A Beginner's Guide to Immersion Coffee Brewing

Clever Dripper

Design

The Clever Dripper is a hybrid brewer of sorts. At first look, it seems like just another pour-over dripper with a filter. But the Clever actually uses a stopper to keep coffee and water together until ready to be released into the server or mug. Because of this dwell time we consider the Clever to be a full-immersion brewer. The Clever is a very affordable option for manual brewing, and is made completely of BPA-free plastic, excellent for travel.

Grind

One thing we appreciate about the Clever is that it is perhaps the least dependent on grind of any of our current brewing options. If you don’t have the funds to invest in a good burr grinder, you can get good cups from the Clever with your current blade grinder. For the best cups, we do recommend a burr grinder, and we typically like a coarser setting, around a 25-35 on a Maestro Plus.

Technique

We like the Melitta #4 filters for use with the Clever. Give them a thorough rinsing of near-boiling water, and then decant that water to warm and rinse your server or mug. Place your Clever on a flat surface. After grinding your coffee, dump the coffee into the Clever. With water between 200-205 degrees, go ahead and evenly distribute your water over the bed of coffee to the desired volume. We like pouring on a scale, but you can pre-weigh the water as well. We like finishing our pour by hitting all the walls, so that the coffee is more level when you are ready for draw-down. Some folks like to stir; this is fine to do or not. Just remember, stirring = agitation, and agitation = extraction, so the more stirring, the shorter the brew time. Place the lid on to help retain heat, and at the 3:30 mark place the Clever on top of your server. Both the Hario and Kalita servers will work with the Clever. Draw-down should take about 30 seconds, for a total of four minutes all together. Dump the grounds and filter, rinse your Clever with hot water, and enjoy your brew!

Advantage

The Clever method is just so dang easy. It combines both worlds of pour-over and immersion brewing to produce a clean yet well extracted cup consistently, yet in an accessible and affordable manner. If you are just starting out with manual brewing we recommend the Clever as a great start. This method takes little experience in manual brewing and you can produce great cups from the start. Cleanup is easy and it’s great for travel.

Any coffee is well-suited for the Clever. For recommended brewing parameters, check out our Clever dripper listing.

French Press

Design

The French Press is a classic and probably the most widely recognizable brewing device available. It typically features a glass beaker with a handle, and a metal plunger to separate the grounds from the water.

Grind

You want a coarse grind for the French Press, and to get a clean and consistent cup we recommend a burr grinder. A setting of 30 and above on the Maestro Plus is a good range for the press.

Technique

A pouring kettle is not required for the french press; any hot water kettle will do. We recommend pouring near-boiling water in first to pre-heat the press. Grind your coffee. Dump the water, and throw your coarsely ground coffee into the beaker. With water around 195-205 degrees, dependent upon the roast level and processing of your coffee, pour about half of your volume. Allow the coffee to bloom for a few seconds, give it a stir, and then pour the rest of your water. Put the plunger on and press just far enough to fully submerge all the grounds under the water. After about 3:45-4:00 minutes, press slowly, and then decant into either a server or mug(s). Enjoy!

Advantage

The press provides a full-bodied cup and allows more oils in than other filter mediums. Particular coffees shine well with this style of cup character, and some folks just enjoy a french press style cup more than any other brewing method. To keep your press tasting great, we recommend fully taking apart the press and filter and scrubbing all the parts fully with detergent, immediately after brewing. Neglecting to do so will cause your brews to be very tainted, and no one wants that.

Darker roasts typically do better in a french press than in other brewers. Try a coffee from Sumatra, Mexico or Brazil. For recommended brewing parameters, check out any of our Bodum French Press listings.

Aeropress

Design

The Aeropress is a very unconventional coffee brewing design. Designed by a flying disc manufacturer, there was probably little expectation that the Aeropress would make for a good brewing option. Well, as hard as it was to believe until trying it, the Aeropress is able to make a great cup of coffee. The Aeropress is made completely of BPA-free plastics and is virtually unbreakable, making it ideal for travel. The design seems to be inspired by the french press, using a plunge movement to push the brewed coffee from the grounds through a paper filter.

Grind

It’s hard to give just one grind setting recommendation for the Aeropress. It is a very versatile brewing device, and some folks have even experimented with brewing with an inverted method. We’ve had great results with all different grind settings. If you go with a medium grind, you may want to shoot for a 2 minute dwell and about a 30 second press. If you are wanting to play around with a finer grind setting, you might want to shoot for a 45 second to 1:30 minute brew time. All of this is dependent upon your method, of course. For starters, we’ll recommend between a 15-20 on the Maestro Plus, but don’t feel you need to limit yourself to that range!

Technique

We’ll provide you with a couple of different methods. The first is the inverted method. For this method, turn the Aeropress upside down, and insert the plunger just enough to seal the bottom. BE VERY CAREFUL! This can be a tricky method to master, and the possibility of spilling near boiling water is very high. Dump medium-ground coffee into the chamber. Next, pour water at around 200 degrees until your desired volume is reached. Stir once or twice during the brewing, for about 1:45-2:00 minutes. Screw the filter on, and press just a bit until you get some of the blond crema-like coffee appearing on top. CAREFULLY turn everything over and place onto your mug or server, and press down slowly, for about 30 seconds. You should have a great cup of coffee if done correctly.

Another method is geared for you espresso lovers out there. Now, although some claim that the Aeropress makes espresso, technically this is not so. But, we've found that you can produce a cup with the Aeropress that carries some attributes of espresso, and for whatever you want to call it, we think it can be a delicious cup of coffee. Set the grinder to a setting several steps finer than medium, basically a fine grind setting. Use the traditional upright method. Place your Aeropress on top of a mug with the filter in place, dump your coffee, and then pour your water at a temperature between 190-205 degrees, depending on the coffee. Give it a thorough stir, and at 30-45 second mark, begin to press in a steady and controlled motion. You should have a cup with a more syrupy body more intense flavors. Play around with parameters to taste. Pop the spent grounds out, give the Aeropress a quick wash, and enjoy!

Advantage

The Aeropress is compact, easy, unbreakable, and versatile. Along with being able to experiment with different brewing parameters, you can also play around with different filters. The Aeropress comes with paper filters, which work great. If you want a bit more nuanced and full-bodied cup, the folks at Able Brewing created the Disk, a stainless steel filter to be used with the Aeropress. It’s reusable and will last for a long, long time. We like both filter options.

We really enjoy the Aeropress with complex coffees where our goal is to use pressure-brewing to highlight some of the more subtle notes. We also enjoy bright coffees with the Aeropress, as the quick brew time can accentuate those characteristics in the coffee as well. Try the Aeropress with coffees from Kenya, Ethiopia, Panama, Costa Rica, and Papua New Guinea. Check out our Aeropress listing for recommended brewing parameters. .

Siphon

Design

The Siphon (or vacpot) is the most visually captivating of all brew methods. The Siphon’s design is, however, driven by its function. As a vacuum brewer, the two primary components are separate glass chambers. The top chamber includes a siphon tube that is inserted into the bottom glass globe. This allows the water to escape into the top chamber once it is pushed up by the evaporated water vapor pressure. The Siphon brewer also includes a stand for the table-top models and the filter assembly which uses cloth filters.

Grind

The Siphon, like the Aeropress, can take a number of different grinds depending on the brew variables. Generally speaking, we recommend a grind that is finer than drip, within the range of 15-25 on the Maestro Plus.

Technique

Pre-boil your water before pouring it into the bottom glass globe. This will save you some alcohol or butane (depending on which burner you’re using). Apply the heat source and then insert and push down on the top chamber to make sure it’s a snug fit. When the water begins to start making its way into the top chamber, turn down the burner (if you’re using a butane burner). Use your stir stick to push around the edges of the cloth filter and try as best you can to minimize any large water bubbles (turning the burner down more can help as well). If you have a thermometer it is good to keep track of your temperature, if not, a good stir on the 3-cup tabletop and 5-cup stovetop should bring the temperature down within brewing range. The 5-cup tabletop and 8-cup stovetop should be ready to go by the time you’ve adjusted the heat and made sure there are no air bubbles. Now grind your coffee (for those with a hand grinder, grind before) and then dump it into the top while starting a timer. Stir the coffee in a zig-zag fashion until all the grounds are immersed. Stir the coffee again after thirty seconds. Once the timer has hit a minute, remove the heat source and give it one final stir. After the draw-down, your total brew time should be close to 2 minutes. For this brew method we recommend within the 18-20 grind range on the Maestro Plus.

Advantage

The Siphon is the dream brewing method for those that want total control of their brewing parameters. The water temperature remains constant due to the applied heat source, the coffee is fully immersed, and the person brewing can easily control brew time and agitation. All of these controlled factors have caused many to call the Siphon the best manual brewing method available. The siphon uses a cloth filter, which creates a super-clean cup of coffee. Also, it looks awesome.

The Siphon makes pretty much any coffee taste great, but we really love overly-floral coffees on the Siphon as well as natural-processed coffees. Try coffees from Panama, El Salvador, Colombia, and Ethiopia. For our Siphon Brewing Guide, see our Yama Siphon brewer listings.

Cafe Solo

Design

The Solo features an hourglass design, and a stylin’ neoprene jacket to aid in heat retention and protection of the glass, and your hand. The Solo features a stainless and mesh filter that does its work during the pour.

Grind

Like the press, we recommend a very coarse grind setting; anything in the 30+ range on a Maestro Plus.

Technique

We recommend that you pre-heat the Solo with near boiling water while you are prepping. After dumping the water, throw your coarsely ground coffee into the Solo. Next, pour the desired water volume per your parameters. The coffee should begin to bloom. After about 30 seconds, give the coffee a few stirs and put the top on. This is optional, but at the two-minute mark we sometimes like to swirl the Solo a couple of times to agitate the brew. At four minutes, slowly decant the Solo into a server. We recommend only pouring in one controlled motion, so as to not cause any more agitation and for a cleaner cup. You can now serve it up into mugs and enjoy!

Advantage

We really like the Solo, with the only negative being its relatively high price point. The theory of the Solo is the same as the press, but the Solo seems to produce a slightly cleaner cup, aid in heat retention, and provides an easier cleanup (no parts to unscrew!). The Solo is a beautiful brewer, and provides a great presentation for a shop or home.

Many coffees will do well in a Solo. We especially like the fullness that the Solo brings out of natural-processed coffees. Try the Solo with NP coffees from Panama, El Salvador, and Ethiopia. For some recommended brewing parameters, check out our Cafe Solo listings.