When I started drinking coffee at 18, I thought it was all about a simple drip brew drowned in cream and sugar (okay, mostly sugar). I never really stopped to ask: What exactly is coffee? Where does it come from? What makes one brew different from another?

If you've ever walked into a coffee shop and asked for a 'regular coffee,' only to be met with questions like 'Drip? Latte? Americano? Espresso?'—you're not alone! Coffee can feel complicated, but it all boils down to three main brewing methods: infusion, immersion, and pressure. Let’s break them down so you can sip smarter.

Infusion

For infusion brewed coffee, we can think of regular drip coffee, a Chemex, Kalita Wave, or a V60 (not to be confused with a V8). An infusion brewed coffee is when the coffee grounds are steeped and submerged in hot water in order to extract flavor compounds of the coffee through a filter. Gravity operates as the extraction source as it pulls the water down through the coffee grounds and filters into a vessel.

Immersion

For immersion, you’re looking at brewing methods like a French Press, an AeroPress, Toddy (which is a cold brew version of immersion), and more. This brewing method is similar to infusion in that the coffee is also steeped and submerged in water, however the primary difference is that you—the brewer—get to control how long the water interacts with the coffee before the official extraction is done.

Pressure

Pressure brewed coffee is done by forcing hot water through coffee grounds at a high pressure. Some versions of pressure brewed coffee would be a Moka Pot, an AeroPress (a unique hybrid for both pressure and immersion brews), and even espresso! The most popular of these is obviously espresso, and there are several characteristics that distinguish it from all other coffees aside from the brewing method. Some of these characteristics are: 1) the brew ratio is much tighter typically at a 1:2 ratio; 2) the grind size is much finer (smaller); 3) highly concentrated beverage for caffeine; 4) it has crema which is the foamy, oily layer on top; and 5) it has the highest pressure for its brewing anywhere from 6-9 BARS of barometric pressure.

Coffee Made Right For You

All in all, coffee is a unique beverage that can be brewed in various ways with a wide variety of recipes, methods, and goals. At Vantage Coffee Roasters and Higher Ground Coffee Co., we offer each of these brewing methods from our cold brew to our pour overs to espresso based beverages.

This blog was written by Jeremiah Whiteman and edited by Alexis Millsaps.