Methods of Brewing #Coffee from threesixtycoffee

Having spent some time with the guys from threesixtycoffee who kindly provided tickets* to the London Coffee Festival for myself and my husband recently, and having been shown different methods for brewing coffee I have come to realise that preparing it is both an art and a science. At their stall at the Festival they were showing four different methods: Cafetiere, V60 Pourover, Aeropress and Chemex (in order below). The coffee they were using on the day was the Ethiopia Guji which  we were lucky to receive and review recently.

I have to admit that other than the Cafetiere I have never used any of these devices before but I have heard of them, particularly the AeroPress which seems to be ‘the method’ for serious coffee drinkers. Adam at threesixtycoffee was happy to talk my husband through how to use the AeroPress it’s actually pretty simple.

For one cup you will need 14g ground coffee and  250ml water (filtered preferably). Place a filter in the AeroPress cap and soak it with hot water before attaching the cap to the bottom of the AeroPress. Place it on top of your mug and add your coffee  to the chamber before slowly pouring in your hot water (to about 3/4 full). Now stir for 10 seconds and leave to brew for a further 30 seconds before plunging slowly, then enjoy! You can see a photo of Adam and my husband Vlad below.

Next we were shown how to use a Chemex which looks a bit like something that belongs in a school chemistry lab! We were told that the Chemex is best for making a batch of coffee, say for a dinner party, as it holds a large amount of coffee and keeps it warm over a period of time.

So, how do you use this one? To make 4 cups of coffee you will need: 64g ground coffee & 1 litre of fresh filtered water. Place a filter paper into the top of the Chemex, making sure the part which is 3 layers is facing the spout, wet it with some hot water and pour your coffee into the filter shaking it to make it level. Make a crater in the center of the coffee (there’s a special paddle for this) and pour 100g of water into the hole, give it a few minutes before pour the rest of the hot water into the coffee in a spiral pattern to make sure you get all the coffee wet.

Your coffee will filter down into the bottom of the Chemex, so allow it to brew for a few minutes before discarding the filter and serving.

The last method I have never used before is the V60 Pourover, which is a bit more like a Chemex but makes 1-2 cup at a time, rather than a bigger batch. To make 2 cups you will need 32g ground coffee & 500ml fresh filtered water. The method for preparation is very similar to the Chemex: Place your filter into the V60 and set it on top of your serving jug, wet the filter paper and add your coffee (making sure it’s level). Make a crater in the centre and saturate the coffee with 50ml of water, giving it a few minutes before adding the remaining 450ml in a spiral pour motion. The coffee will filter through into your jug for serving.

I really enjoyed learning about the different types of brewing methods for coffee, and I repeat it is certainly both an art and a science! Although I do mostly use my Delonghi machine to make my coffee at home I am certainly going to sneak a Chemex onto my birthday wish list – perfect for a bit of theater at an elegant dinner party!

How do you make your coffee at home?