I bounce around a lot between auto drip (Bonavita BV1800 ftw), Aeropress, French press, Melitta cone, Hario V60, Chemex, and Abid's Clever Coffee Dripper - If I could only have one (pray the day never comes) I would grab the French press. This is not an easy decision though since each of the prep methods on my list has a special place in my heart.

If you like, why not share about your favorite brewing method?

Eric,

For me it is the Coava (Able) disc Aeropress that I always go back to. It is the device that first turned me from liking coffee to being obsessed with coffee. When I am in a rush, or need to make a quick brew to taste the brewed taste of a new espresso bean, it is the device I can pull out to use and make a consistent cup quickly, the easy cleanup is a bonus. Since adding the metal Able filter to the Aeropress it really has opened up the flavors I get from the brews, it is like an easy to clean french press, with a cleaner cup of coffee.

If I want to really take my time, and fuss about, the best tasting brews I get are from the Hario Syphon, but it is a full production to get a cup out of it.

Jeremy

Clever dripper for me: IMO, it has best the properties of French Press -- steeping rather than percolation, and of drip coffee -- a filtered, clarified brew.

As far as repetition and ease of use, it's got to be the Clever Dripper. I've bought four, one to replace my main one I had originally at work, that I've used for two years, the other two are kept at family's houses.

Ok, this is hard.

• Cupping — simple prep that can be made anywhere, good desert island method
• Ibrik/Cezve — rare pleasure when you want to take the time to enjoy a strong cup
• Aeropress/Disk — flexible brew parameters, great for travel, good for 1-2 cups, lets through oils
• Clever Coffee Dripper — a great way to brew 2 clean cups of coffee, almost foolproof, but little oil
• Chemex/Kone — Works great for four to six cups with body and oils, but can be challenging
• Siphon — Favorite weekend prep, clean cup, good temp and agitation, fun, but more work to clean
• Auto Drip — Great for quantity once dialed in, not fun, but fast and efficient for morning prep

So, if you forced me to only have one brew method besides espresso, I'd go with... the Chemex. It's probably the most flexible in terms of batch size, gives a great cup, and also makes it easy to make iced coffee too.

another_jim wrote:Clever dripper for me: IMO, it has best the properties of French Press -- steeping rather than percolation, and of drip coffee -- a filtered, clarified brew.

That's why I like the inverted method with an Aeropress and Able DISK. Only drawback for me is its one serving output. For two people I'd probably move to a Clever.

Bak Ta Lo wrote:Eric,

For me it is the Coava (Able) disc Aeropress that I always go back to. It is the device that first turned me from liking coffee to being obsessed with coffee.

Pretty much the same thing here. My path went like this (I still have not owned a siphon):

crappy drip machine
French press (plastic Melitta for camping)
Aeropress (standard usage with paper filters)
Presso
espresso, cupping, ibrik, cloth-filtered woodneck, Kalita wave

And now:
espresso, inverted Aeropress with DISK, cupping

Thats a tough one.

French Press-using the method where you scoop off the grounds before plunging

Syphon- Tabletop Yama-5 gets a lot of use

Pour-Over- Hario V60

Clever Dripper- Really makes a great cup. So simple, yet so delicious.

I use the V60 far more than the others, but I use all of them, and generally I find they are well suited to certain types of coffees, but with that said, they all put out a good cup.



I guess I would say the only brewer I have that I dont really enjoy much is the Aeropress. I just see no reason to use it instead of one of the above mentioned methods. But on the few times I have used, I use the inverted method and make a slightly stronger than intended cup, and then add some hot water to fill up the cup to the top.



I forgot Autodrip. Dont use it myself, but if im at a cafe and thats all they have, Ill go for it. But if they do pourover also, or French press, Ill elect for that. I dont have a problem with auto drip, I just dont find myself drinking it very often.

French press

French press for sure. Idiot proof, easy, little to no prep, awesome cup.