We've spent hours testing coffee makers, espresso machines, grinders and bean subscriptions to find the best in class, all while rounding up pro-level tips for making great coffee. But until now, we've only danced around a big question: What's the best method to make coffee at home?
To get an answer, I went straight to the source: 10 coffee experts, including roasters, cafe owners, educators, barista champions, and a former president of the Specialty Coffee Association. I asked them to rank seven of the most common brewing methods for black coffee.
The contenders (listed alphabetically): AeroPress, automatic drip machine, espresso, French press, K-Cup, moka pot and pour-over.
A quick note: If you're looking for a cappuccino, latte or any other milk-based drink, that's a different conversation with more limited options. This ranking focuses on the purest, most satisfying expression of the roasted coffee bean itself.
One method to rule them all: pour-over
The pour-over method received near-unanimous top ranks from the coffee experts I grilled. skaman306/Getty
While it wasn't completely unanimous, pour-over was the clear winner for the overall average ranking. The good news is, pour-over is among the least expensive coffee brewing methods available, requiring little more than a handheld kettle or other device for pouring coffee and a funnel dripper outfitted with a conical filter that sits on top of the cup or carafe to catch the coffee. (You can certainly spend more money for a serious pour-over kit.) On the other hand, well-executed pour-over coffee can be fussy and isn't a set-it-and-forget-it kind of method.
Naturally, pour-over is the kind of thing that true coffee aficionados will happily subscribe to, involving precise elements of timing and temperature, not to mention the patience required to oversee the brew in progress. This can be complicated, however, for those who need to be caffeinated first in order to care about such details.
Read more: Want Pour-Over Coffee Without the Fuss? This $65 Machine Does the Hard Work for You
Another consistent method highly ranked by coffee pros: AeroPress
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