Manual brewing methods explained: V60, Chemex, AeroPress, French press

Espresso is only half the story. Manual brewing lets you highlight the delicate flavours in great coffee — and mastering it makes you a more complete barista. Here are the four methods every professional should know.

A cone-shaped pour-over that produces a clean, bright, tea-like cup. Control comes from your grind, water temperature, and pour technique — which is exactly why it's a favourite training tool.

Similar to the V60 but with a thicker filter that removes more oils, giving an especially clean and crisp cup. Beautiful to serve and forgiving once you learn the pour.

A versatile immersion-and-pressure brewer that's fast, portable, and hard to get wrong. Great for a bold, full-bodied cup and endlessly tweakable.

Full immersion with a metal filter for a rich, heavy body. The simplest method to learn and a great way to understand extraction before moving to more technical brewers.