Immersion Brewers Are the Darlings of the Coffee World. Here's How They Work

Immersion coffee brewing isn't often found in coffee shops in the US, but the approach is embraced widely by home coffee brewers. If you're not steeping coffee grounds to reach peak flavor profiles, you're likely missing out. Maybe you're searching for a simple way to make coffee on the road or can't justify making a full pot because your person is out of town. Immersion coffee systems, such as the AeroPress and hybrid pour-overs churn out smaller quantities but offer more control throughout the brew.

Immersion coffee brewers come in a range of styles and functionalities, including robust coffee made with a French press, espresso-style concentrate using the compact AeroPress, and forgiving customization with hybrid pour-over brewers. 

These manual coffee systems are ideal for small spaces and experimentation. Plus, folks new to making coffee at home, or those only familiar with the pod coffee systems, are allowed more grace when first using their devices. So-called "coffee snobs" will also find plenty to appreciate when dialing in the perfect cup.

Why do some consider immersion coffee brewing better?

Immersion brewing offers more flexibility when you don't have as much control over the coffee grind, but it also allows for a more robust flavor and customization. Pour-over and drip coffee methods rely on the grind of your coffee and gravity to infuse flavor into hot water as it passes through. Immersion brewing steeps the grounds to achieve a deeper flavor without the need for precise calibration of the roast, grind and pouring technique. (To be fair, roast and grind still count.)

Manual immersion brewers are often small enough to tuck away in a cupboard, thus freeing up permanent counter space and sparing an electrical outlet. 

Does immersion coffee taste different?

Immersion brewing also tends to create robust coffee that can skew toward bitterness. It's easier to avoid overextraction, which is a major reason coffee tastes bitter, by using bigger, coarser grounds and adjusting how long the ground coffee is steeped. The ability to experiment with infusion alone (versus having to grind another batch of coffee) is why immersion brewing should be considered by beginners looking to upgrade their coffee skills at home.

Bought a new style of coffee that is delivering a weak cup? Steep the grounds for a bit longer to infuse more oomph. Maybe you didn't finish a bag of coffee as quickly as you'd hoped? Steep the grounds longer to see what flavors might still be released. Coffee purists might be shaking their heads, but the flexibility can be liberating. Plus, we should all aim to minimize food waste.

Immersion vs. pour-over brewing

Immersion brewers are similar to pour-overs in that both are manual methods of brewing coffee. You might be more familiar with ceramic or plastic pour-over brewers that extract coffee directly into a cup or pot. 

They're used by serious baristas and no-nonsense grandparents. Pour-over coffee is designed to be made one serving at a time by slowly pouring hot water over the grounds. Pour-over brewers have become ubiquitous for single servings of coffee due to their ease of use. As a bonus, coffee connoisseurs claim they extract clearer tasting notes.

Immersion brewers build on the same method of infusion by allowing the grounds to steep in the hot water instead of passing through quickly. Immersion brewers include a diversity of styles that each infuse the coffee grounds with hot water for different lengths of time. For example, grounds will infuse for one minute with an AeroPress and up to six minutes for a strong brew with a French Press.

The grind, or size of the ground-up beans, is important for both methods. Pour-over coffee is made with a medium to medium-fine grind. Immersion brewers vary depending on the actual brewer, ranging from fine to coarse. Both will benefit from a "bloom": Water is poured in a circular motion to fully soak the grounds for around 30 seconds to release carbon dioxide trapped in the beans. The degassing avoids a sour taste in your cup. The remainder of the water is then poured onto the grounds and brewed as usual.   

Types of immersion brewers  

French press

The French press, as it's called in the US, is known as a cafetière à piston or simply a cafetière in France and greater Europe. The origin of the French press is a bit contested: While two Frenchmen applied for the first patent for a version of the immersion brewer, Italian inventors developed the press as we know it today. The manual coffee brewer's cylindrical shape, typically made of glass or ceramic, employs a piston that plunges a sieve to separate the grounds from the infused coffee. Its simplicity is its strength.

The standard ratio is one part coffee to 12 parts water when using a coarse grind. Adjust up to 1:15. A bit of grit or residue from the coffee grounds is common. The often thick or "muddy" coffee is not only expected but part of the charm.      

Cezve or ibrik: The real OG brew

Turkish coffee is likely familiar by name even if you haven't tried it yet. What is believed to be the first method of brewing coffee, it started in Yemen, then spread throughout the Ottoman Empire and then the world. Turkish coffee maintains cultural significance in addition to being a technique for daily consumption. The cezve, which means "to pour" in Turkish, is also known as an ibrik. A small pot is typically made from copper, brass or sometimes ceramic, and features a long handle and narrow neck for pouring.

The immersion brewer involves boiling water with a medium-roast coffee that is ground into a fine powder. Adding 7 grams of coffee to 70 milliliters of water is a good place to start. Sugar and spices such as cinnamon and cardamon might also be mixed into the liquid before heating to a boil. The frothy and somewhat bitter liquid is served without the need to filter.

They're also lovely to look at and relatively inexpensive. A wealth of ornate options can be found on Etsy and other online home goods retailers.

Hybrid brewers: Pour-over meets immersion

Hybrid immersion brewers merge the pour-over method with the steeping ability of a French press. The device contains hot water to infuse with the grounds instead of allowing the liquid to pass through as gravity permits. The drip can also be stopped at any time, a major plus for anyone who has overestimated a vessel's capacity when brewing straight into a cup or pot. You can make more than one serving at a time, unlike most pour-overs, and accommodate various pours if one person prefers a larger helping. Ease is the priority.

Hybrid systems use filters, so you don't have the mess of cleaning out wet grounds like with a French press. These brewers are also more forgiving if the grind isn't perfect, allowing you to steep according to personal preference.

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One such option is the Clever Coffee Dripper, which has an open gasket as its base that releases the coffee when seated on top of a cup or pot. The dripper uses a medium-coarse grind and a ratio of 17 parts water to 1 part coffee. The manufacturer recommends infusing the grounds for 1:10 minutes but infuse for up to 3:30 minutes for a stronger brew. 

The $45 Hario Switch is a take on the popular Hario pour-over dripper with an added silicone base to turn the flow on and off. The V60 pour-over system is known for a higher learning curve to dial in the grind and ratios, but when immersion brewing, start with a medium grind and infuse for around 2 to 4 minutes.

Rapid press brewers: AeroPress and other concentrates

The AeroPress coffee brewer is often considered a category of its own, but the vertical brewing system has inspired copycat single-serve concentrate devices to enter the market. Concocting rich cold brew concentrate in only a few minutes is one of the unique features of these rapid systems. (Typically cold brew is steeped for around 14 hours.) Plus, rapid brewers are cost-effective, costing around $40, and have the most economical footprint, meaning minimal cabinet space and ease of transport.

The AeroPress system produces coffee in the vein of an espresso shot with a quick immersion brewer paired with a filter to remove any grit from the concentrated coffee. The system has one cylindrical chamber with a filter cap and plunger akin to a syringe. 

A new paper filter is added with each use, and the grind can vary depending on your preference. Immersion with finely ground coffee takes only one minute. The manual system makes up 10 ounces of high-pressure coffee (clear numbers on the chamber indicate where to fill the hot water) that can be used like espresso or to make a cold brew.

Oxo makes a rapid brewer involving a tamp to prepare finely ground coffee. The Oxo model has a slightly less intuitive design, but there is less guesswork about ratios and it doesn't require an extra filter. 

For more coffee tips, see which alternative milks make the best foam, and peruse this list of the best travel coffee mugs we've tested.