When it comes to a good cup of coffee, everyone has their favourite cafes and go-to coffee shops — but for those days when you're stuck at home or are simply too busy to go on a Starbucks run, knowing how to brew your own coffee at home can be a valuable skill. Of course, if you're used to getting your daily caffeine fix from expert coffee makers (or by simply pressing a button on your automatic machine), it might be a little daunting at first to learn how to make coffee at home. That's why we've rounded up all the different ways to manually brew your own homemade coffee, from a step-by-step guide on how to use your basic French press to the best way to make a perfect pour over.

Wondering which of these brewing methods is best? The short answer is that it depends on your preferences. No matter what type of coffee maker you're using, though, the most important thing is that you're using high quality ingredients. Using fresh, whole coffee beans can make all the difference — as can grinding them well to the optimal grind size and consistency for the specific method. As for the best coffee-to-water ratio, a general guideline is a 1:17 ratio of coffee to water — or in other words, for every 1 gram of coffee, use 17 grams of water (use a digital scale to measure your ground coffee for better results).

With these tips, you'll soon have a great cup of coffee no matter which brewing method you choose!

What it is: The Chemex is a specific type of pour over that uses an hourglass shaped vessel and a specially designed filter that is 20–30% heavier than other filters, which helps regulate the flow of water as it passes through coffee grounds.

How to make it: Place the Chemex filter inside the flask, lining up the side with multiple folds with the spout. Rinse the filter with hot water, discarding the water afterwards, before adding ground coffee inside the filter. Pour boiling water to saturate the beans and allow them to "bloom," then stir. After 30 seconds, continue pouring water in a circular or back-and-forth motion to saturate all the grounds evenly until you reach your desired final brew weight.

Type of grind: Medium coarse
Ground coffee to water ratio: 1:16
Brewing time: 4–5 minutes
Resulting brew: Bright, pure

What it is: One of the oldest ways to brew coffee, the pour over method involves pouring hot water through coffee grounds placed in a filter to allow the coffee to drip slowly into a vessel.

How to make it: Place a filter in a coffee cone dripper placed over a cup or carafe. Rinse the filter with hot water (to get rid of the paper taste and seal filter in place), then discard the water. Add fine coffee grounds into the filter before pouring boiling water to saturate the grounds fully, waiting for 30 seconds to allow the grounds to "bloom." Then, continue to add boiling water, pouring in a circular motion as to wet all the grounds evenly until you reach your desired final brew weight.

Type of grind: Fine to medium
Ground coffee to water ratio: 1:16
Brewing time: 3–4 minutes
Resulting brew: Nuanced, smooth


What it is: The French press is one of the most classic and easiest ways to make coffee, brewing by soaking ground coffee directly in hot water then pressing a plunger down to separate the grounds from the coffee.

How to make it: Pour coarse ground coffee into the carafe, then fill it with boiling water before giving it a quick stir. After waiting for four minutes for the coffee to steep, put the lid on and slowly press the plunger down to separate the grounds from the coffee. Serve immediately (or transfer to a separate carafe), as the coffee will continue to brew and get more bitter if allowed to sit in the press for too long.

Type of grind: Coarse
Ground coffee to water ratio: 1:16
Brewing time: 4 minutes
Resulting brew: Full-bodied, rich


What it is: Also called a stovetop espresso maker, this Italian invention brews a strong, espresso-like coffee by passing boiling water pressurized by steam through coffee grounds.

How to make it: Fill the lower chamber of the Moka pot with boiling water up to the fill line. Then, fill the filter basket with ground coffee, making sure it is even but not too compact and brushing away any loose grounds around the edge of the filter basket. Place it into the bottom compartment and screw on the spouted top before placing the pot on a stove set to medium heat. Remove from heat as soon as you hear a hissing, bubbling sound.

Type of grind: Fine
Ground coffee to water ratio: 1:2
Brewing time: 5 minutes
Resulting brew: Strong, sharp


What it is: Portable and lightweight, the Aeropress is a relatively new device invented in 2005 that brews coffee by pressing down a plunger to create air pressure, forcing coffee through a filter and into a cup.

How to make it: Insert a paper filter into the plastic cap before wetting the filter and cap with hot water, then dump out the water. Twist filter cap onto the chamber of the Aeropress and place securely over a mug or carafe. Add ground coffee into the chamber, then add water and stir. Insert the plunger and push down gently until plunger reaches the grounds.

Type of grind: Fine to medium
Ground coffee to water ratio: 1:12
Brewing time: 2 minutes
Resulting brew: Smooth, clean

What it is: The Chemex is a memorable coffee maker, with an elegant glass design and stylish wooden handle. It brews stylishly and delicious clean filter coffee. The thick filter papers result in a smooth coffee with very little bitterness.

How to make it: First heat the water. You will need enough water for both the hot water portion of the brew and also enough to thoroughly rinse the Chemex paper filter.

Second, the Chemex uses a thick paper filter, which can impart a paper-like taste to the coffee. The way to avoid that is to give it a good rinse first. Unlike other brewing methods in which a quick splash of water is enough, the Chemex needs a longer rinse. Aim for 5-10 seconds. Once the rinse is complete, place the filter aside and dump the rinse water. At this point, give the Chemex a quick rinse with cold water. If we were brewing a normal hot Chemex, we wouldn’t do this step, to retain more heat on the glass.

Now, place 234 grams of ice into the base of the Chemex. Now that the ice is in the Chemex, return the filter to the top of the Chemex. Place 50 grams of ground coffee into the filter. Use a medium-coarse grind, which is in between a normal drip and a French press grind.

Next, slowly pour hot water over the coffee grounds. We will be adding 466 grams of water in total. Having a kettle with a gooseneck spout makes this task easy.

Lastly, once the water has finished passing through the coffee and filter, remove the filter. At this point, the ice should be mostly or fully melted. The coffee should be cold. If you want, you can add ice to your glass before serving coffee. The ice will keep the coffee cold so you have a lot more time to sip on the beverage before it starts to water down.

Type of grind: Medium-coarse
Ground coffee to water ratio: 1:14
Brewing time: 4–8 minutes
Resulting brew: Strong, dark