Guide to Gourmet Coffee Maker

If you are a coffee connoisseur, you have probably invested some time and thought into the type of coffee you prefer (light, medium body, heavy), and you are probably familiar with all the different types of coffee makers available to you. But what exactly distinguishes gourmet coffee makers from the rest of the pack? And more importantly, do you need to invest in one to enjoy a truly good cup of coffee at home?

Types Of Coffee Makers

There are just as many ways to make coffee as there are flavors/types of coffee. The most standard home brewing method is with a traditional drip coffee maker, which consists of a basket for you to place a filter and grounds, and a reservoir for you to add water. The water is heated and filters over the grounds into your pot.

While coffee brewed in a traditional drip coffee maker is very popular, coffee aficionados would argue that filtered coffee loses a lot of flavor. If you are looking to experiment with less traditional, more gourmet, coffee makers you have a few options. The least expensive option is a French Press. These are typically smaller, only brewing a few cups of coffee, but the finished product is unfiltered coffee. If you like dark, rich coffee, this is your best bet. To use a French Press you simply pour your coffee grounds directly into the bottom of the press, and then pour hot water directly over the grounds. After a few minutes you gently press down a strainer to push the grounds to the bottom of the press, and you're ready to enjoy an incredible cup of coffee.

More expensive gourmet coffee makers include vacuum coffee pots, which infuse the coffee and hot water through a vacuum process, like the name suggests. Some people prefer this over a French Press because there is no sediment found in the finished coffee, but like a French Press the coffee is also unfiltered. The highest end gourmet coffee makers are espresso machines, like the ones you see in cafes. The actual process of brewing the coffee is similar to a drip maker, except that you are tamping the grounds into a basket for the water to flow through, and no filter is involved. You can control the pressure of the water that flows over the grounds, which produces different tastes.

Whether or not you need a gourmet coffee maker to make a truly good cup of coffee depends on your taste. Ultimately the quality of the coffee depends on the beans themselves, but different coffee makers will produce different tastes even using the same beans. Experiment with gourmet coffee makers and see which one fits your taste the best.