If you are an entrepreneur willing to fight for the culture of coffee consumption in your area, join the Brew Bar trend.

Brew Bar is the new password for gourmet coffee.

Alternative coffee brewing. The purpose of alternative brewing is to convey to the guests of coffee houses and restaurants the idea that coffee is a complex and multifaceted drink and it is possible and necessary to recognize the aromas and tastes of its various varieties, to comprehend coffee culture, which baristas are often compared to wine. With the development of the coffee market, people began to enjoy drinking pure black coffee. There is no need to add sugar and milk there, because the coffee itself can be of such high quality, with so many taste properties that you just want to drink it and enjoy it like wine. We recommend drinking coffee brewed in one of the alternative ways, because this is how its full potential is revealed.

The best part is that you can make this kind of coffee at home.

The Brew Bar is different from regular espresso bars - it's not a place to grab a cup of coffee, have a drink and run away, but to take your time to appreciate the taste of the brew. Coffee that is brewed in an alternative way (not in an espresso machine) will have to wait from 5 to 15 minutes, abroad it is also called slow coffee. Most of these coffee brewing methods were invented in the middle of the 19th century, that is, much earlier than the espresso machine, and have become a convenient alternative to the Italian tradition.

How it goes

From the outside, the process of making coffee in a brew bar resembles a chemical experiment. Brew-bar is a place where you can taste an unusually prepared coffee, here they draw an analogy with a wine bar, they believe that coffee is not only a terribly hot drink with milk, but requires the same serious attitude towards itself as wine. Several varieties of beans are brewed in the Brew bar - mainly Arabica, which was processed in a washed way: after picking coffee berries, the peel is removed from the beans and washed with water. The barista will help you decide on the choice of beans for your future cup of coffee. If interested, he can talk about where the coffee was brought from. You can personally observe the entire cooking process at the counter, and at the same time find out its details. If you don't want to wait at the counter, the barista will bring you ready-made coffee and tell you how to drink it correctly.

Quick table of contents:

To complete the picture, I consider it necessary to talk about the methods of brewing coffee, which are conventionally called an alternative, i.e. alternative methods: kemex, hario, aeropress, siphon and coldbrew. Many refer to the alternative to the French press and.

I consider it necessary to immediately notice that I personally am rather skeptical about the “alternative”. I'll explain why in the course of the text. Nevertheless, such options have a right to exist, many people really like this coffee, so it is necessary to talk about it. In addition, the alternative is also a fairly economical cooking method.

First, a little history to understand where the alternative came from. These are all the fruits of the so-called third coffee revolution. In the original in English it is actually just "the third coffee wave", but in Russian it is the translation "revolution" that has taken root.

It began in America, or to be more precise, in Seattle. It was on the northwestern coast of the States that since the 1970s its own party has formed, which knew a lot about coffee and gradually taught Americans to delicious coffee. It would be more accurate to say that I began to teach, because until now in this country they drink mainly filtered coffee, and for my taste in the bulk it is rather mediocre. Even in New York, espresso appeared in large quantities only in the 2000s, also thanks to immigrants from Seattle.

After a passion for classic espresso and drinks based on it (cappuccino, latte, etc.), advanced Americans began to invent new or remember long-forgotten coffee brewing devices. I assume that this was due to the fact that the general public could not love strong espresso and they needed better ways than filter machines to brew weak coffee in large mugs, that is, the original filter coffee, nicknamed "Americano" in the Old World.

It is worth recognizing that the alternative really allows you to reveal the subtle nuances of taste a little better (but not radically!) Than a regular drip coffee maker, and in some cases even get a slightly higher strength. But it must also be recognized that the entire alternative is a variation of either the drip method or the French press. That is, the whole process boils down to the fact that hot water (and with cold bru, about which it is also written separately below, and completely cold) is mixed with ground coffee and brewed under natural atmospheric pressure. There is no pressure build-up or tempering to increase extraction.

In short, all of this has nothing to do with espresso. The alternative, a product of the American coffee school, is in fact an "improved" Americano.

In addition to the use of other equipment, the third wave also has ideological signs:

• Almost complete abandonment of robusta in favor of Arabica or even Liberica. Roasting - light. I will not argue, but I will suggest trying it first.
• Lack of automation, approaching drinking coffee like a tea ceremony.
• Manic urge to weigh the ground coffee accurate to tenths of a gram. The same applies to the volume and temperature of the water. Without a measuring cup and accurate calibrated scales, a real "alternative" will not brew coffee.
• The lack of bitterness and strength, the sourness and its variations rule the ball. They prefer light-roasted arabica with a clear bias towards sourness. Apparently, this is due to the fact that the extraction is very weak, and in order for the sourness to be felt in the final product, it is necessary to choose such beans that, on a regular coffee machine, give an extremely sour espresso.
• In most cases, paper or cloth filters are used, designed to filter out the smallest particles of coffee and coffee oils to the maximum. No suspension in the cup!
• The idea that during brewing coffee with water should be saturated with air as much as possible. As I understand it, oxygen is needed for more oxidation. And according to the philosophy of the alternative, this allows you to maximize the facets of taste.
• Desires to use freshly roasted coffee from local roasters - here I can not help but support!
• Special attention to the grinder and the grind — support!
• In American culture, the alternative is also closely related to the concept of sustainable development. In general, they have a popular idea in recent years, which calls for the use of products of local producers, buying coffee directly from farmers bypassing large companies, not using non-degradable packaging (a striking counter example), using filters made from organic materials, and the like. But I won't go into it.

Particularly radical supporters of the third wave generally argue that (attention, literal quote) "traditional espressos are bullshit, and very bad coffee is brewed in Italy." There are no comments, as they say.

Chemex

This is generally a pure manual drip coffee maker, it is a vessel like a large laboratory flask and a filter. In fact, in the original this is the flask, and the name is from here ( chemex, derived from "chemistry") - the method was invented by the chemist Peter Schlub in his laboratory. That is, naturally, an ordinary drip coffee maker, only hot water must be poured from the kettle yourself.

To achieve a more convincing extraction, it is usually customary to preheat the flask with hot water. Especially the place of constriction, at the level of which the coffee will be located during brewing. In order not to burn yourself, an elegant wooden ring is made around this narrow neck, by which you can grab this chemex while brewing. In addition to warming up, water is poured in portions (according to the "pour - wait" principle, an analogue of preliminary wetting in terms of coffee machines, by the way, this function is implemented in a coffee maker) and water the entire area with coffee, and not just in the center, as in cheap drip coffee makers. All this allows you to achieve a slightly more full-bodied taste than on the latter.

In simple terms, a kemex is a specially shaped vessel plus a filter for making filter coffee in manual mode. The manual mode allows you to control the process a little better than an automatic drip coffee maker, due to which the coffee is one iota tastier.

It is worth noting that Chemex is actually a brand. Original American Kemeks cost in Russia some inadequate money (,), unoriginal counterparts - already in a godly way,. But this is only a flask, no filters. They also exist on sale, but this is considered a zashkvar among true admirers of the third wave.

The coffee on the Kemex is weaker than the average Americano. Even in color it is noticeable:

But at the same time, the taste is more or less full, the shades are felt and for lovers of light coffee with large mugs, this method can, in principle, be recommended. It's hard to get honest filtered coffee, but a distinctly better flavor from the same beans than in a normal drip coffee maker.

Hario = purover = funnel

"Hario" is also a trade mark. Represents ... the top funnel from Kemeks, only originally from Japan and with add. function. Under add. By function, I mean special grooves in the upper part of the vessel, where the filter with coffee is placed. These notches on the pourover are needed, firstly, to supply air to the coffee extraction site, and secondly, to achieve uniform extraction. The coffee from the top of the pile is immediately discharged in grooves, rather than flowing down (otherwise an overextracted “lump” may form at the bottom of the filter).

In short, the same eggs only in profile and with minimal modification. The most iconic and popular model is the Hario V60 funnel. You will not find such a designation in the names of specific models, that is, V60 is the name of the series, and specific models have the prefixes VDC (ceramics), VDG (glass), VDM (steel), VDPC (copper) and just VD (plastic).

The cheapest plastic ones are usually not sold, ceramics can be bought for 2-3 thousand, it will be cheaper on Aliexpress, since they also sell plastic there (it is heat-resistant, by the way) -. Although here it is. But these are only funnels, without the lower flask, it will be with it.

The final result is very similar to kemex, both in taste, strength, saturation, and so on. Trying to deduce radical differences based on equipment (rather than grain, grind, water, and curvature of the arms) is considered marketing juggling.

Funnels are sold in the online store, where, by the way, you can buy freshly roasted coffee.

Aeropress

This is the only device of the third coffee revolution that can be called new. Invented in 2005. In the States, of course. In terms of classical brewing methods, coffee is a bottomless French press with elements of lever espresso machines.

That is, the term pressure is already appearing here, but you should not delude yourself - the coffee is extracted before using the press, that is, just like in the case of brewing in a French press or simply by the “in a cup” method, ground coffee is mixed with hot water and infused. Only then the drink itself is squeezed out by the press, leaving the coffee cake on one side of the filter, and the finished coffee on the other.

In theory, it seems that this allows you to get a greater strength than in Kemex and Purover, close to the classic Americano. But in fact, this hardly works, because the contact time is very short, and the coffee does not have time to be extracted. Even though there is definitely no pressure in the Kemex (and there is no, in fact), the strait takes longer.

As a result, the coffee from the airport is even weaker and you can drink it, almost like water. Coffee-flavored. If interested, then here.

Aeropress can be bought at Tasty Coffee, again, freshly roasted coffee is also sold there.

Siphon

The siphon is generally from the history textbook. It was invented and used a little in Europe before the classic lever and electric espresso machines were developed and honed. Speaking, again in terms of the classic options, a siphon is a geyser coffee maker without the middle flask in which the coffee pill is formed.

As in a geyser, the water in the lower bowl is heated (with an alcohol lamp or a gas burner, of course, everything is hardcore), then it rises by the geyser method into the upper bowl. It is there that ground coffee is waiting for him, where he is brewed. The whole structure cools down and the brewed coffee flows back into the lower flask in the same way.

I personally do not like the siphon because due to almost boiling (and it is extremely difficult to catch the moment of overheating) of water in the lower flask, the final drink acquires a pronounced shade of boiled water. In terms of strength, coffee from a siphon is comparable to that of Kemex, maybe a little weaker. But subtle notes like sour shades appear minimally, everything is leveled by the high wateriness of overheated water.

By the way, "kosher" siphons are also produced by Hario, tentative with an extract from abroad. In Russia, the prices for siphons are depressing ...

Cold Bru or cold extraction method

This is actually something strange. We decided that it’s cool to make coffee not with hot water, but with cold water. The thesis, in principle, has a right to exist - with excessive heating, the coffee burns out, it can start to taste bitter, but you need to know the measure, 60-80 degrees is quite enough so as not to burn it.

Coldbrew brewed coffee is said to contain fewer harmful substances, namely ketones, esters and amides. But the main thing is that it turns out to be less sour, in this sense the cold method differs from other alternative brewing methods.

Since the extraction does not actually occur when using cold water, the logical solution was to increase the contact time between water and coffee, that is, either a) increase the brewing time to 12 hours (I'm not kidding, but usually it is set to 7-8), or b) lengthen all tracts, increase the volume of coffee (up to a pound for one brew), enlarge the brewing vessel itself. In the second case, you get things like the one in the photo on the right. This is, of course, a commercial option, not for home use. In a commercial case, 50 or more liters are brewed from a bookmark, then bottled and cooled in refrigerators.

And for the first option, when we “brew” coffee for 12 hours, such basins are sold for home use called Platon Filtron. In Russia, they are found only at intermediaries who resell goods from the American Amazon, at home they cost about $ 40. By the way, it is in them that you need to use 500 grams of coffee at a time.

Julia Vern 2 771 0

True coffee fans cannot live a day without an invigorating aromatic drink. Usually, coffee lovers have a special machine in their arsenal, or at least a Turk. But there are times when there is only ground coffee in the cupboard. How to brew it without special tools? There are at least 5 methods!

It is one of the oldest coffee brewing methods used by hikers on their hikes. But the cowboy method is also suitable for city dwellers who are thinking about how to brew ground coffee in a saucepan.

List of required items:

Instructions

Step 1. Fill the saucepan approx. ¾ with clean water.

Note: when brewing coffee using the cowboy method, you need to pay attention to the fact that a little water should always remain at the bottom of the saucepan / pot. This will be a kind of "pillow" for collecting grounds.

Step 2. Boil water and add coffee.

You need to add about two tablespoons for every 150 grams of water.

You need to cook ground coffee using the cowboy method for no more than a minute (while constantly stirring the contents of the pan with a spoon).

Step 3. Remove the pot from the heat and immediately cover it with a lid. Wait about five minutes. After all the grounds have settled to the bottom, coffee can be served. In field conditions, it is enough to pour the drink into mugs with a special scoop. At home, you can use gauze as a filter.

Preparing ground coffee with a French press

The most popular and inexpensive coffee maker (after the Turkish) is undoubtedly the French press. Under the complex name lies a cylindrical glass decanter, and a piston with a special stainless steel mesh filter.

Required list:

Instructions

Step 1. Boil water and let it stand for 3-4 minutes. Steep boiling water cannot be used to prepare a drink in a French press. Firstly, this can spoil the taste, and secondly, the glass of the press itself can burst.

Step 2. Rinse the glass vessel with hot water. Add coarse coffee in an amount: one tablespoon for 300 - 400 grams of water.

Note: Correctly brewing coffee in a French press will work only if the grinding of the beans is very coarse and coarse. Otherwise the strainer will become clogged and a large amount of sludge will remain in the cup.

Step 3. Slowly pour hot water over the coffee. Lower the piston so that the filter stops two centimeters above the water level. After about 2-3 minutes, lower the piston to the very bottom. Thus, the thick will be at the bottom, and a pure aromatic drink will remain above the filter, which can be poured into cups.

Tip: It is necessary to prepare ground coffee in exactly the amount needed for one use. You cannot leave a drink prepared in the press for several days. Better to pour the filtered coffee into a thermos.

Brewing a coffee drink using a homemade muslin filter

But how can you make ground coffee without a turkey and without a French press? You can try to make a homemade filter from available tools.

You will need:

• coarse coffee;
• mug (preferably transparent and narrow);
• rubber bands for money;
• a piece of muslin.

Instructions

Step 1. Cut a circle out of a clean cloth, the radius of which should be about 1.5 times the height of the cup. You can draw a bright dot in the center of the circle.

Step 2. Place the fabric in the cup so that the bright dot is right in the center of the bottom. Wrap the fabric stock by the edges of the cup and secure with elastic bands on top. The fabric filter should be attached to the sides very tightly (you can additionally use paper clips or a binder).

Step 3. Put 2 tablespoons of coarsely ground grains on a cloth and cover with hot water. There is a risk of the filter slipping off at this stage, so it is best to hold it with your hand.

Step 4. Leave the drink to brew for 3-4 minutes. Then carefully remove the elastic bands and lift the fabric with the thicker. Aromatic coffee will remain in the cup.

Brewing coffee in special bags

Those who were faced with the question “how to brew ground coffee without a turkey” have often thought that it would be nice to use the tea bag method. Recently, disposable filter paper bags have indeed appeared on the market.

This is one of the easiest and fastest ways to brew coffee without a Turk. It is enough to pour the ground grains into a bag, put them in a cup, pour hot water and leave for a few minutes. Of course, the drink brewed in this way will not come out as rich as from the coffee maker.

Geyser coffee maker is the best alternative to Turk

A geyser-type coffee maker is an excellent solution for those who do not want to bother with a Turk, but at the same time want to brew ground coffee correctly. The device consists of three different cameras. The first chamber is located at the bottom and is filled with purified water. After turning on the device, pressure is built up in this chamber, which allows water to rise into the second compartment. The middle chamber has the shape of a funnel (this is where ground coffee is poured). In the third compartment, the ready-made drink is collected directly.

It is the geyser coffee maker that allows you to get a drink that, in terms of its taste, will be as similar as possible to coffee from a Turk.

Of course, this is quite old-fashioned and not as convenient as using tea bags or a French press. Nevertheless, many connoisseurs claim that coffee prepared in this way is the most aromatic and rich. A logical question arises: why are geyser coffee makers not very popular?

Firstly, despite the fact that the taste of coffee turns out to be rich, not everyone may like it. If you overdo it with the amount of ground grains, the drink will come out bitter, and if you add too much water, it will tasteless. Secondly, this particular method takes much longer than all of the above. It is also necessary to constantly monitor the coffee maker, which is not very pleasant for busy people (it is much easier to buy a fully automated device).

Instructions for making coffee in a percolator

In case there are no other options, you need to know how to brew ground coffee with a percolator (a type of geyser coffee maker). For a medium-strength drink, pour one tablespoon of ground grains per 300 grams of water into the middle compartment. It is better to prefer coarse coffee, otherwise there is a risk that a small amount of grounds will get into the water. Add the required amount of clean water to the lower compartment of the percolator.

After installing the upper compartment, turn on the device to the network, or put it on the stove (depending on the model). If the coffee pot does not work from the mains, then it is necessary to put it on an already preheated stove. At the same time, during the preparation of coffee, the burner should work at a minimum level. The key secret of making a delicious drink is the very slow heating of the water. To the question "how much to brew ground coffee in a percolator?" experts answer that it will take less than 10 minutes.

Many models of percolators have a transparent lid so that you can see what happens during the preparation of the drink. A few minutes after you start brewing coffee, you will hear a hissing sound. This means that the water began to heat up and rise under pressure into the middle compartment.

After that, you need to wait about 10 minutes. As soon as you hear the characteristic crackles from the lower compartment, this means that the coffee is ready. All the water evaporated, and the metal just started to burn - you need to unplug the plug / remove the coffee pot from the stove. Next, you need to carefully open the lid and pour the aromatic drink into the cups.

In conclusion, it must be said that some of the above methods are suitable for daily use (French press, geyser coffee maker), while others are useful only in urgent cases. After all, there is a big difference in taste between coffee brewed over a fire and simply filled with hot water. You should not constantly consume coffee from bags, because such a drink has much less useful properties than the one that was prepared under steam. In any case, only a professional coffee machine will literally "squeeze out" the maximum taste, aroma and useful elements from ground coffee.

Hello. An overview of a Vietnamese coffee brewer bought in China, but made in Vietnam.
One copy is already there, brought from Vietnam. But for several people, one device is not enough. Had to order online.
The device came in a crumpled box. The name of the device, judging by the inscription on the box - "Coffee filter".

But the contents have survived.

Complete instrument


Made of fine stainless steel. Since there are no high temperatures here, the thickness of the metal does not matter.
The subject consists of three parts.


This is a boiling water tank in the form of a mug with a perforated bottom and a skirt for placing the device on the cup. The capacity of the mug is 150 ml. But this is a filter. Therefore, if the coffee turns out to be very strong, you can add boiling water as much as you like to taste.

It seems like nothing else is needed. He poured coffee, poured boiling water. The boiling water will saturate the coffee and pour into the cup. But not everything is so simple. It has its own know-how. in the form of this crush, scientific tempera.


Ground coffee is compacted with a crush, turning it into a kind of tablet. For this, a special recess is formed in the bottom.


The amount of coffee must be poured so that it is above this indentation. For this instance, this is 2 heaped teaspoons. The poured coffee is rammed with tempera like this.


But that's not all, before pouring the main boiling water, you need to moisten the coffee with a small amount of boiling water (30 milliliters), wait twenty seconds and tamp it again. Well, now you can pour boiling water

And wait about 3 minutes

And we get delicious, rich coffee.

After work, rinse the device with running water and that's it.
I want to say a handy little thing, especially somewhere at work or on a trip, does not take up space, weighs little, easy to clean ... And most importantly, it makes coffee well.