Home Brewing - The Manual Drip Method - Melitta and Chemex

Chemex and Melitta are examples of the manual drip method. They are the very definition of a clean cup of coffee.  The coffee is placed in a cone shaped filter and the water is poured through the coffee grounds. The coffee slowly drips into your cup or container as it brews.

Melitta

Melitta Manual Drip Coffee Maker

There is a ongoing debate about paper vs. permanent filters. Permanent filters are more environmentally friendly because they are re-usable, but paper filters more effectively trap bitter sediments. The choice is yours, but I prefer paper filters because of the difference in taste. With the manual drip method you will notice a brighter, crisper, cleaner cup with a more pronounced acidity. It is truly delicious and if you want to taste the difference you will soon be able to get coffee brewed with a Chemex right in our cafe.


You can check out my other post How To Brew Good Coffee At Home for more information about grinding your coffee, temperature and water to coffee ratios. Your coffee grind is an important factor with the manual drip method. Coffee ground for drip coffeemakers should be much finer than what you would use for a French Press, since the water in the French Press is in direct contact with the coffee for a much longer period of time.

Chemex

Chemex Manual Drip Coffee Maker

To brew your coffee follow these simple steps:
1. Boil your water and let it sit while you prepare your coffee so that it can come back down to the proper brewing temperature.
2. Grind your coffee, measure it and place it inside the paper filter.
3. Place your paper cone filter in your drip coffee maker.
4. If you are using a Melitta you may need a container to brew into, place the Melitta on the container.
5. Saturate the coffee grounds with water.  You can use a chopstick to make sure there are no dry lumps in the coffee ground.
6. Pour the rest of the water in and let it drip!

The manual drip method is just as easy as the French Press and great for home brewing. The major difference is how much of the coffee grounds you want filtered out of the final cup. Sometimes I like to brew French Press in the morning and Melitta in the late afternoon. Melitta has a more tea-like body and consistency and is well suited to that pick-me-up later in the day. The French Press is more of a direct kick with a thick, more earthy body to it. Let us know, which do you like better?

- By Benjamin Zeman