All my life, memories of coffee have stitched themselves gracefully through early mornings, long days, important events, fun gatherings and quiet times.  I remember being a young child standing chin high to the counter, looking up watching coffee percolate in the pot.  That sound of coffee in a percolator has a distinctly interesting sound…something akin to Darth Vader breathing in and out! My mother’s silver coffee pot sat on the counter, plugged in, and coffee would appear and disappear in the little glass knob on top of the percolator.

Eventually, the percolator disappeared from the counter and was replaced with a wholly different contraption. It was an automatic-drip coffee maker made by Mr. Coffee.  Dry ground went into a paper lined basket. She pushed a button and moment later a delicious smelling stream trickled from a hole in the bottom of the basked and collected steadily in the bottom of a glass pot. Watching the coffee fill the pot became a simple way of marking time as the coffee reached each little white cup line. After several minutes, the pot would be full and my mother would arrive to pour a steaming cup of the dark liquid into a mug.  Even today, my mother uses an auto-drip coffee maker every morning.

My coffee tastes and knowledge regarding ways of making coffee continued to grow over the decades. I still recall my first, delicious cup of espresso.  Erin, my beautiful friend from Germany, made it for me in a stovetop espresso pot. She took such pride and care making her coffee.  Grinding the beans by hand.  Brewing the coffee and even warming the milk and frothing it by hand.  That first cup was so wonderfully delicious I begged her for another!  Erin indulged me with more cups along with a concerned warning about how I should not drink too much the first time.  I laughed off such a nonsensical warning and relegated it to her being overconcerned!  Needless to say, I should have listened.  A couple hours later I was lying on my couch with my heart racing and feeling quite jittery and excited from the caffeine intake!

After that, I did heed Erin's warnings, but I was hooked and wanted more espresso.  It was not long before I purchased my own stovetop espresso pot and began making espressos at home based on her tutelage.

It was several more years before I found yet another way to make coffee.  At a little café in a small country town in Germany, I had my first pot of French press.  I was completely charmed by the process happening at a table next to me. A carafe of hot water had coffee grounds floating around in it.  What in the world?! After a few moments, I watched the gentleman push a plunger down, trapping the grounds on the bottom of the glass. Then he poured a cup for him and his lady companion.  Of course I had to try this "French press" coffee.

Through the years, many different ways to brew coffee have been collected in my recipe book.  Below are some of the different brewing methods (also known as coffee extraction methods).  Each extraction method makes the coffee taste a little different. It’s amazing that the exact same coffee can taste so different depending on which method was used to brew it.

Coffee Brewing Methods:

• Percolating
• Pour Over
• Siphon / Vacuum Brewing
• Espresso
• Turkish Coffee
• Automatic Drip Coffee
• Stovetop / Moka Pot
• French Press
• Aeropress
• Cold Brew
• Single Serve / Keurig

What am I drinking lately?

I have been drinking this beautifully flavored, specialty coffee from Nicaragua. I loved it so much that I opened this company to share it with you!

Image credit: Books and Unusuals. http://booksandunusuals.com/going-going-gone/archives/universal-coffeematic-no.-b4448-coffee-percolator-vintage