Global Manual Coffee Traditions to Try at Home

Australians love a coffee ritual, and for most people that ritual involves a machine and a barista. But there is a quieter side to coffee, one that does not need electricity or a portafilter. Some of the world’s best-loved brewing methods are completely manual, and they turn a morning coffee into something slower and more deliberate.

If the idea of making coffee by hand sounds like a lot of effort, it is not as fiddly as it looks. Each of these methods rewards a little patience, and once you have done it a couple of times it becomes as natural as boiling the kettle. Here are five traditions worth trying at home, from the strong and sweet to the bright and clean.

Turkish coffee with a cezve

Turkish coffee is one of the oldest brewing methods still in daily use. It is made in a cezve, a small pot with a long handle, and the coffee is served in a tiny cup with the fine grounds settled at the bottom.

To make it, mix very finely ground coffee, cold water and sugar in the cezve, using about a heaped teaspoon of coffee per small cup. Stir it, then place it over low heat. As it warms, a foam will rise. The trick is to let it foam up almost to the rim, take it off the heat, and repeat once or twice, without letting it boil hard. Pour slowly so the foam goes into the cups, and let the grounds settle before you drink.

The result is strong, thick and aromatic. It is not a coffee to rush, which is rather the point.

The Italian moka pot

The moka pot is a stovetop fixture in Italian kitchens and probably the closest manual method to the espresso you already know. It makes a rich, concentrated coffee by passing boiling water up through a bed of grounds under pressure.

Fill the bottom chamber with water to the valve line, add finely ground coffee to the basket without packing it down, and screw the top on firmly. Put it on medium heat. Coffee will start to bubble up into the top chamber, and you take it off just as it begins to gurgle and before it spits.

Moka coffee is stronger than filter coffee, so it suits a small cup or a splash of milk. It is also the base for a surprisingly good homemade latte.

Swedish kokkaffe

Kokkaffe means boiled coffee, and it is about as simple as coffee gets. It is the method you would use at a campsite or over a fire, which makes it a natural fit for Australian weekends away.

Add coarse coffee grounds to cold water in a pot, roughly two tablespoons per cup, and bring it close to a boil. Let it sit off the heat for a few minutes so the grounds sink, then pour carefully, leaving the sludge behind. A splash of cold water at the end helps the grounds settle faster.

Kokkaffe is honest, uncomplicated coffee. It will not win awards for refinement, but brewed well it is smooth and surprisingly full, and it needs nothing but a pot and a heat source.

Vietnamese phin coffee

The phin is a small metal drip filter that sits on top of your cup, and it is the heart of Vietnamese coffee culture. Coffee is often served over sweetened condensed milk, making the famous ca phe sua da, but the phin works just as well black.

Place a teaspoon or two of medium-fine coffee in the phin, press the top plate down gently, and add a little hot water to let the grounds bloom. Then fill the phin and wait. The coffee drips through slowly, which is the point. It takes a few minutes, and the reward is a smooth, strong cup.

For the classic version, put condensed milk in the bottom of the glass, let the coffee drip onto it, stir, and pour it over ice.

Ethiopian jebena coffee

Coffee has its roots in Ethiopia, where it is still brewed in a jebena, a clay pot with a rounded body and a long spout. The traditional ceremony is a slow, social affair, and the brewing method itself is simple.

Very finely ground coffee is added to water in the jebena and brought to a boil. The pot is taken off the heat and the coffee is poured into small cups from a height, which helps settle the grounds and gives the coffee a light froth. Because the grounds are fine and sit at the bottom, the coffee is poured without being stirred.

You do not need a clay pot to enjoy the method. A small saucepan works, and pouring from a height is the part that makes it feel ceremonial.

Which method should you try first

If you want something familiar, start with the moka pot. If you enjoy strong, sweet coffee and do not mind a little theatre, the Turkish cezve is a delight. For camping or a simple weekend morning, kokkaffe needs the least equipment, and the Vietnamese phin is perfect for anyone who likes iced coffee. The Ethiopian method is the one to save for a lazy afternoon.

Here is a quick comparison to help you choose.

Why manual coffee fits an Australian kitchen

Australia already has a world-class cafe culture, which is exactly why manual brewing is such a pleasant change. It slows the morning down, needs no machine to clean, and works anywhere, including the caravan park and the campsite. It also lets you taste the coffee itself rather than the machinery, and once you have tried coffee brewed by hand, you start to notice how much character a simple method can bring out.

Start with whichever method appeals to you most, use decent freshly ground beans, and give yourself a couple of tries before you judge it. The first attempt is always the clumsiest. By the third, it will just be your coffee.

The jebena and the legend of Kaldi, the Ethiopian goatherd credited with discovering coffee, are described in more detail on Wikipedia (en.wikipedia.org, search for “Jebena” and “Kaldi”).