. The coffee grounds and hot water hang out together in the chamber of the AeroPress as it brews, so you’ll get a lot more body and mouthfeel than a pour over which just passes the hot water through the grounds. However, when you press the AeroPress the coffee passes through a paper filter, getting rid of a lot of solids. All of this to say, the AeroPress produces a unique cup of coffee. It has great mouthfeel, more of a medium body, along with a lot of flavor.

The AeroPress is made to last. It’s extremely durable. Whether you travel a lot and want to bring it along or you just make a lot of coffees and want a brew method that can keep up, it’s a great choice. It’s fairly easy to use. It has more steps and moving parts than a pour over, but, once you get the hang of it, using the AeroPress becomes second nature. And it’s very versatile: you can find a wide variety of recipes online or come up with your own!

We love the durability of the AeroPress: it’s perfect for travel. The versatility is a plus too. But most of all, the unique flavor profile of the AeroPress sets it apart.

The Clever is another interesting combination of full immersion and pour over brew methods. The grounds and hot water hang out together in this brew method for the entire steep time. Once your steep time is over, you place the clever on top of your cup, and all the coffee passes through a paper filter.

It ends up having a medium body, much like the AeroPress. Even though it’s filtered and cone-shaped, the full immersion brew time gives the coffee a lot more mouth feel than a V60.

The Clever is a great in-between choice for those who don’t like the delicate taste of a Chemex or V60. If you want more body in your cup of coffee, but you don’t want as much as a French Press, this is a great choice for you! It’s also made out of a durable material and is very easy to use.

This brings us to the classic French Press. If you love more body in your coffee, this is the brew method for you! There are so many brands and versions of French Presses on the market; it’s so easy to find one that fits your decor aesthetic, brew needs, or coffee pot size preference.

In this blog post, French Press is the brew method that produces the heaviest cup of coffee. This is because the grounds and water brew together the entire time, and there is no paper filter. The filter in the French Press doesn’t get rid of the fine particles or sediment, so you’ll have a heavy bodied coffee with this brew method. We don’t recommend relying on this brew method for picking up intricate tasting notes in your coffee. We do recommend it if you like to add cream: it holds up well to milk.

Due to the vast options on the market, you can get any version from thermal walled French Presses to ceramic to the classic glass. We like the fact that you can get whatever style you need. It’s also very easy to use; recipes for this brew method are so simple. And it’s fun to serve your guests right out of the brew method.

That’s our quick guide to some of the most popular brew methods! We recommend trying them all, and having a few options in your at-home collection. It’s fun to mix up how you brew your coffee!

Let us know if you have any questions or want us to review a brew method not listed here.