About Coffee
Before we discuss the different ways of making coffee, let's look at a few facts. First, coffee is one of the most popular beverages around the world. In 2019, the last year for which data is available, 170-million bags of coffee were produced. Considering that each bag contains a little over 130 pounds of coffee, that's a lot of coffee. South America had about 60% of this world total, with nearly 40% of the total produced in Brazil.
The United States is the top importer of coffee. The US imports $5.8 billion worth of coffee every year. The second leading importer of coffee is Germany, at just over $3 billion, more than the US on a per-capita basis.
Coffee comes from beans harvested from trees that typically grow and produce the best in tropical climates, like Brazil, Columbia, Africa, and Indonesia. The majority of coffee comes from two different beans; arabica and robusta beans. About 60% of the beans are currently arabica, but robusta bean production has been steadily increasing over the last decade. The main difference between the two beans is that the Arabica beans tend to have a smoother and sweeter taste. Robusta beans have a much more robust and possibly bitter taste. Arabica bean coffee tends to be a little more expensive, so if you look in the supermarket, make sure that you look specifically for coffee made from Arabica beans.
Coffee in all its forms
Making Coffee
The site Stavera indicates that less than half of all coffee in the US is made by a drip-style coffee maker. Instead, nearly 30% of coffee is made in a single-cup coffee maker. The rest of the coffee is prepared using other methods, including Espresso, French-Press, Chemex, and instant coffee.
My household is a typical one in that we have several ways of making coffee, based on both taste and time. With so much coffee made using drip coffee makers, it's surprising that we don't currently use one, although we have one.
How Do You Make Your Coffee?
Drip coffee makers are the most popular ones in the United States. With hundreds of brands and models available, it's tough to determine which is the best. We've done that research for you. Read more
Best French Press Coffee Maker
This is my preferred method for making coffee. Once you perfect the coffee-to-water ratio, you'll love the robust flavor created by this method. Only about 5% of us have a french press, but these are our choices. Coming Soon
With the launch of the first Keurig in 1998, the home-based single-serve coffee revolution began. The popularity of the K-cup spawned most manufacturers to create their own. These are our favorites. Read more
Best Chemex Coffee Maker
The Chemex coffee maker was invented in 1941 and features a pour-over method of making coffee. This is a fairly simple method of making coffee in small batches. Here are our favorites. Coming Soon!
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What You Need To Know About Your Coffee
In this section we will be featuring tips on how to store your coffee, how to brew the best coffee, according to baristas around the world as well as science and most importantly, how to buy coffee.
