3 Coffee Trends We're Currently Obsessed With

There are so many ways to make the perfect cup of coffee. But three new trends have stood out lately. So we shipped them in, and decided to give them a try. Brewing, tasting and drink-creating with some of the hottest new coffee trends. Here’s our take on three of the hottest must-try trends this year.

Vacuum Coffee Maker

Time to cup: 4 minutes

Flavor: Rich, balanced, clean

An upside down pot of grounds over a pot of water. That’s how a vacuum brew starts. This method defies gravity, using vapor pressure and a vacuum to pull the water from the bottom to the top, where it slowly seeps through and drips back down into the pot.

Even more so, it’s fun. Even the Bodum ePEBO Vacuum Coffee Maker box touts “makes brewing coffee fun and entertaining.” It really does. Though we’re obsessed with a froufrou European drip coffee maker we’ve used for years, I’ll admit that the beautiful Bodum ePEBO had me ready to make the switch. For as complex as the brewing method sounds, it’s a surprisingly simple and elegant setup. A single hot plate with a simple on-off power switch on which the coffee pot sits. Then the upside down vacuum pot, which can be easily rinsed out, so I’d never have to buy a filter again. Such a beautiful, modern look for my countertop. Plus, balanced flavorful coffee? I’m a fan.

Give this method a try, then celebrate by pouring your freshly-siphoned brew into a cup and enjoy this Salted Caramel Affogato. Aka: heaven in a mug.

Pour Over

Time to cup: 2-3 minutes

Flavor: Delicate & complex

If you’re on Instagram, you’ve certainly seen a resurgence of the hourglass pour overs being prepared by fanciful hipsters using kettles with long, gooseneck spouts to slowly, perfectly create a pretty coffee moment.

For those of us who have fallen in love with a pour over, this simple method is essentially meditation. No bells and whistles. Simply prepare a kettle of steaming hot water, then slowly, every so slowly, watch the steam rise. Lose yourself in the swirl of the water as it blooms over your grounds. Wait as the aroma fills the space around you. When you’ve filled the hourglass, a perfect cup awaits. Pour overs offer a slow, simple way to rejoice in the ritual that is coffee. Added bonus: for those of us that live alone, it’s an ideal way to make a single cup.

A few quick tricks:

• Get the Right Equipment. If you’re new to pour overs, you’ll want to buy the glass coffee pot (I love the shape and size of the Bialetti Glass Pourover, which makes up to 6 cups), as well as a gooseneck tea kettle, which helps you create a slow, balanced pour. The Primula Kettle is that size and shape you style-saavy coffee drinkers are looking for. But I love it, because the handle never gets hot. So I can quickly pull it from the stove and start my coffee-making magic as soon as the water boils.
• Grind Right. The grind you choose for your pour over will change the type of coffee you make. Finer grinds slow the flow, which means you’ll get a richer cup of coffee.
• Pick the Perfect Amount. The recommended ratio for pour overs is 2 grams of coffee per fluid oz of water. Or 1:17 coffee to water weight ratio. For my Bialetti, I used 6 Tbsp espresso-style grounds + 6 cups of water, and was tremendously please with the final cup.
• Heat Your Filter. Before adding coffee grounds to your filter, pour a bit of hot water over your filter and get it wet. This will allow you to rinse the filter and warm your brewer, so your cup of coffee comes out clean and perfectly heated.
• Bloom, Then Spiral. When making a pour over, the first pour is called the “bloom” pour. Pour enough water immediately into the pot to float the grounds. You want to saturate all of them at once. Then allow the water to seep for 30-45 seconds before pouring slowly in a spiral, until your pot is full.

Once you’ve enjoyed your pour over, go full barista and give this classic Latin America inspired latte a try. Inspired by the first scene of Lin Manuel Miranda's "In the Heights" musical. When he runs out of cream, Abuela suggest sweetened condensed milk as the way her mother used to make lattes. Serve this Bodega Latte hot or over ice, if desired.

Cold Brew

Time to cup: 5 minutes

Flavor: Rich, mellow & smooth

When it’s too hot for coffee, thankfully there is cold brew. What used to take overnight to prepare, can now be made in just 5 minutes, thanks to the Dash Rapid Cold Brew System -- an invention we would like to put up for the Pulitzer, Nobel and Golden Globes. Bless the creators of 5-minute cold brew.

Made without heat, this system which is made out of Tritan by Eastman makes it easy to get everything you love out of a cup of cold brew--that mellow, smooth flavor. But you can do it without waiting all night for your coffee grounds to soak slowly in a mason jar.

With the Dash Rapid Cold Brew, you simple fill the coffee container on the left with grounds, fill the carafe with water, turn the dial and dream up whatever you’ll be drinking with that fresh-made cold brew.

The maker uses a vacuum-style system to “cold boil” the water (which is essentially a brilliant way of swirl grounds with water at a speed that creates a gorgeous cold brew.

When making cold brew overnight, coarsely ground beans are preferred. But with the 5-minute maker, you can use whatever you have on hand. For someone like me, who prefers to buy a single bag of favorite ready-ground coffee, I’m a fan of the simplicity here.

A cup of cold brew, in 5 minutes, with the grounds I always keep in my kitchen. No 24-hour waiting period? Color me stoked.

Once you’ve brewed a carafe of cold brew, give this cocktail a try. It is basically perfection in a martini glass. These three flavors are born to be together. What more can we say?

What's Your Favorite Way to Coffee?

Loving a trend we didn’t list here? Leave us a comment below. Or better yet, snap a photo of your current coffee obsession and tag us on Instagram @theinspiredhome_com