How to get a great cup of coffee without walking into a coffee shop.
Each year, nearly 3 billion Starbucks disposable coffee cups end up in the landfill. While it’s easy to make Starbucks the bad guy, America’s preoccupation with take-out coffee extends beyond the Seattle-based chain. Nearly a quarter of all coffee drinkers in the U.S. drink coffee outside the comfort of their own homes, according to the latest report from the National Coffee Association.
But there are at-home alternatives beyond your standard, boring Mr. Coffee drip machine. The need for caffeine spans cultures and continents, resulting in hundreds of coffee making techniques from around the world. Here are seven of them.
Next time your caffeine craving hits, brew your Fair Trade beans en casa á la…
Moka Pot (macchinetta del caffè)
These simple stove top devices brew a grade of joe comparable to that of professional espresso machines. No wonder the Italians love it.
Vietnamese Coffee
The process is easy: load filter with coffee, place on top of coffee cup, pour hot water. Traditionally served with condensed milk and sugar.
Kyoto slow-drip coffee
It takes hours to produce a single serving, but coffee connoisseurs go nuts for it.
Vacpot
Also called a siphon coffee maker, these devices went out of vogue after World War II but resurfaced in the coffee-crazed late-90s in San Francisco.
Turkish Coffee
Though Americans know it as Turkish, the process of boiling coffee grounds in a small pot is popular across the Middle East and Northern Africa.
French Press
While it’s popularly known as a French Press, the cafetière is actually an Italian invention, patented by Milanese designer Attilio Calimani in 1929.
South Indian Coffee
The secret to this coffees milky flavor is a 70-30 blend of dark roasted coffee beans and chicory, an herb that allows the water to extract more flavor from the beans. Serve with boiling milk and sugar.
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