01 · Immersion
French Press
- Ratio
- 1:15
- Grind
- Coarse
- Time
- 4:00
A mesh plunger separates the brew from the grounds after a 4-minute steep. The canonical full-immersion reference method.
Volume VI · Catalog · Updated December 2024
The 30 Brewing Methods,
Cataloged and Cross-Referenced.
A working taxonomy of every brew method in the CoffeeGlossary library — grouped by family, annotated with extraction parameters, and linked to the full editorial entry and equipment roundup where one exists.
§ I
Index of Brewing Families
Every method in our catalog falls into one of four families, defined by how water meets coffee. Use this index to jump straight to the chapter you brew.
-
01
Immersion
8 methods
Coffee steeps fully submerged in water for a fixed contact time. Extraction is controlled by steep duration, grind, and agitation rather than flow rate.
Representative entry: French Press — a 4-minute steep with a coarse grind and a mesh filter that leaves sediment in the cup.
See immersion methods -
02
Percolation
12 methods
Water passes through a bed of coffee by gravity or low pressure. Extraction is shaped by flow rate, bed geometry, and pour pattern.
Representative entry: V60 — a 60° cone with a single exit hole, brewed at 1:16 in 2:30–3:00.
See percolation methods -
03
Espresso
7 methods
Near-instant extraction under 9 bar of pump pressure. Defined by ratio (1:1–1:3), dose, and a 25–35 second total time window.
Representative entry: Lever espresso — a spring or manual lever forces water through a puck, prized for pressure-profile control.
See espresso methods -
04
Pressure
3 methods
Hybrid methods that combine immersion with elevated pressure or vacuum. Includes siphon, moka, and AeroPress-style systems.
Representative entry: AeroPress — 30–60 seconds of immersion followed by hand-pressed percolation at roughly 0.5 bar.
See pressure methods
§ II
The 30 Brewing Methods
Each card links to the full editorial glossary entry — and, where one exists, the equipment roundup we maintain for that method. Parameters shown are the editorial reference values; always adjust for your specific grinder and beans.
Immersion · 8 methods
Steep, strain, serve. No flow rate to manage — just time, grind, and a confident stir.
02 · Immersion
Cupping
- Ratio
- 1:18
- Grind
- Medium-coarse
- Time
- 4:00 + 10:00 rest
The Specialty Coffee Association's reference protocol: a 4-minute steep followed by a crust break and side-by-side tasting.
03 · Immersion
Cold Brew
- Ratio
- 1:8 (concentrate)
- Grind
- Very coarse
- Time
- 12–24 hr
Room-temperature or refrigerated steeping of coarse grounds for 12–24 hours. Low acidity, high body, stable for two weeks refrigerated.
04 · Immersion
Toddy Cold Brew System
- Ratio
- 1:9
- Grind
- Very coarse
- Time
- 12–24 hr
A felt-and-plug tower drainer for batch cold brew. The retail standard against which home cold-brew systems are benchmarked.
05 · Immersion
Kyoto-Style Slow Drip
- Ratio
- 1:8
- Grind
- Medium
- Time
- 8–12 hr cold drip
A tower of glass chambers drips ice water one drop at a time over coffee grounds. The slowest method in the catalog.
06 · Immersion
Cowboy Coffee
- Ratio
- 1:10
- Grind
- Coarse
- Time
- Boil + 2:00 rest
Grounds boiled directly in water, then settled by tapping the pot or adding cold water. The original field method.
07 · Immersion
Turkish (Ibrik/Cezve)
- Ratio
- 1:10
- Grind
- Extra-fine (powder)
- Time
- Heat to foam, repeat ×2
A long-handled pot heats finely ground coffee with sugar to a foaming triple-rolling boil. Unfiltered, served with the grounds.
08 · Immersion
Vacuum Pot (Siphon)
- Ratio
- 1:15
- Grind
- Medium
- Time
- 2:30 + 1:30 drawdown
Vapor pressure drives water into an upper chamber, where it steeps; cooling draws it back through a filter. The most theatrical immersion brew.
Percolation · 12 methods
Water moves through a bed of coffee. Every gram of flow shapes the cup.
09 · Percolation
Hario V60
- Ratio
- 1:16
- Grind
- Medium-fine
- Time
- 2:30–3:00
A 60° cone with a single large exit hole. The reference pour-over for most specialty cafés and competitions.
10 · Percolation
Chemex
- Ratio
- 1:16
- Grind
- Medium-coarse
- Time
- 3:30–4:30
A thick bonded-paper filter in a glass flask. The cleanest cup in the percolation family — bright, light-bodied, almost tea-like.
11 · Percolation
Kalita Wave
- Ratio
- 1:16
- Grind
- Medium
- Time
- 3:00–3:30
A flat-bottomed dripper with three small exit holes and a waved paper filter. More forgiving than the V60 for newer baristas.
12 · Percolation
Melitta Pour-Over
- Ratio
- 1:16
- Grind
- Medium
- Time
- 3:00–4:00
The 1970s German pour-over that defined the home category. Cone-shaped with a single hole and a fluted paper filter.
13 · Percolation
Origami Dripper
- Ratio
- 1:16
- Grind
- Medium
- Time
- 2:30–3:30
A origami-folded ceramic dripper that behaves like a V60 with a flat filter or a Kalita with a cone filter, depending on the paper.
14 · Percolation
Bee House Dripper
- Ratio
- 1:15
- Grind
- Medium
- Time
- 3:00
A flat-bottom plastic dripper with two small bottom holes. The most forgiving entry-level pour-over.
15 · Percolation
Clever Dripper
- Ratio
- 1:16
- Grind
- Medium
- Time
- 3:00 steep + draw
An immersion dripper with a release valve. Steep like a French press, drain like a pour-over. The easiest hybrid on this list.
16 · Percolation
Automatic Drip (Mr. Coffee–class)
- Ratio
- 1:18
- Grind
- Medium
- Time
- 5:00–7:00
A heated plate keeps brewed coffee at serving temperature. Most U.S. households still own one. The default baseline for "American" coffee.
17 · Percolation
Batch Brewer (Moccamaster-class)
- Ratio
- 1:16
- Grind
- Medium
- Time
- 4:00–5:00
SCAA-certified automatic batch brewers. The reference machine for cafés and the best counter-anchor for high-volume home use.
18 · Percolation
Percolator (Stovetop "Perc")
- Ratio
- 1:10
- Grind
- Coarse
- Time
- 7:00–10:00 cycling
Boiling water cycles through a bed of grounds via a central tube. The 1970s American campfire classic — now an acquired taste.
19 · Percolation
Nel Drip (Vietnamese)
- Ratio
- 1:5 (condensed-milk)
- Grind
- Medium-fine
- Time
- 5:00 gravity drip
A single-cup metal filter balanced atop a glass. The canonical cà phê sữa đá brew for Vietnamese iced coffee.
20 · Percolation
Trunk Brew (Bag Brew)
- Ratio
- 1:18
- Grind
- Medium
- Time
- 4:00
Single-serving filter bags — the coffee world's answer to the tea sachet. The dominant format for travel and office since 2018.
Espresso · 7 methods
Nine bars of pressure, 25–35 seconds, a 1:1–1:3 ratio. Everything else is a deviation.
21 · Espresso
Standard Espresso
- Ratio
- 1:2
- Dose
- 18 g in / 36 g out
- Time
- 28 sec
The 9-bar reference: 18 grams in, 36 grams out, 27–32 seconds. Every other espresso recipe is a variation on this baseline.
22 · Espresso
Ristretto
- Ratio
- 1:1
- Dose
- 18 g / 18 g
- Time
- 22 sec
Half the yield of a standard shot, stopped at first sign of blonde. A concentrate of sweetness and acidity, no bitter tail.
23 · Espresso
Lungo
- Ratio
- 1:4
- Dose
- 18 g / 72 g
- Time
- 45 sec
A long pull — roughly double the water of a standard shot. More body, more bitterness; popular in continental European cafés.
24 · Espresso
Lever Espresso
- Ratio
- 1:2 (variable)
- Dose
- 16–22 g
- Pressure
- Profile-controlled
A spring- or manual-lever machine drives water through the puck. Lets the barista shape a rising pressure profile across the shot.
25 · Espresso
Turbo Shot
- Ratio
- 1:3
- Dose
- 18 g / 54 g
- Time
- 15–20 sec
Coarser grind, higher ratio, shorter time. A modern specialty style that emphasizes sweetness over traditional espresso intensity.
26 · Espresso
Pressure Profile / Flow Profiling
- Ratio
- 1:2 (variable)
- Dose
- 18–22 g
- Time
- 25–40 sec
Machines with electronic pre-infusion or paddle-controlled pressure let the barista shape extraction across the shot. The 2020s craft standard.
27 · Espresso
Manual Espresso (Flair, Cafelat Robot)
- Ratio
- 1:2
- Dose
- 14–18 g
- Pressure
- Hand-pumped to 9 bar
A lever you pump by hand. Full 9-bar pressure without electricity. The most tactile espresso method in the catalog.
Pressure · 3 methods
Immersion married to a press. Where steep time meets flow.
28 · Pressure
AeroPress (Standard)
- Ratio
- 1:15
- Grind
- Medium-fine
- Time
- 1:30 steep + 30 sec press
A short immersion followed by hand-pressed percolation at roughly 0.5 bar. Alan Adler's 2005 invention — the most-replicated brew in specialty coffee.
29 · Pressure
AeroPress Inverted
- Ratio
- 1:15
- Grind
- Medium-fine
- Time
- 2:00 steep + 30 sec press
The plunger removed, the chamber flipped for full-immersion steeping, then capped and pressed. Most competition AeroPress recipes use this orientation.
30 · Pressure
Moka Pot (Stovetop Espresso)
- Ratio
- 1:10
- Grind
- Fine
- Time
- 4:00–5:00 stovetop
Steam pressure (~1.5 bar) in a sealed lower chamber pushes water up through the grounds. Not espresso, but the closest stovetop analogue.
A note on parameters — the ratios, grind sizes, and brew times above are the editorial reference values used in our Glossary entries. Actual extraction depends on your grinder, beans, water, and ambient temperature; treat them as starting points, not rules.
From the Editors
“We add methods to this catalog only after the editorial board has brewed one blind against a published reference recipe — and only if at least three of the four reviewers flag a meaningful difference worth documenting. There are 30 entries on this page because there are 30 that survived that test, not because we wanted a round number.”
§ IV
By the Numbers
How the catalog has grown — and how we keep it honest.
30
Methods in this catalog
Across 4 brewing families, each reviewed blind by at least three editorial-board members.
4
Brewing families
Immersion, percolation, espresso, and pressure — the taxonomy the catalog is built on.
1,247
Full library entries
Every method, term, and concept in the CoffeeGlossary, as of December 2024.
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Reviewed per year
Every entry is re-tested and updated quarterly. The "obsessively curated" is not a tagline — it's a calendar.
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1,247 editorially reviewed entries on brewing science, green coffee processing, espresso extraction, and café operations — written by credentialed Q-graders and certified baristas.
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- 2019 → now editorially reviewed quarterly