A world of coffee

At home, in the office, at cafés, in co-working spaces, in restaurants... There are innumerable places and times of day when we drink coffee, all over the planet. It is estimated that over 100 million bags of coffee beans are consumed worldwide each year, exported mainly from Brazil, Vietnam, Colombia, Indonesia, Mexico, India and Ethiopia.

Different coffee extraction methods and tasting rituals have been developed around the world.

Travelling throughout the United States, filter coffee is the most popular and widely consumed brew: filter coffee is a percolation extraction, also known as a 'pour over'. Water passes through a layer of coffee, extracting its flavour, and the residues of the ground coffee is filtered through paper, fabric or metal mesh. If you taste a cup of Caffé Americano and find it too bitter, it is probably due to over-extraction. Filter coffee requires brewing with a coarser grind of coffee.

Today, the electric filter coffee machine is most widely used for this type of coffee extraction.

In the Middle East, Greece and the Balkan countries,  coffee is brewed using a Turkish method utilising the cezve, a long-handled copper and brass pot. Turkish-style coffee is often flavoured with spices such as cardamom and cinnamon, and is best enjoyed after letting the coffee grounds settle at the bottom of the cup. It becomes a time not only to savour your coffee, but to enjoy connection and company.

In Northern Europe, the melior method (a jug equipped with a piston filter) or French press is often used. This is an infusion coffee pot, where water and coffee are left to brew together to ensure an even extraction.

Coffee brewed using the French press has a fuller body and a richer consistency. As the metal filter only removes the larger fragments of ground coffee, it can appear cloudy with some sediment.

In Italy the moka is the traditional way to enjoy coffee. The small coffee pot, invented in 1933, consists of a boiler, a funnel, and a screw-on top. Once the water starts to boil, the resulting pressure drives it up the tube and into the coffee chamber. Coffee brewed in this way is extremely strong with a bitter taste. To make this flavour milder, use light roasted coffee grounds and boil  on medium-low heat.

Outside of the home, Italians are best known for espresso coffee, the most popular type of coffee to drink on the go. The term 'espresso' is a synonym of 'freshly brewed': coffee is extracted under pressure, and brewed with the specialty machines. 

This method is a true concentration of flavour extracted from the coffee beans: the 'crema', the aroma, the body, and the taste is unique from all other coffee-based drinks.

Espresso coffee is quickly becoming popular in homes all over the world. The main types of espresso coffee machines designed for home use are manual, automatic, pod and capsule machines.