How the World Enjoys Coffee

Coffee is drunk almost everywhere in the world, but every place drinks it its own way. Italians stand at the bar, take an espresso in a few sips and move on. In Japan, someone might spend several minutes pouring water slowly through a paper cone. In Istanbul, coffee is simmered in a small copper pot and served with a glass of water. And in Vietnam, people are used to sitting and waiting for each drop from the phin.

These differences are more than habit. The brewing method decides how coffee tastes, and the taste in turn shapes the rhythm of life around it. This article looks at five popular styles, building on the principles in Coffee Brewing Basics.

Espresso — the quick rhythm of Italy

Espresso was born in Italy in the early 20th century, along with pressure-driven brewing machines. Hot water is forced through a bed of finely ground, tightly packed coffee for about 25–30 seconds, producing a small amount of very concentrated coffee topped with a golden-brown foam called crema.

In Italy, the coffee bar is a place to stop by rather than linger. Many people order an espresso, drink it at the counter, pay and carry on with their day. A few often-mentioned habits:

• Cappuccino is usually a morning drink, rarely ordered after lunch.
• Espresso is drunk at any time, especially after a meal.
• Macchiato is an espresso "marked" with a little milk foam.

Espresso is also the base of many drinks around the world: latte, flat white, americano (espresso topped up with hot water).

Filter and pour-over — the precision of Japan and the Nordics

Filter coffee is simple: hot water flows through ground coffee in a paper or mesh filter by gravity. In much of Europe and America, the drip machine is a familiar sight in kitchens and offices.

In Japan, hand-pouring with a cone and a gooseneck kettle became a craft in traditional coffee houses (kissaten). The brewer pours water in small circles, controlling every stage. This style later spread with the "third wave of coffee" — a movement that treats coffee as a specialty product, focusing on the farm, variety and processing.

The Nordic countries are known for light-roast filter coffee that is clean and bright. In Sweden, a coffee break with something sweet, shared with colleagues or friends, even has its own name: fika.

Cold brew — America's cool cup

Cold brew is coffee steeped in cold or room-temperature water for about 12–24 hours, then filtered. Because no heat is used, fewer sharp compounds are extracted, giving a rounder, smoother cup with a sweet finish.

Brewing coffee cold isn't new — Japan has long had slow cold-drip towers made of glass. But cold brew became widely popular in the United States in the 2010s, as cafés and drinks brands started selling bottled cold coffee. Today many cafés in Vietnam serve cold brew too, including versions made with Robusta.

Turkish coffee — heritage in a small pot

Coffee is ground as fine as flour, put into a small long-handled pot (cezve) with cold water and sugar if you like, then heated slowly until it foams. It is poured, grounds and all, into a small cup without filtering. You wait for the grounds to settle, then sip the top.

Turkish coffee is often served with a glass of water and sometimes a sweet. Turkish coffee culture and tradition was inscribed by UNESCO on its list of Intangible Cultural Heritage in 2013. Similar methods are common across the Balkans and the Middle East.

The moka pot — strong coffee in every kitchen

The moka pot is an aluminium or stainless-steel pot in three parts: a bottom chamber for water, a funnel for coffee and a top chamber that collects the brew. On the stove, steam pressure pushes hot water up through the grounds. It was invented in Italy in the 1930s and soon found its way into countless homes, because it makes strong, espresso-like coffee without an expensive machine.

A small tip: use medium heat and take the pot off the stove as soon as the coffee starts to sputter — it will taste less burnt.

A quick comparison

Vietnam on the map

Few countries have a brewing tool with its own name like Vietnam's phin. The small aluminium filter and the strong coffee served with condensed milk and ice have become an image many travellers remember when they think of Vietnam. The Phin Filter — Icon of Vietnamese Coffee tells the story of the phin, and Vietnamese Iced Milk Coffee shows how to make Vietnam's favourite drink.