Manual Coffee Makers Explained
Types of coffee makers to create rich flavours
For Coffee Lovers is a reader-supported blog.
When you buy through links on our site, we may earn an affiliate commission.
There are many types of manual coffee makers, so it may be difficult to choose the one for your home coffee brewing. If you are a beginner home barista building your home coffee bar, you probably want to use a variety of coffee brewing techniques. In this article you will find brief descriptions of manual coffee makers to help you decide which one is the best for your needs.
Here is a brief overview of 9 types of coffee makers, how they are built, how they work as well as what’s positive and negative about them.
Manual coffee makers
9 types of manual coffee makers to consider for your home brew
- French press
- Cezve / ibrik
- Moka pot / stovetop coffee maker
- Pour over coffee brewer
- AeroPress
- Vacuum pot / siphon coffee maker
- Costa Rican Chorreador
- Cold brew coffee maker
- Phin – Vietnamese coffee maker / set
French press
What is the French press?
French press, also called caffettiera, cafetiere, coffee plunger or coffee press is a manual, direct immersion coffee brewer.
French press description
The French press coffee maker consists of a glass jar with a handle and a metal plunger with a metal filter attached to it.
There are a few variations of the classic French press, e.g. travel mug with usually plastic container instead of a glass jar. Other designs include a stainless steel or insulated coffee pot.
Coffee plunger is aslo a great option for those who are looking for a budget friendly way to make coffee at home and need something that won’t take up a lot of space.
How does the French press work?
The French press works by steeping coffee grounds in hot water. The coffee grounds are filtered by a metal filter and thanks to this, unlike in the case of paper filters, most of the oils from the coffee make it into the brew. As the oils enhance the taste of coffee, the caffettiera delivers a rich and tasty cup.
Advantages and disadvantages of the French press
As we’ve mentioned above, the French press coffee maker produces a very tasty cup thanks to the oils retained in the brew. Another big advantage of this coffee maker is that the steeping time and the water temperature can be easily controlled, so you can make the most of the coffee you have at hand.
One disadvantage to mention is that the glass jar of this type coffee brewing device doesn’t retain heat very well and coffee gets cold very quickly. However, there are versions with double walls or others with thermos-like pots.
Here you can find out how to brew coffee with the caffettiera:
How to brew coffee at home with the French press coffee maker
Cezve – the Turkish coffee maker
What is cezve?
Cezve brewer description
Cezve, also called ibrik, is a small metal pot with a long handle. It’s a traditional Turkish coffee maker, a very simple and very efficient way to brew coffee at home.
How does cezve work?
The Turkish coffee maker uses the unfiltered immersion brewing method, where coffee grounds soak in hot water on the stove. Traditionally the metal pot is placed in the sand, but you can put it on the stove when you use it at home.
Advantages and disadvantages of cezve
Cezve’s main advantages are its simplicity and low cost. It also produces very strong, rich coffee. Apart from that, it’s very easy to add spices or sugar to the brew, which gives you a lot of flavor options, so you can prepare versatile coffee drinks.
The downside of ibrik is that the coffee is unfiltered, so there is some sediment in the cup. You also need to pay close attention to take the pot off the heat just at the right time.
If you want to learn how to use the Turkish coffee maker properly, check out this article:
Moka pot
What is moka pot?
Moka pot, also called Italian coffee maker or stovetop espresso maker, is a coffee maker in which steam under pressure of 2 – 3 bar goes through coffee grounds.
Moka pot description
The Italian coffee maker consists of 3 main parts:
- Bottom chamber for water
- Coffee basket
- Top chamber to collect the brew
The top chamber also has a handle, a metal filter and a rubber seal at the bottom.
How does the moka pot work?
To brew coffee with the moka pot we add water to the bottom chamber first. Then we add coffee grounds to the basket which we place on top of the bottom chamber. After that we screw the top chamber onto the bottom one. On the stove the hot water turns into steam, which creates pressure, causing the water to flow from the bottom chamber through the basket with coffee and the filter into the top compartment.
Advantages and disadvantages of the Italian stovetop coffee maker
The stovetop coffee pot delivers a very potent cup of coffee, similar to espresso. It’s also a quick and inexpensive way to brew espresso-like coffee.
The negative side of this type of coffee brewer is that it doesn’t produce crema. Another thing to bear in mind is that you need to clean it properly. You need to dismantle all the parts of the top chamber to clean it well. If you don’t maintain it properly, the residue of old coffee bits inside the moka pot will spoil the taste of your coffee.
Here you will find everything you need to know about brewing and maintenance of the moka pot:
Pour over coffee maker
What is a pour over coffee maker?
The pour over coffee maker is a manual drip coffee brewer. Other terms which can be used interchangeably for this type of coffee brewer are: drip coffee maker, filter coffee maker or dripper.
Pour over coffee maker description
There are many different versions of the pour over coffee brewer. It can be as simple as just a cone and paper filter placed directly on a cup. Other, more complex versions include drippers with a stand and special jars to collect the filtered coffee. An example of a drip coffee brewer is the Chemex.
Usually the pour over coffee maker consists of:
- Cone (plastic, ceramic, glass or metal)
- Paper filter (although there are metal, plastic or fabric versions as well)
- Jar or some sort of the bottom chamber to collect coffee
How do pour over coffee makers work?
A cone with a filter and coffee grounds in it is usually placed over a mug. During the brewing coffee grounds soak in hot water and the filtered coffee drips to the mug. The pour over coffee maker uses gravitation to sift hot water through ground coffee.
Advantages and disadvantages of the drip coffee maker
The filter coffee makers deliver a very aromatic, clean cup of coffee and bring out delightful flavors from the beans. However, the manual filter coffee brewing requires some skills and is considered a more advanced coffee making technique.
You will find more on the manual drip coffee brewing here:
AeroPress
What is AeroPress?
AeroPress is a coffee maker which uses an immersion brewing technique. It extracts coffee within a very short time, just a few seconds. It makes a consistent, strong, clean cup of coffee similar to espresso. This coffee maker can be used to make hot or cold brew.
AeroPress description
AeroPress has a construction similar to a syringe and it consists of:
- cylindrical chamber
- plunger
- airtight silicone seal
- thin round paper or metal filter
How does AeroPress work?
AeroPress forces hot water through coffee grounds and a paper filter by hand pressure.
How long do you leave AeroPress to brew?
Depending on how weak or strong you like your coffee, you can steep the coffee from 30 seconds up to 3 minutes before pressing it.
Advantages and disadvantages of the AeroPress
One of the biggest benefits AeroPress offers is a very short brewing time. Apart from that, thanks to its small size and lightweight it’s a convenient coffee maker for travelers. It’s also easy to clean, however you will need to clean all parts between the brews.
The downsides of the AeroPress are that coffee gets cold very quickly in it and you need to use quite a lot of force to press it.
Here you can find out more about AeroPress coffee brewing:
Vacuum pot
What is the vacuum coffee maker?
The vacuum coffee maker, also called siphon coffee maker, vac pot or just siphon is a beautifully designed immersion coffee brewer. It uses the changing pressure and gravity for the coffee extraction process.
Siphon coffee brewer description
A siphon coffee maker consists of:
- upper chamber
- lower chamber
- stem connecting the two chambers
- filter
How does the vacuum coffee maker work?
The siphon brewing method uses the properties of gasses expanding and contracting due to the temperature changes. First, water is heated in the lower chamber. The hot water turning into steam expands and creates pressure – this pushes it out to the upper chamber. The steam goes through the coffee grounds which are placed in the upper chamber. When the lower chamber empties and cools down, the brew returns to the lower chamber forced by gravity.
The vacuum pot coffee brewing is not the easiest coffee making method, but it’s very entertaining to watch.
Advantages and disadvantages of the siphon
The first and obvious highlight of the vacuum coffee brewer is its stunning design – it can become an attractive decorative piece in your kitchen. The siphon brewing is also very entertaining and puts smiles on the faces of those watching! Apart from that, it delivers a high quality, clean, consistent cup and extracts a wide range of flavors from coffee.
On the other hand, this coffee maker requires a lot of attention as you need to constantly monitor the heat, timing and remove the heat at the right time. The cleaning is also rather complicated and the glass chambers are easy to break.
Costa Rican Chorreador
What is Costa Rican Chorreador?
A chorreador is a simple drip coffee maker originating from Costa Rica. It uses a cotton cloth in which coffee is steeped and which filters the brew. It’s similar to the traditional paper filter brewing, only the paper filter is replaced with a cloth.
Chorreador description
The chorreador consists of two parts:
- wooden stand
- filter – a cotton pocket in a circular wire or wooden rim with a handle
The corridor’s construction is very simple: the filter cloth is placed on a wooden stand over a serving cup.
How does the chorreador coffee maker work?
In this coffee brewer coffee grounds are steeped in a cloth filter. The filter pocket is mounted on a wooden stand and the filtered brew drips directly into the serving cup. The brewing technique is similar to the standard pour over coffee.
Advantages and disadvantages of the chorreador
Apart from its simplicity and low cost, chorreador coffee maker uses a cloth filter which can be used many times. This makes it an eco-friendly alternative to paper filters. Moreover, cafe chorreado doesn’t have the papery taste which paper filters can give.
However, just like with the standard pour over coffee brewing, this manual coffee making technique requires attention to detail and knowledge on the right water temperature, extraction times etc.
Cold brew coffee maker
What is a cold brew coffee maker?
A cold brew coffee maker is a glass or metal jar with a lid and a cylindrical steeping basket inside. It’s one of the most simple manual coffee brewers.
How does cold brew coffee maker work?
Cold brew coffee is made by soaking the coffee grounds in cold water for 12 to 24 hours. It doesn’t use any heat for brewing, coffee is simply left to soak in water. (However, there is a cold brew version called hot bloom where coffee grounds are steeped in hot water for a short time at the very beginning of the brewing).
Advantages and disadvantages of the cold brew coffee maker
The downside of the cold brew coffee maker is that the extraction time is extremely long, basically you need to plan and set your brew the day before. It also uses more coffee than hot brewing methods.
However, there are some great upsides to this coffee maker. One of them is that it doesn’t consume any energy. It’s also an easy to use hands-off brewer (you simply pour over water onto coffee and leave it) and it’s just perfect for hot summer days. I simply love the feeling of waking up in the morning knowing that a delicious coffee is already waiting for me! Another benefit of preparing coffee this way is the delicate, rich flavor it delivers. Also, cold brew coffee is milder for the stomach and may be drunk by people with stomach issues.
You will find more about cold coffee brewing here:
Phin filter – Vietnamese coffee maker
What is a Vietnamese coffee maker?
The Vietnamese coffee maker, also called phin, is a type of drip coffee brewer. It is placed directly on a serving cup and produces a single cup of coffee at a time.
Vietnamese coffee dripper description
The Vietnamese coffee brewer consists of four metal parts:
- body – the brewing chamber
- round perforated plate
- perforated press disk
- lid
How does phin coffee maker work?
In the phin coffee maker the coffee grounds are compressed by the press disk during the brewing. First, some hot water is added to soak the coffee for about 5 minutes. After that the brewing chamber is filled up with more hot water which sifts through the coffee and the filter directly to the cup.
Advantages and disadvantages of Vietnamese filter
Phin filter is small, portable and easy to clean and easy to use. Its disadvantage may be the long brewing time (7 – 8 minutes).
Check out this article for phin maker instructions:
Summary
Above we’ve explained the most popular manual coffee brewers. We hope this gives you inspiration to explore different manual brewing techniques, whether you are a beginner barista or a more advanced one but want to try out new methods. It’s certainly worth having at hand various coffee brewers and using different ones depending on the coffee beans to make the most of them or the personal preferences of people you are making coffee for!
What’s your favorite coffee maker and why? Share in the comments!