If you’re like a large majority of the population, you probably start your day with a cup of coffee. If you’re looking to make this morning brew at home, here are 11 different ways you can get your daily cuppa with methods ranging from instant products to a whole coffee set-up!
Needless to say, these methods vary greatly in price, quality and convenience. We’ll rate each one so you can choose the perfect brew method for your morning routine!
Instant Coffee
Instant coffee is a staple to some and a sin to others. There are various types, from freeze-dried coffee granules that make plain black coffee to sachet premixes that produce a finished drink once mixed with hot water.
Freeze-dried coffee granules, even if you purchase premium ones, just can’t compare to freshly-brewed coffee. It’s missing a lot of the fragrant aroma of freshly-brewed coffee and usually only has the worst flavours left—freeze-dried coffees are almost always bitter, sour and just don’t taste right.
Of course, nothing can get simpler than putting a spoonful of this into a cup of hot water and calling it a day, but sachet premixes are just as simple, so maybe you can consider that instead.
Freeze-dried coffee granules
Price: 5/5
Quality: 0/5
Convenience: 5/5
Sachet premixes are pretty similar in preparation to freeze-dried coffee granules—just pour a packet into a cup of hot water and stir! Thanks to the various added flavours and ingredients, they often taste better too. You can get sachet premixes for almost any type of coffee too—kopi, regular lattes and flavoured lattes—you name it, they have it!
However, as everything is premixed, there’s little customisation you can do if the coffee doesn’t fit your taste. Additionally, although it tastes worlds better than freeze-dried coffee granules, many premixes still have a certain taste to them that just isn’t like freshly brewed coffee.
The additives also mean that this isn’t too good for your health, so you may want to think twice about adding this to your daily routine!
Sachet Premixes
Price: 4/5
Quality: 2/5
Convenience: 5/5
Coffee Bags
These coffee bags have fresh coffee grounds in a convenient little pouch, in a concept similar to tea bags. Since you’re essentially brewing fresh coffee with this, it’s pretty fragrant and tastes like coffee you’d get at a store! You can also get varieties with sugar or without and even gao (concentrated) versions, so there should be a product that suits your taste. However, as you have to wait awhile for the coffee to brew, it isn’t as fast as instant coffee.
Coffee Bags
Price: 4/5
Quality: 4/5
Convenience: 4/5
Cold Brew Coffee
The cold brew coffee trend blew up in popularity not too long ago, and it’s easy to see why! All you have to do is simply place some coffee grounds into cold water and leave it in the fridge overnight—a pretty simple process. However, you do have to prepare in advance if you want to drink a cup in the morning!
Thanks to the long-and-cold extraction process, cold brew coffee also manages to avoid the bitterness and acidity that’s often extracted from regularly-brewed coffee using hot water (however, properly-executed hot coffee extraction avoids this too). However, you need to make it properly and use enough coffee grounds or you’ll end up with a weak, watery brew.
Cold Brew Coffee
Price: 4/5
Quality: 2/5 to 4/5, depending on skill
Convenience: 3/5
French Press
Coffee made with a french press creates a bold, full-bodied cuppa thanks to the coffee grounds staying in contact with the coffee. However, with all the different parts and complex metal bits, it can be a little inconvenient to clean this contraption every morning.
French Press
Price: 4/5
Quality: 3/4 to 4/5, depending on skill
Convenience: 2/5
Pour-Over Coffee
This is a brewing method loved by many coffee enthusiasts as the pour-over method allows you to control the taste, texture, temperature and strength of the brew. However, it takes a significant amount of skill to make good pour-over coffee, and it’s very time-consuming. Thus, if you’re not very picky with your coffee, pour-over coffee may not be the best method for you.
Pour-Over Coffee
Price: 3/5
Quality: 2/5 to 5/5, depending on skill
Convenience: 2/5
Moka Pot
Moka pots produce a very rich, intense coffee that’s probably as similar to espresso as you can get without having an espresso machine. It’s a stove-top coffee maker (though there are some electric versions) that passes boiling water pressurised by steam through coffee grounds. It’s easy to use and produces great results, taking not much longer than brewing a coffee bag!
Moka Pot
Price: 3/5
Quality: 4/5
Convenience: 3/5
AeroPress Coffee Maker
The AeroPress is a cool new contraption that took the coffee community by storm not long ago—some love it, some hate it. You put water and coffee grounds into the chamber and push the plunger, and this pressurises and pushes the water through the coffee grounds, mimicking the way espresso is made.
Some say it’s a little tough to get the hang of, but once you do the general consensus is that it produces a pretty decent cup of coffee (though some coffee enthusiasts vehemently disagree). It’s definitely not a cup of espresso, but it’s supposed to be pretty good!
AeroPress Coffee Maker
Price: 3/5
Quality: 4/5
Convenience: 3/5
Nespresso Machine
The Nespresso machine was made to resemble espresso machines, with a convenience suited for the home and office. All you need to do is drop a Nespresso pod (which is filled with coffee grounds, not any instant granules) and press a button to get a shot of coffee!
Although it doesn’t make a real cup of espresso, it produces some pretty good results (though again, some coffee enthusiasts would disagree). Nespresso is one of the most well-known and premium capsule-based coffee machines on the market, and is sure to add a hint of class to your home!
Nespresso Machine
Price: 2/5
Quality: 4/5
Convenience: 5/5
Nescafe Dolce Gusto Machine
The Nescafe Dolce Gusto is an affordable capsule-based coffee machine. Not only can it push out coffee, there are also milk pods you can use to create lattes straight from the machine! There are also variations of pods that let you make Milo, hot chocolate and tea with the Dolce Gusto machine.
However, you get what you pay for—the quality of coffee from this machine isn’t as good as a Nespresso machine or other brewing methods. It’s regarded by some as gimmicky, as the quality of drinks it produces is similar to premix drinks.
Nescafe Dolce Gusto Machine
Price: 3/5
Quality: 2/5
Convenience: 5/5
Drip Coffee Machines
Drip coffee machines are popular in America, but not as much in Singapore. You just put in coffee grounds and water, then turn it on and wait for your pot of coffee!
However, drip coffee machines are pretty well-known for not making good coffee thanks to the way it’s designed. The water temperature and flow when brewing usually aren’t the best, and the hotplate underneath can burn the coffee. Additionally, coffee loses its aroma when kept hot for extended periods of time. Though there are high-end machines that can make decent drip coffee, at that price, you’re probably better off getting another type of coffee-making machine.
Drip Coffee Machines
Price: 2/5
Quality: 2/5
Convenience: 4/5
Espresso Machine
Espresso machines are probably what you think of when you think of a coffee machine. Espresso machines make great coffee that can satisfy even the most critical coffee enthusiast, but they’re definitely much more expensive than the other options on the list. What’s more, it takes skill to make coffee properly with an espresso machine—even if you have the best machine out there, you won’t be able to produce good coffee if you don’t know how!
Unless you’re a great coffee enthusiast, you probably shouldn’t get this machine unless you have lots of money (and skill) to keep one in your home.
Espresso Machine
Price: 1/5
Quality: 3/5 to 5/5, depending on skill
Convenience: 2/5
We hope that this list helps you decide what coffee maker or product to stock in your home!
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