Brewing Methods

The History: A Conflict of Design While the French and Italians both claim the French Press invention, the “cafetière” as we know it was patented in 1852. It represents the transition from the ancient boiling methods to modern filtration. It is the “honest” brewer—no paper filters, no pressurized steam—just coffee, water, and time. The Science: […]

The History: From Fire to Electricity Before the electric drip filter machine, coffee was often “percolated”—a violent process that boiled the coffee repeatedly, resulting in a bitter, burnt taste. In 1954, Gottlob Widmann patented the Wigomat, the first electric drip brewer. It revolutionized the kitchen by automating the “Pour Over” process, ensuring water dripped through

The History: From Toy to Tool- The AeroPress Unlike every other method in our guide, the AeroPress wasn’t born in a laboratory or an ancient coffeehouse—it was born in a toy factory. Invented by Alan Adler (the mastermind behind the Aerobie flying ring), the AeroPress was designed to solve a simple problem: how to make

The History: The “Little Man with the Mustache” In 1933, amid the Art Deco movement, Alfonso Bialetti watched his wife doing laundry in a “boiling” machine that forced soapy water up through a central tube. He applied this same principle to coffee, creating the iconic octagonal aluminum pot that we know today the Moka Pot The Moka Express changed

The Chemex: “Gold Standard” for clarity. The Chemex is arguably the most beautiful piece of equipment in any coffee lover’s kitchen—it even sits in the Museum of Modern Art. For The Coffee Guide, it represents the “Gold Standard” for clarity. Because of its extremely thick paper filters, the Chemex removes almost all of the coffee

The History: From a Schoolboy’s Notebook the Modern Design of The Pour Over The story of the pour over begins in 1908 with a German housewife named Amalie Auguste Melitta Bentz. Frustrated by the bitter, sediment-heavy coffee of her percolator, she famously used a brass pot with holes punched in the bottom and a sheet

The History: The Original Cup Before the cafes of London and Paris, there was the Turkish Cezve (or Ibrik). Originating in the Ottoman Empire in the 15th century, this is the oldest recorded method of brewing coffee. When coffee first arrived in London in the 1650s, it wasn’t filtered through paper or pressed with pistons;