Let’s Uncover Fascinating Techniques and Learn How to Make This Pleasure Habit More Sustainable
Coffee is an essential part of our morning routines. A nice cup of coffee can make our day brighter and full of energy. It highly affects our performance, emotions and relations.
The taste of coffee depends on the coffee brewing techniques and personal preferences. This will also be a true reflection of that particular region's coffee culture and traditional practices.
And even though we may find very different types of coffee names and preparations, when you travel around the world there are 4 home brewing styles that will keep popping up. It will come in handy to know more about them before we head off and leave our classic corner coffee shop behind.
By Aleena Mehfooz
The Coffee Brewing Techniques You Will Encounter
Some people prefer a traditional pour-over coffee, while others prefer a quick espresso. Let's dive into the different coffee brews from around the world that you can find while travelling, and learn some creative ways to reuse our coffee grounds once we’re done brewing. So we can turn this beautiful daily habit into a more sustainable one. Here are the 4 most popular brewing techniques:
Pour Over Coffee
The traditional pour-over coffee known for its iconic flavor is common among coffee connoisseurs who understand the coffee flavor. It is probably a time taking coffee brewing technique, but you can have complete control over your coffee flavor.
The pour-over coffee ensures complete coffee extraction and a mesmerizing flavor. This is the best method to relish the enchanting and enticing flavors of coffee.
This brewing method includes the slow pouring of hot water from a goose-neck kettle over the coffee grounds in a spiral motion three times. The coffee grounds are placed on the coffee filters on the cup. The pour-over coffee draws out maximum flavor and aroma from the coffee beans.
With the industrial revolution in 1929, people shifted to more convenient electric drip coffee makers and lost interest in time-consuming pour-over coffee.
But the third wave coffee brought this technique to the limelight. This coffee brewing method is now introduced as an art that requires barista skills, including perfect hand movement while pouring water into the coffee beans.
With pour-over coffee, it isn't easy to achieve a consistent flavor. That's why you can find pour-over coffee only at coffee shops where baristas are skilled at creating the iconic flavor every time.
This brewing method consumes 4 to 5 minutes. So, it is difficult for people with a hassle morning routine to manage time to brew this coffee. They want their caffeine fix quickly without any concern about flavor. For such people pouring over coffee is not a suitable method; they just prefer a quick espresso or an Aeropress.
Whether you’re a fan of strong flavored coffee from a dripper method, or more of an Aeropress kind of person, after your perfect cup of coffee is done, you’ll find yourself with a chunk of ground coffee waste. But no worries! There are many uses to give to the aftermath of our cup of joe’s like, for example, composting.
That’s right! “Coffee grounds can be an excellent addition to a compost pile. The grounds are relatively rich in nitrogen, providing bacteria the energy they need to turn organic matter into compost”, according to a study by Oregon State University.
French Press Coffee
You might think that French press coffee originated in French, but that's not true. If you have ever travelled to France, you might know the rich coffee culture. An Italian designer invented French press coffee, and later it became famous in France due to its coffee culture. From there, it spread throughout the European countries.
French Press is the classic and most reliable one as it is easy to prepare and delightful to taste. It is famous for its full-bodied flavor and complete extraction due to the steeping of coffee beans for a long time.
This coffee initially called "plunger coffee", includes a cylindrical pot with a plunger and built-in screen that presses hot water through Coffee and prepares heavy-bodied coffee within 4 minutes. Coarse sized coffee beans equal to the size of salt particles work best with French Press coffee.
But it leaves a mash full of coffee grounds and the bottom of the vessel full of the coffee 'mud'. To clean the regular French Press, rinse the vessel with water every time you brew your coffee; otherwise, it can clog the plunger.
Moka Pot Coffee
Named after the Yemeni city "Mocha", Moka pot coffee is also known as stove top espresso maker. It is Italian in origin and was first used by an Italian engineer named Alfonso Bialetti, so people call this pot "Bialetti."
After the Second World War, Moka pot coffee started spreading in South Europe, and it is now very commonly used in Latin America and Europe.
Moka pot coffee follows a different mechanism to brew the coffee. In this process, boiling water steams through the coffee grounds and bubbles into the pot rather than percolating to the bottom, as in most brewing processes.
This coffee maker brews espresso-like coffee and is brewed on a stovetop. That is why it is also called a stovetop espresso maker.
And, when you’re done with your cup of delicious brew, feel free to reuse those coffee grounds to feed your skin. Wait, what? Well, yes. Not everyone might know this, but actually, “coffee grounds can make a great exfoliant. The grounds do not dissolve in water, which makes them good at scrubbing away dead skin cells”, explain the website from Medical News Today.
And, according to results of a study from 2013, the “substances in coffee also help to promote healthy skin. Caffeic acid, an antioxidant, may boost collagen levels and reduce the premature aging of cells”, adds the medical publication.
Aeropress
If you prefer to avoid the extensive coffee-making processes and the difficulty of just brewing a cup of coffee, Aeropress is the best coffee-brewing method for you.
Due to its simpler and more durable apparatus, Aeropress is your go-to coffee maker while travelling. You can save money while travelling and still have a consistent cup of delicious coffee without hassle. This strange-looking gadget brews a few cups but does not compromise on taste.
Brewing with an Aeropress includes simpler steps. You can start by placing the filter and placing the brew chamber onto the cup where you want your coffee to filter down. Then add water, followed by stirring. Lastly, place the plunger into the brewing chamber and just Press, and you have your perfectly brewed caffeine in no time.
There are so many choices while brewing a cup of coffee. You can select the coffee brewing methods according to your preference. Each technique has a traditional background and brews a cup of coffee with a different flavor profile. Keep experimenting and find your favourite brew.
Which one is more sustainable?
Now that we know more about each of the best brewing methods to prepare a perfect cup of coffee, and even some creative ideas to dispose of our coffee waste, let’s go a bit deeper. It’s commonly believed that coffee capsules originally made with so much single use-plastic, where the only ones producing waste.
Well, actually, even if we’re not using any utensils besides the machine, there are still some environmental effects from each use. So, we’ve done some research to find out which one could be considered the most sustainable within this group of happy making brewing machines.
To do so, we are using a study made by The Brightly team, where they compare different methods of coffee brewing to see how they ranked in terms of sustainability. “Each coffee brewing method received a rating out of 20 total points based on the ranking factors of waste, energy, longevity, and end of life. Each category is scored from 1 to 5, with 1 being the least eco-friendly and 5 being the most eco-friendly”, explains The Brightly team’s website.
And what’s the verdict? I’m sure you guessed it! It’s the French Press.
In terms of waste, this highly-loved machine “makes virtually none—as long as you finish the entire cup of coffee and compost the coffee grounds. French presses also don't require disposable coffee filters or single-use pods. Instead, they use a reusable mesh filter that can last for years with proper care”, according to the sustainability ranking by The Brightly team.
“The French press itself doesn't require electricity, which is a plus in our book. However, to brew a hot cup of coffee, you need to use boiling water—and to boil water, you'll need a kettle or pot.”
And there you have it! Now, let’s prepare a better informed, delicious brew.
Have a wonderful month!
