7 Types Of Coffee Makers

Coffee is one of the most popular beverages present in this world. These days people from all over the world enjoy a nice cup of coffee. Most of them will go to the chain cafeterias to have a cuppa. But this becomes quite expensive after a point of time and no one can afford several cups of coffee in a single day. The same goes with having instant coffee as they don’t taste so good. So, it is best to buy a coffee maker for home-use as it at least provides a device that can let you have several cups of coffee in a single day.

The market has several different options when it comes to coffee makers. A coffeemaker is nothing but a device that is used to brew coffee. The coffee makers of the past were quite different than the modern ones that use electricity to make the coffee. The different coffee makers also let you make various types of coffee which can be based on the preference of the person. So, let us know a bit more about the different types of coffee makers that one can usually get in the market at the current age.

What are the types of coffee makers?

1. French Press

If you delve a little into the world of coffee drinkers, then you will often find this device at several cafeterias and even at people’s home. Being a manual device, many people actually prefer to use it on a daily basis to make strong cups of coffee.

French Press is a coffee press which was invented in 1929 by the designers, AttilioCalimani and Giulio Moneta. In this device, you find a cylindrical beaker which has been either made from glass or steel covered by a lid. There is a plunger that fits tightly into it with a mesh filter. The design appears pretty simple for anyone to make use of it. The coffee that comes out is often quite grainy and strong to drink straight from the cup.

How to make coffee with French Press?

To make coffee in the French Press, you need to buy a coarse type of coffee ground. Nowadays companies do label their ground coffee according to the device that it is compatible with.

To start making the coffee, one needs to add hot water to the beaker along with the coffee grinds. The proportion will depend on the taste and strength preference of the drinker. But 30 grams of coffee for 500 ml water works well. The plunger helps in driving the coffee grinds to the bottom of the French Press so that you can actually have the smooth cup of coffee.

It is recommended to brew the coffee for no more than 3 to 4 minutes and then use the plunger to separate the drink from the coarse coffee grinds. One shouldn’t brew the coffee much longer as it turns the drink too bitter. Some people do use a French Press for making cold brew coffee which usually takes hours to make.

Pros of French Press

• The French press is beginner friendly and it can be used by anyone who doesn’t have the time to use a heavy duty coffee machine. They just need to keep a track of the brewing time and every cup will come out perfect.
• This device doesn’t need any extra filters which make it quite beneficial for people who are looking to stay out of creating too much waste.
• The cup of coffee derived from the device is quite smooth and clean.

Cons of French Press

• The device is quite manual in all senses. You will need to control everything from the perfect coffee grounds to the brewing time to provide the effort to operate the plunger.
• The user also needs to clean the press on a daily basis. So, this device is for those people who have the time to do the extra toil to drink their coffee.

What type of grind to use for French Press?

Deciding on the type of grind is pretty important when it comes to a coffee maker of this type. It is best to choose the grind coarse coffee which falls between the size of rock salt and raw sugar. If you choose a coffee grind that is too big, then it easily settle to the bottom of the press and doesn’t let out the coffee. A too fine coffee will not let you press down on the plunger.

So, this is the deal with a French Press coffee maker that has remained with us for a considerable amount of time. Many coffee connoisseurs does prefer to have their daily coffee using this device because of the sophistication attached to it.

The device is easily available in the market with variations in designs and look. But the basic coffee making technique remains the same while using this kind of a device.

2. AeroPress

The market has always been revolutionized with new devices when it comes to favorite beverages. So, it isn’t hard to imagine a company that is solely working on making coffee making an easy process.

AeroPress is actually a glaring example that the coffee industry has grown a lot in the current age. This unique device works with a concept that is quite close to that of the French Press. We can actually regard it as an inverted form of the former device due to its design. The idea was conjured up by Alan Adler. The apparatus contains two cylinders one of them being airtight in nature which aids in the plunging action.

The base material for the device is polypropylene in the gray color which is the trademark for the company. Many people actually like AeroPress as it has the ability to produce espresso without any tension or hassle of creating steam.

How to make coffee with AeroPress?

The main point to remember while using an AeroPress is that this device uses a fine grind of coffee compared to the course one of the French press. The coffee remains at the bottom of the bigger cylinder, resting on top of a paper filter. Then hot water is poured into the apparatus and is stirred for a few seconds.

The steeping time is never more than 30 to 40 seconds when it comes to this device. It fits on the top of a cup and after the steeping, the user can use the rod to press down on the tube to derive the drink out of it. The proportion will depend on the taste of the coffee that one likes. The company vouches that this apparatus makes coffee that has the strength and taste of a traditional cup of espresso.

Pros of AeroPress

• The AeroPress is highly portable as the device is simple and is made of plastic. So, if you own it, you will remain sorted if you travel too much.It is pretty easy to maintain the AeroPress as it doesn’t require much attention. Cleaning is a dream as the apparatus does use a finer ground of coffee which doesn’t make a mess.
• It is the perfect coffee maker for people who do not have much time on their hands. A brew time of 30 seconds is quite hard to achieve with other kinds of coffee makers. And the bonus is that the coffee that comes out is quite delicious.

Cons of AeroPress

• The device has the capacity to brew only a single cup of coffee at a time. So, you have to reload and remake the coffee if you are having your friends.
• The apparatus does use paper filters of a particular kind. So, you will need to spend some money on them. This also adds to the waste of your household.

What type of grind to use for AeroPress?

As discussed, the device works like an inverted form of French Press, but the quick execution time requires you to use a finer type of coffee while using the AeroPress. The best possible consistency to look for in the grind is that of the usual table salt that we use.

So, if you are always on-the-go or want a coffee maker that is extremely simple to use then the AeroPress will be your best bet. It is easy to maintain and saves a ton of money which they may have used to buy a hefty coffee machine.

3. Drip Coffee Maker

If you look into a lot of the households today, then you will find that most of them use some form of drip coffee maker. Be it the manual pour-over funnel to the hi-tech electronic machine; drip coffee do remain an integral part of the lives of coffee lovers.

Many coffee snobs do not actually like this brewing method which takes the help of gravity and often regards it as a shortcut. Also, You cannot customize a whole lot when it comes to this coffee maker. But it does save a lot of your time and money when it comes to having several cups of coffee in a single day.

The device contains a chamber where you provide the coffee grind on top of the paper filter. Hot water is poured over it and a concoction starts dripping into the cup in the form of coffee.

How to make coffee with Drip Coffee Maker?

As the machine isn’t highly customisable when it comes to the coffee making procedure, you may start by choosing the right ingredients. These include finding the right coffee grind and also the perfect roast. If you are using an automatic machine, then the company will always tell you about the grind that goes best with their coffee maker.

Do make sure to use filtered water to get the best taste out of the extracted coffee. In the manual drip coffee makers, you have to add everything with your own hand. On the auto-drip, you need to add the water in the water chamber and the coffee on top of the filter. The machine heats up the water and adds it to the coffee and the drip process begins.

The auto-drip machines do have a larger capacity and they can make several cups of coffee at a time. So, check the proportion of adding the coffee based on the strength that you are looking for. Just read the instructions provided by the company to get the best out of an automatic drip coffee maker.

Pros of Drip Coffee Maker

• Drip coffee machines actually help you to have a nice cup of coffee at a minimal price. They are filled with flavor as the coffee is collected through the dripping after extracting it out of the coffee grind.
• The auto-drip coffee machines are able to make up to 12 cups of coffee at a time. So, it is great for the bigger families or for those times when someone has a lot of friends at their house.
• The filter effectively catches all the impurities and coarseness present in the coffee and provides a person with something that is smooth, clean and delicious taste.In some auto-drip machines, you also have an option to program the machine to make you a cup of coffee when you wake up in the morning.

Cons of Drip Coffee Maker

• It is a real job to clean the coffee maker from time to time. It is recommended to use vinegar to clean the machine to get the optimum result.
• You need to use the paper filter on a daily basis, so this does add to the waste that you create.

What type of grind to use in Drip Coffee Maker?

While using a drip coffee maker, be it manual or automatic, you do not want to use a coffee grinder that is too coarse. So, it is best if you use a coffee grinder that has the consistency of table salt to the max. You can definitely experiment on the roast of the grind to get different flavors out of it. But do keep a track of the ratio of the coffee that you add, when you are brewing several cups of coffee at a time.

Thus, the drip coffee maker has been a fan favorite of many households for a long time. It isn’t a shame to use it as you are actually getting a good cup of coffee to start off your morning. It is the best device for people who want to live hassle-free while drinking their coffee.

4. Capsule or Pod Coffee Makers

Convenience is the key to life in the modern age. People do not want to spend a whole lot of time in the actual coffee making process, but they do not want to compromise with the taste. For them, the pod-based coffee makers work the best. The capsule or pod coffee makers look like something out of a futuristic movie.

The people who buy this machine also needs to buy the specific pods or capsules that the company produces. This can include different flavors and strength of coffee; however, it is limited when compared to a manual coffee maker. These coffee makers have a water reservoir where you need to store the water. They do use electricity to quickly brew the coffee using a high-pressure environment.

How to make coffee with Capsule or Pod Coffee Maker?

The capsule or pod coffee maker does look hi-tech but that doesn’t mean that you need to learn rocket science to use it. In reality, this type of coffee maker is meant for making life convenient. When someone wants to drink a cup of coffee, they can load the capsule into its designated place.

They have to provide specific instructions to the machine which in turn will help it to heat up the water. Then the high-pressure environment helps in mixing the content of the pod with the hot water to make a delicious cup of coffee.

Pros of Capsule or Pod Coffee Maker

• ‘Convenience’ is the keyword when it comes to a capsule or pod coffee maker. All a person really need to do is purchase the capsules from the designated place. They do not have to spend time on deciding on either the roast of the coffee or the quantity that will be best for the brew. One can just load the capsule and have their hot cup of coffee in no time.
• Using the machine is so easy that it is ideal to include them in households as well as in the office environment where people generally lack time.
• A capsule coffee maker is able to produce the cup of coffee quite fast which heightens one's satisfaction of using the coffee maker.

Cons of Capsule or Pod Coffee Maker

• The capsule coffee makers do not allow any form of custom-coffee experience. However, some machines do have the ability to produce coffee from both capsules and coffee grind.
• Using capsule coffee makers do get expensive as you need to buy specialized coffee pods which are exactly made for a particular machine.
• Capsule coffee makers do produce a lot of waste in form of the pods which are often placed in plastic packaging for the convenience of the users.

So, the capsule coffee makers are perfect for those people who are always on the run and want a coffee maker that will give them a good cup of coffee in no time. It is always best to do proper research before buying these machines as they often remain untouched if they fail to meet the needs of the users.

5. Moka Pot

Moka pot is basically a metal coffee making apparatus that you put on your stove to get a good cup of coffee. The world loves their espresso as it is strong and provides just a small amount of caffeine on the single go. When the technology of automatic espresso machines didn’t exist, people often had to rely on a Moka pot or an espresso press. The Moka pot was designed by Alfonso Bialetti in 1933. So, it has been some time since the Moka pot has been around.

The technology of the Mokapot is quite simple. The steam created by the heat of the stove makes the water reach the coffee present in the above chamber. Then the coffee gets collected in a different chamber from which you can finally pour it in your cup.

The Moka pots are usually made with aluminum which is a good conductor of heat and is often used in different cooking utensils. Modern Moka pots do have bakelite handles so that it can be easily handled by the users. While buying a Moka pot customers need to be aware of the amount of coffee that they want to make. According to that, they should get their hands on a Moka pot with the specified capacity.

How to make coffee with Moka Pot?

The Moka pot may appear quite intimidating when you first start using it in your household. Mainly there are three chambers in a Moka pot and they aid in the production of the coffee. The bottom chamber has water in it and the filter placed above it contains the coffee. On top, there is an empty chamber where the coffee finally reaches when it is ready for consumption.

When a person places the Moka pot on the stove, it gradually starts heating up the water which changes into steam. The steam helps the water to get to the filter where the coffee grind rests. Then the brewed coffee is finally collected in the upper chamber. A rubber seal is present in the Moka pot which retains the steam inside the Moka pot.

Pros of Moka Pot

• The Moka pot is one of the easiest ways to get a good cup of espresso. You just need to load it up with coffee and water and put it on the stove top. After you wait for a while you will be able to drink really good coffee.
• You can customize a lot of the taste that you derive from the coffee made in a Moka pot. You have the chance to experiment on the grind of the coffee, the roast of the coffee along with the type of coffee bean to use. So, the taste of the coffee that you make can be really unique and satisfactory.
• Moka pots are easily available in the market and they are quite affordable. If someone doesn’t have the money to buy a hi-tech coffee maker, then they should definitely go for a Moka pot.
• Moka pots do not create much mess when you are using them. You can easily clean the Moka pot after it has been used.

Cons of Moka Pot

• Moka pot does take a while to make the coffee, so people do need to think about it.
• Someone who is using a Moka pot will need to change the gasket and filter from time to time. This will be an additional cost after purchasing a Moka pot.
• You will need to clean the Moka pot after every use.

What type of grind to use in a Moka Pot?

Choosing the grind is always a big question which people have while purchasing a coffee maker. As a Moka pot produces espresso it is recommended to use a finer variety of grind to get the best results. But you can definitely experiment a lot when it comes to using a Moka pot.

Nowadays customized grinds are sold which are specific for the Moka pots. Several companies actually do great coffee beans that you can purchase to get an extremely good taste.

So, the Moka pot as a coffee maker is best for those people who want to make espresso manually rather than buying a hefty electronic machine. The Moka pots are easily available in the market in different sizes to help the users with their desired capacity. They even look great and nostalgic when kept in the kitchen.

6. Modern Espresso Machines

If you have visited a professional coffee shop, then you may have encountered the hefty commercial grade espresso machines that provide you with different types of coffee. They are actually made for heavy duty use as the cafes produce several cups of coffee throughout the day. But that doesn’t mean that people who are at their homes cannot enjoy a nice cup of coffee of their choice.

The coffee making technology has evolved a lot since the single cup drip coffee machines. Now, people can buy the semi-automatic and fully automatic espresso machines which are able to produce great cups of coffee.

The first ever espresso machine was designed by Angelo Moriondo in 1884. An espresso machine may use different kinds of technology to produce the coffee. The home use ones run on electric and it helps in heating the water and creating the pressure to make the coffee.

How to make coffee with Espresso Machine?

When you will use an espresso machine you will actually feel that you are somehow involved in the art of making the coffee. But the most important part of buying such a machine is actually picking the one that has all the needed features. The modern espresso machine is capable of doing much more than just producing a cup of plain espresso.

Based on the model you choose, your steps of making the coffee can differ. In a semi-automatic machine, you will need to load the coffee grind and sometimes the water. In the automatic ones, there is a pump to take in the water but you will still need to provide the grind. But the super-automatic espresso machines have made themselves bean-to-cup for the coffee lovers. All they need to do is load the coffee bean according to their preference and the machine will start working on its way after getting the instructions.

The coffee is made within seconds and then it gets delivered into the cup. Using a professional espresso machine is quite different as it often has different components.

Pros of Modern Espresso Machine

• The modern espresso machines, especially the super-automatic one, have made coffee making at home an easy task. All a person really needs to do is wake up and then press a button to get their morning dose of coffee.
• The espresso machines have the capacity to make different types of coffee. No one needs to have the taste of the old instant coffee or drip coffee if they have an espresso maker at their home.
• Nothing is as fast as the espresso coffee maker and is. perfect for the always busy crowd.

Cons of Modern Espresso Machine

• The espresso machines of the current times are quite expensive. The more the features, the more it costs.You need to buy special filters and clean the machines regularly to maintain its health. As it is an electronic device you also need to keep it away from water to avoid any problems.

What type of grind to use in an Espresso Machine?

Espresso is generally made from a finer grind which resembles the texture of table salt. As it is an automatic machine the instructions will be provided along with it. But still, when you go out for your coffee shopping, you may definitely experiment with the different types of coffee that you can use in these machines.

So, the modern espresso machines have actually become a great tool in the world of coffee consumption. Anyone who is able to afford the machine and loves a good cup of coffee should get them.

These machines are a great way to introduce yourself to coffee making as the technologies have also become quite similar to the professional way of making coffee. There is much less option of experimenting with these machines but still, you will gain pleasure from operating a hi-tech coffee maker present in your home.

7. Siphon or Vacuum Coffee Maker

If you want to buy a coffee maker that resembles a chemistry apparatus, then definitely go for a siphon. When you look at it you will feel strange as it is very different when compared to other types of coffee makers.

But this technology isn’t something new and was first used in the 1830s. The siphon includes parts made of borosilicate glass, metal and plastic which helps in bringing the experiment like coffee making together. Siphon coffee makers aren’t very popular all over the world. In fact, you would only see it in its full glory in Japan.

Siphon contains two glass chambers and a rod that holds them. There is a burner at the bottom which heats up the device to actually make it work.

How to make coffee with Siphon?

As it is made of glass one definitely needs to be careful while using this. In this device, the principle of pressure is utilized to make the coffee.

The bottom chamber is filled with water whereas the coffee grounds are present in the above one. Now the heating of the lower chamber produces a pressure which drives the water into the top chamber. After this, the water gets mixed with the grinds to produce the coffee. Then the pressure again drives the coffee to the lower chamber and meanwhile, it passes through a filter that is present in the juncture between the upper and the lower chambers. Now, the cup of coffee is ready to be consumed.

Pros of Siphon Coffee Maker

• The siphon actually makes coffee making an interesting task. You enjoy making your cup of coffee when you buy the siphon and include it in your collection. It has a dramatic effect and you can actually make coffee in front of your guests.
• The coffee that the device produces is quite different from the usual cup. It is crisp and clean which many people like. The grounds mix quite well with the heated water.
• If you want to have control over your steeping and heating of the coffee then the siphon is the best option. You can actually see your coffee being made in the apparatus.

Cons of Siphon Coffee Maker

• At times it becomes unrealistic to keep this coffee maker at your home. No one actually has that much time to make coffee in a siphon on a daily basis. It becomes a showpiece in your kitchen.
• Using a siphon is quite time-consuming for anyone who remains busy in his life.The device is quite delicate and a little accident can shatter the whole thing.
• Assembling the product is quite expensive and also takes special products.
• Cleaning the apparatus will be a pain after each and every use.

What type of grind to use in a Siphon?

If you have bought a siphon and want to experiment with it, then you may need to go around a bit. A siphon mainly uses a medium-fine coffee ground which has an in-between texture of Kosher salt and table salt. The grind needs to mix pretty well with the water so that the taste of it can be even and just. You can always experiment on the roast of the coffee beans.

So, you can definitely get a Siphon if you are looking forward to include something experimental and interesting at your home. It can be a great conversation starter. But we will recommend you to skip on it if you do not have the time or patience to keep a siphon coffee maker at your home.

Conclusion:

In conclusion, we can say that these are the 7 types of coffee makers that presently exist in the market. You will come across many of them if you visit the American or British household. People who really like to drink coffee should actually work towards buying a coffee maker for them to quench the sudden thirsts for coffee. Do buy the coffee maker that you find goes best with your lifestyle and will actually help you in your daily life.

We think that both the manual and automatic machines are worthy of your attention without any discrimination. Do keep the recommendations in mind while making the choices to get the best benefits out of them. Also, do proper research so that you do not end up with a device that isn’t satisfactory. Enjoy your several cups of coffee once you get hold of your lovely coffee machine.