Brewing Coffee Manually

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Category: General Coffee (Page 14 of 29)

The Moka Pot Tutorial and Brew Guide

January 18, 2016 / / 8 Comments

The Moka Pot (sometimes referred to as a stovetop espresso maker) is a classic brewing method with strong Italian roots. Patented in 1933 by inventor Luigi De Ponti, the Moka Pot has spent over three quarters of a century as one of the most recognizable and championed at-home coffee solutions (especially in Europe).

What is a Moka Pot

A Moka Pot is a brewing device that uses steam pressure and an external heat source to create a strong coffee concentrate (usually about a 1:7 coffee to water ratio).

They are most often made of aluminum and consist of three major parts: a boiler, a filter basket and a collection chamber. There are also a few minor parts including a gasket and a removable metal screen.

Are you are interested in a stainless steel Moka Pot? Minos Living makes several varieties with a sleek and appealing design. You can read my review of a Minos Moka Pot here.

It is a fairly fool proof brewing method that is easily accessible to the masses. The Moka Pot comes in a variety of sizes, brands, material composition and designs but the most popular and iconic model is the Bialatti Moka Express.

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A New Year and a New Coffee Regimen- Saving Money by Brewing Coffee Manually at Home

January 11, 2016 / / 2 Comments

It’s the beginning of January which means nearly every blogger, podcaster and planner under the finance umbrella will be touting their lists of ways to trim the fat and save money in 2016. One of the items that is sure to turn up on practically every list is the old “save money by making coffee at home” suggestion.

It’s tired, overdone and an easy target but I thought it would be interesting to look at this popular exercise from a manual brewing perspective (and as someone who values financial scrutiny as well as a great cup of coffee).

If someone wanted to give up their daily trip to Starbucks, how would they go about making the switch? What equipment would they need? How much money could they save? And, perhaps most interestingly, how much of a quality increase could they expect for the same amount of money?

High Upfront Costs- What equipment do I need to start brewing coffee at home?

If you are starting from scratch, there is going to be a bit of an investment to begin making coffee at home (whether brewing manually or with an auto drip machine).

As the average price of an automatic coffee maker continues to climb, I believe manual brewing is the thriftier way to go. You should also be able to get a higher quality cup of coffee from manual brewing.

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Brewing Large Batches of Coffee With the Chemex

December 16, 2015 / / 5 Comments

Christmas is only a week away. Work parties and family gatherings are imminent and if you are excited about coffee, there is a good chance that you are contemplating taking your manual brewing show on the road.

Sharing your love of coffee with the world can pose some interesting questions that don’t come up in every day manual brewing scenarios. One of the topics I see floating around a bit (especially this time of year) is how to brew large batches of coffee via the pour-over method.

The Chemex is my large batch brewer of choice. It comes in a variety of sizes with capacities from 350 mL or to about 1400 mL (1850 mL if you have the Thirteen Cup Chemex).

Simply owning a brewing device that has the capacity to brew large batches of coffee isn’t enough. Brewing a big batch of coffee has different challenges and nuances that should be addressed. It is not the same as brewing a small cup of coffee for yourself.

Over the past month and a half, I have been experimenting with brewing large batches of coffee on the Chemex and here’s what I learned.

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