How the world brews coffee
The same bean tastes completely different boiled in a Turkish cezve, dripped through a Vietnamese phin or steeped with cinnamon in a Mexican clay pot. Here's where 12 methods come from and how to make each one at home.
Turkish coffee
Coffee and water boiled together in a tiny pot, served with its foam and grounds settled in the cup.
5–7 minutes · extra-fine grindVietnamese phin
A slow, strong drip over sweetened condensed milk and ice: cà phê sữa đá.
About 5 minutes of dripping · medium-fine grindCafé de olla
Coffee steeped with cinnamon and piloncillo in a clay pot.
About 15 minutes · medium grindEthiopian coffee ceremony
Green beans roasted, ground and boiled in a clay jebena, shared over three rounds.
An hour or more for the full ceremony · fine grind
Moka pot
Steam pressure pushes water up through the coffee on your stove.
About 5 minutes · fine grindCuban cafecito
Moka-pot coffee whipped with sugar into a sweet, pale foam called espumita.
About 5–7 minutes · fine (espresso-style pre-ground) grindAeroPress
A plastic tube and plunger that brews a clean cup in about a minute.
About 1–1.5 minutes · medium-fine grind
Chemex
An hourglass flask with an extra-thick filter for a very clean, bright cup.
About 4–5 minutes · medium-coarse grindSiphon (vacuum pot)
Two glass globes, vapor pressure and a dramatic drawdown.
About 2–2.5 minutes after the coffee goes in · medium-fine grindCold brew
Coffee steeped in cold water for half a day: smooth, low in acidity, great over ice.
12–24 hours (start around 15–16) · coarse grindJapanese iced coffee
Pour-over brewed hot straight onto ice, so it keeps the bright, fruity flavors cold brew mutes.
About 2.5–3.5 minutes · a little finer than usual pour-over grind
Espresso
Hot water forced through fine coffee at about 9 bar: the base of the café menu.
25–30 seconds · fine grindEvery method's history is sourced, and disputed stories are marked as disputed. Recipe numbers marked “about” are starting points; adjust to taste.