We all got used to sitting around and watching for the coffee to bubble up and be ready to drink. Now we know that boiling coffee like that is not the best way to brew coffee, but it was all we had then.
Then came the seventies and everything changed, in the coffee world and many others as well. The drip method became the most popular way to brew coffee because it was fast, easy and good. Just put the coffee grounds in a bucket, drip the water over it into a glass pot and you had a great cup of coffee.
Now we have coffee makers with pods that hold the coffee in self contained packets that make it easier and neater, the materials in coffee pots and carafes have changed, we can adjust the brew, and new kinds of spouts that spread the water more evenly, and temperature controls that maintain a perfect 200 degrees F (93C).
Then came the 90's, when the combination of the influence of European culture and American ingenuity led to inexpensive, easy to use espresso machines that produced the same great results. In an espresso machine, hot water is forced through a special blend to produce a unique coffee full of aroma and flavor.
If you add steamed milk to this concoction, you now have cappuccino, or latte. Latte has more milk than coffee. All of these improvements have been a boon to those who love to experiment with coffee.
It sounds awful, but it makes great coffee. The French plunger is becoming popular among those who like European style coffees. A rod, with a handle on one end and a filter on the other goes through a cylinder. The coffee grounds are placed in the container and boiling water poured in; the grounds seep in until the plunger is pressed and yields a dark strong coffee brew.
Another innovation is the vacuum brewer. There are two bowls on top of one another. Heat will force the water up through the top bowl and when the heat is removed, it flows back down into the lower bowl. It creates a nice fresh coffee, and you can serve it directly from the lower bowl.
In actuality, these methods we now consider new hark back to the first days of coffee making. Ibrik, from Turkey, is the first form of coffee making. Heated water is added to ground coffee through a handle with a grooved tongue. Since it is simply water mixed Wit coffee, it es very strong, but the Turks love it.
You can make a great cup of coffee with any of these methods, so try them all and find out which one suits your taste the best.
