Four ways to brew filter coffee at home
The same bean tastes different depending on how you brew it. Simple recipes for V60, Chemex, AeroPress and French press.
The same bean can taste different depending on how you brew it. At the bar we brew the Rancho Bravo coffee four ways, and each one tells you something different about it. There is no right one. There is the one you like best today.
Here is a short guide to each method, with a simple recipe to try at home. First, three things that apply to all of them.
The basics, whatever the method
- Weigh your coffee and water. A kitchen scale changes the cup more than any new brewer. As a starting point, use one part coffee to fifteen or sixteen parts water: 15 g of coffee for 240 g of water, for example.
- Grind right before brewing. Ground coffee loses its aroma within minutes. If you buy it pre-ground, keep the bag sealed and away from heat.
- Mind the water. If you wouldn’t drink it on its own, don’t brew with it. Filtered or bottled, just off the boil, left to rest for about thirty seconds before pouring.
If the cup tastes bitter or harsh, grind a little coarser. If it tastes thin or sour, a little finer. That fixes almost everything.
V60
A cone with spiral ribs and a thin paper filter. Water flows through quickly and leaves a clean, bright cup where the most delicate notes come through, the floral and the fruity. It is the method for really getting to know a coffee.
Home recipe
- Coffee
- 15 g
- Water
- 250 g
- Temperature
- 93 °C
- Time
- 2:45
Medium fine grind, like table salt. Rinse the filter with hot water and discard it. Wet the coffee with 40 g of water and wait 30 seconds while it releases its gas. Then pour in slow circles, from the center outward, until you reach 250 g. Lovely with the light medium roast.
Chemex
Glass, with a wooden collar and a thicker paper filter. Water moves more slowly and the result is even cleaner and softer, almost transparent. Ideal for brewing several cups to share.
Home recipe
- Coffee
- 30 g
- Water
- 500 g
- Temperature
- 94 °C
- Time
- 4:30
Medium coarse grind. Rinse the filter well, with the three-layer side toward the spout. Wet the coffee with 60 g of water, wait 45 seconds and pour the rest in stages, without letting the level drop all the way in between.
AeroPress
A cylinder and a plunger. It combines immersion with a little pressure and makes a more intense, fuller cup than paper filters. It is quick, nearly unbreakable and fits in any suitcase, which is why so many travelers carry one. If you are hopping between islands, it is a very practical way to have good coffee on the road.
Home recipe
- Coffee
- 15 g
- Water
- 220 g
- Temperature
- 90 °C
- Time
- 2:00
Medium fine grind. Pour in all the water, stir for 10 seconds, set the plunger on top without pressing so it doesn’t drip, and wait until a minute and a half. Press slowly for about 30 seconds. If it is too strong, top it up with a little hot water.
French press
The coffee steeps in the water and a metal filter separates it at the end. With no paper, the bean’s natural oils come through and the cup is round, textured and full-bodied. It is the easiest of the four and forgives almost any mistake. Lovely with the medium dark roast.
Home recipe
- Coffee
- 30 g
- Water
- 450 g
- Temperature
- 94 °C
- Time
- 4:00
Coarse grind, like sea salt. Pour in the water, wait four minutes, break the crust with a spoon and skim off the foam. Press the filter down slowly and pour right away, so the coffee doesn’t keep extracting in the pot.
Which one?
- If you like light, aromatic coffee: V60 or Chemex.
- If you want something intense, or you travel: AeroPress.
- If you are after body and texture, without fuss: French press.
Our farm’s coffee comes in two roasts under Blue Iguana Coffee, whole bean or ground, and both work well with every method here. If you want to know where it comes from and why it tastes the way it does, read about Galápagos coffee.
And if you can’t decide, ask at the bar. We will help you choose based on what you enjoy.
If you are in Puerto Ayora, the farm’s coffee is waiting on Avenida Charles Darwin.
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