Brew guide
Stovetop
The classic stovetop coffee maker is a cost-effective way to make a really good tasting coffee at home. You can get set up for under $100 and teach yourself how to make a stove-top version of a Flat White (or whatever you fancy).
Before you get into it, you may want to check out our Intro to coffee brew guide for a few tips on getting the most out of your coffee. The top line:
Step-by-step: The coffee
The aim of the game with making stovetop coffee is creating the right amount of pressure so that the water pushes through the coffee in an even and steady flow - not too slowly and not too quickly.
Start with a clean coffee maker.
- Make sure the inside of your stovetop is clean.
- You don't want any build up - it's just old coffee.
Get your water.
- Put boiling water in the base to just below the valve.
- This should be about 300ml.
Get your coffee.
- Grind the coffee (if you're using a grinder) to medium (like salt).
- Fill the basket with 30g of coffee.
- This can be a bit messy. You can use dosing cup or a small grinder chamber to dose from, or balance the basket in a cup.
- Fill the basket with coffee so it’s to the top and level.
- Slightly tap to level the coffee.
- Smooth it out with your finger.
- You don’t need to press down or tamp.
Put your stovetop back together.
- Place the basket onto the base.
- Screw the top on. You’ll want to use a tea towel as the base will be hot.
Brew, keeping an eye on it.
- Leave the lid open so you can see what's going on.
- Start with a medium flame or temperature and heat the pot until you see the coffee coming out the top.
- As soon as liquid appears, you want to reduce the heat as much as possible without it losing temperature or stalling.
- If it slows down or stalls, increase stove temperature.
- If it speeds up or starts to sputter, lift it off the heat and/or turn down the heat.
- Once you have extracted most of your coffee and it’s close to the top, it will start to sputter.
- Lift it off the heat immediately and run it under cold water to stop it completely.
Enjoy.
- The pot is hot so you want to get the coffee out of it as soon as poss. Either pour it into cups or into a carafe.
- Now you’ve got a full and rich coffee that you can enjoy as is or as a base – iced coffee, milk-based etc.
Step-by-step: The milk
The full flavour of stovetop coffee make it a great base for milk coffees.
Textured milk for hot coffee.
- Heat milk until it's hot but not burnt. You don’t want any skin to form.
- Add milk to a French Press, filling no more than halfway.
- Use the French Press plunger to froth the milk but pulling it up and down through the milk. Do this in small movements to avoid large bubbles.
- Once the milk has expanded in size, take the plunger out and scrape any large bubbles away.
- Swirl the milk in circles to even out the texture.
Iced coffee.
- Serve your stovetop over ice and topped with your preferred milk or cream.
- You can also add sweeteners or flavourings if that's your vibe.
Introducing the stovetop coffee maker
New to stovetop? Here's a quick rundown.
Does a stovetop make espresso?
Kind of, not really. While a stovetop is often called an "espresso maker", it really is its own type of coffee but with espresso-ish vibes. It’s stronger, richer, and thicker than, say, a French Press or pour over, but it's not quite as syrupy as espresso. So you can create a stovetop version of something like a flat white or Americano.
How does it work?
If you take it apart, you have three sections: the base where the water goes; the middle section, which has a funnel and the basket where the coffee goes; and the top section, where the coffee flows through before coming out the spout.
In a nutshell, the stove heats the water, pressure is created, and the water in the base is pushed up the funnel and through the coffee.
How do I make good stovetop?
When making stovetop coffee, your job is to make sure that the way the water is pushed through the coffee is even and consistent.
The stove top sweet spot
As mentioned, the aim of the game with making stovetop coffee is creating the right amount of pressure so that the water pushes through the coffee in an even and steady flow. This creates a better tasting coffee.
Understanding dose, grind, and heat.
There are three main things that can effect the way the coffee flows through your stovetop coffee maker: The dose, grind and heat.
For example, if the coffee is coming through too quickly, you need a finer grind and/or a lower heat. And it's coming through too slowly, you need a coarser grind and/or a higher heat.
A good way to get started is with a dose fixed at 30g and a grind that's like fine sand but not powder. You can then make small adjustments as you perfect your brew.
Dose.
The dose is the amount of coffee in the basket. If there is too much coffee in the basket, you'll have to press it to make it fit, the coffee will then soak up more water, and both of these two things will make it harder for the water to come through. And the opposite if you don't use enough coffee.
Use 30g of coffee in a six cup stovetop.
Grind.
For stovetop, use a grind that is slightly coarser than what you would use for espresso. It should feel like fine sand between your fingers and not powder.
Coffee that is too fine will flow through too slowly or not at all. And coffee that's too coarse will flow too quickly.
Heat.
While you're brewing, you need to keep a close eye on the way the coffee is flowing. A stove that's too hot will cause the coffee to come through more quickly. And a stove that's not hot enough will cause the coffee to come through more slowly.
Water.
The amount of water you use is also a factor. Start with 300ml, filling to just below the valve. You're then aiming for most of that water to flow through to the other side. The water level can be slightly lower if you are using a darker roast of coffee e.g. Early Bird.
