What Is Drip Coffee – The Definitive Answer!

If you want to know what is drip coffee this guide is for you. You will find out what it is, the history of the brewing method, the flavor profile, what affects the taste and a lot more.

Keep reading for the full details in this beginners guide to drip brew coffee!

What Is Drip Coffee?

Drip coffee is a throwback to the 1970s and 1980s American Diners and the pot of coffee served. It’s a type of coffee that is brewed using an automatic drip coffee machine and is still a feature in many homes in America and the United Kingdom, notably less in the UK and still can be seen in offices and work places all over the world.

It’s an easy and almost effortless way of brewing coffee and very easy to brew large batches at a time, making it perfect for dinner parties.

The brewing method is very simple with hot water sprayed over the coffee grounds, which then pass through a filter and into your cup or carafe below.

Read: What is auto drip coffee?

The History Of Drip Coffee

The drip coffee brewing method was developed in France in the 19th century and, understandably, due to the ease of preparation and the ability to make a large amount at a time.

The method simply involves using medium-coarse ground coffee, heated water and gravity to brew your coffee.

Drip Coffee Starbucks

Starbucks drip coffee is available at Starbucks and can be brewed using the beans of your choice with your current options being as follows:

• Green Apron Blend.
• Pike Place Roast.
• Dark Roast.
• Pike Place Decaf.

Their brewed coffee can be used to make café misto, Iced coffee, and café au lait. For the café au lait, you will need to hack the menu or simply tell your barista how to make it. It’s brewed coffee (drip coffee) and steamed milk using a coffee to water ratio of 1:2.

Read: How to make drip coffee 

Drip Coffee Flavor Profile

Drip coffee has a crisp, clean taste with a well-rounded and very simple and uncomplicated coffee flavor. It’s mellow and not as bold and intense as an espresso.

The flavor can vary depending on the type of filter used, be it a paper filter, a cotton cloth filter or a metal filter, as more or less of the coffee oils depending on which one you use.

The type of filter used also affects the flow rate, also alters slightly the contact time between your hot water and your coffee grounds.

What Affects The Flavor Of Drip Coffee?

There are many factors that affect the flavor of drip coffee. The main contributing factors are:

• Grind Size.
• Coffee To Water Ratio.
• Brewing Temperature.
• Brewing Time.
• Coffee Beans Used.
• The Type Of Filter Used.
• The Quality Of Your Water.

All these factors contribute to brewing a great cup of coffee and a very delicious coffee that you can chillax and enjoy.

While paper filters are far more popular choice for the drip coffee method, there are other choices including cotton cloth filters and metal filters which, due to the complexities of coffee brewing, any change will alter how the coffee tastes.

• Paper Coffee Filters: Clean crisp taste as all the coffee oils are removed.
• Metal Filters: bolder tasting with a slightly heavier body due to getting all the coffee oils into your brew.
• Cotton Filters: Gets some of the coffee oils into your coffee, but not all. The result is a coffee that is in between both a paper filter and a metal filter and is very tasty.

The role that water plays is crucial as too hot, and you will over extract your coffee and end up with too strong a cup of coffee, too low and your coffee will taste sour.

Also,

the quality of your water matters as 98% of coffee is water and thus the better your water, the better your coffee will be. At the very minimum, use filtered water. Bottled water is best.

Read: Drip coffee

Drip Coffee Bag

A drip coffee bag is much more convenient and was created in 1990 in Japan. Drip coffee bags are small pouches, or small bags of ground coffee that are suspended over cups. Hot water is poured over them and one the cup

Each bag has approximately 11 grams of coffee and is flat before use. It’s a convenient solution when you are enjoying a weekend away and particularly useful for the great outdoors.

Drip Coffee Vs Brewed Coffee

For a matter of clarity, drip coffee is often referred to as brewed coffee within most contexts in which the term brewed coffee is used.

For example, “do you want brewed coffee?”

Without specifying which method of brewing the meaning is “do you want drip coffee?”

The term brewed coffee is of course generic, brewed coffee can mean any type of coffee preparation technique used such as siphon coffee, moka pot coffee, pour over coffee, cowboy coffee, espresso machine coffee, cold brew coffee and so on.

Drip coffee is different from many brewing techniques due to using a constant flow of hot water to extract the flavor instead of full immersion brewing like French press, or a percolator.

Drip coffee is also defined by the use of an automatic coffee maker while manual drip coffee is often referred to as a pour over due to the action of pouring hot water over the coffee grounds.

How Much Caffeine Is In Drip Coffee?

The average 8 Oz (240 ml) cup of drip coffee has 120 mg of caffeine, which is just 10 mg short of a double espresso from a regular coffee shop.

The caffeine content of drip coffee at Starbucks depends on the coffee beans used. It’s listed as brewed coffee on their drinks’ menu.

Check the table below for the caffeine content for all the drip coffee options and drink sizes.

As a note, the maximum suggested caffeine intake for pregnant and nursing women is 200 mg and 400 mg for healthy adults.

What Is The Drip Coffee Calories Count?

For all drink sizes and for all the different beans used, be they caffeinated or decaffeinated, the calorie count is 5 calories for drip coffee without anything added, no milk and no sugar.

If you add sugar or a pump of simple syrup, you’ll add 20 calories for each teaspoon of sugar and 20 calories for each pump of simple syrup.

Drip Coffee Nutritional Facts

Let’s get to the full nutritional details for drip coffee and how much sugar, fat, carbs, cholesterol and caffeine you can expect in drip coffee for all drink sizes.

Drip coffee and all types of coffee have very few calories, sugar, cholesterol etc. It is what you add to the drink that adds to the calorie count, the sugar content etc.

What Is Drip Coffee Machine?

A drip coffee machine, a staple in many American homes for over 50 years and counting, comes with many modern technology marvels for coffee lovers which is why it has stood the test of time.

Simply add coffee grounds to your filter and add cold water. Switch it on and in approximately 4 to 6 minutes later your coffee will be ready.

A drip coffee machine is a machine of convenience as it brews your coffee automatically and has a capacity of brewing up to 10 or 12 cups of coffee which is why it is still a great choice for coffee lovers that want a device of convenience and as little fuss as possible.

 The Main Features Of A Quality Drip Coffee Machine

One of the stand-out modern features of a high-quality drip coffee machine for me is the ability to set up your machine, put the coffee in its place, fill the water reservoir with cold water and using the timer function to preset the machine to start brewing a cup of coffee 5 min before my alarm goes off.

And viola, I have a perfect cup of coffee ready for me when my alarm goes off.

This is what makes the auto brew feature a popular option.

Due to improvements in the machines manufacture, the best machines comply with the Specialty Coffee Association Of America’s golden ratio of 55 grams of coffee per liter of water with the water reaching 197.6F (92C) in 60 seconds or less and must have a brew time of between 4 and 8 minutes.

Other features to look for are the ability to alter the brew temperature, the brew strength and the flow rate.

While many coffee experts and enthusiasts consider a hot plate to be essential for the popular method of brewing coffee as it keeps your coffee warm. It, unfortunately, also stews your coffee if you leave your carafe on the hot plate for too long.

In my opinion, this is what makes a thermal carafe a better choice. You can opt for a hot plate and buy a second carafe, a thermal one and enjoy the best of both worlds. The hot plate is there for when you need to use that feature and your thermal carafe when you don’t.

The Main Drawbacks Of A Drip Coffee Machines

Nothing is perfect and for me the biggest drawback of drip coffee machines and this brewing method is running out of coffee filters!

You can manage this by having some backup solutions like a semi permanent filter, a cotton cloth filter or a permanent coffee filter, a metal filter.

Paper filters also add to unnecessary waste and are not environmentally friendly for this reason.

Drip Coffee Vs Espresso

These are two completely different pieces of equipment and machines to brew them. Despite the many claims from manufacturers and coffee enthusiasts, you can only make an espresso with an espresso machine.

All others like a moka pot, an Aeropress and even a Nespresso machine make, at best, espresso like coffee but not an authentic espresso as they lack the pressure needed to make it.

An espresso is bolder, more intense and has a much heavier body and is notably thicker than other coffee drinks.

The table below outlines the main difference between drip coffee and espresso.

How To Make Drip Coffee

Making drip coffee is easy and effortless which is why it is still so popular. For the best tasting drip brewed coffee you will need to use whole beans of premium quality, a ceramic flat burr grinder and an auto drip coffee machine.

A digital coffee scale and the filter of your choice be it a paper disposable filter, cloth filter or metal filter.

The coffee I recommend is Allegro Coffee and their breakfast blend. It’s a great blend of Ethiopian coffee beans and beans from Latin America with notes of caramel, chocolate and citrus hints. It’s a tasty light roast.

Judge how much coffee you want to make and weigh your coffee beans by dividing the amount of water by 15 for a good coffee to water ratio of 1:15 for a strong tasting coffee.

Grind your bean when your beans are fresh, within 7 days of the roasted on date, and immediately before your brew you will get a much better tasting coffee.

For a 12 Oz (360 ml) cup of coffee, weigh 0.8 Oz (24 grams) of whole beans. Grind them to a medium-coarse grind using a ceramic flat burr grinder. Grind in bursts of 5 seconds and rest for 3 seconds.

This, the bursting technique, is the best grinding technique. Put a clean filter in your filter holder, the coffee basket, and put your 24 grams of coffee into your filter. Add 12 Oz (240 ml) of fresh water to your water reservoir and brew your cup of coffee.

After 4 to 6 minutes, your coffee will be ready.

Serve and enjoy your coffee.

Frequently Asked Questions About What Is Drip Coffee

What Is The Difference Between Drip Coffee And Regular Coffee?

The main difference between drip coffee and regular coffee is that drip coffee, often referred to as brewed coffee, is a specific brewing method with a specific coffee to water ratio and grind size.

Drip coffee is made using an automatic drip machine. A cup of drip coffee is often made using a paper filter but can be filtered using a cotton filter or a metal filter.

What Is Considered Drip Coffee?

Drip coffee is a cup of coffee that has been made with hot water, coffee grounds and the use of an electric drip coffee maker to make the cup of coffee. Although manual drip coffee makers exist, these start to border into the pour over territory, which is a different brewing method and produces a different tasting cup of coffee.

What Is Special About Drip Coffee?

Drip coffee is an old-fashioned brewing method where the method was popular in the 1970s and 1980s with most homes back then having an automatic drip coffee machine. It’s still special as it requires no effort at all other than filling the water reservoir with water and coffee grounds and pressing a button.

You can even preprogram a brew time and have it brew you a cup of hot drip coffee when your alarm goes off, or you can switch it on when you go in the shower and then have a freshly brewed cup of coffee ready for you when you come out.

It is special also because it uses a fresh flow of hot water, producing a clean and crisp tasting coffee which is different from full immersion brewing like cold brew, French press, Siphon coffee, percolator coffee, where the coffee is steeped in hot water.

Why Is It Called Drip Coffee?

The name drip coffee comes from the way in which your electric drip coffee maker drips hot water over your coffee grounds and produces a cup of coffee.

Is Drip coffee Just Black Coffee?

Drip coffee when it is brewed by your auto drip coffee maker produces a cup or carafe of black coffee, but there is no limitation of what you can do with the coffee produced. You can add milk, cream, a cold foam topping, sweet cream or enjoy it as a black coffee. It’s your choice.

Is Drip Coffee The Same As Americano?

No, there is a distinct difference between an Americano and drip coffee even though the two drinks look identical. An Americano is made with a shot or two of espresso and then diluted with hot water.

A drip coffee is made using an automatic drip coffee maker where the hot water is dripped over coffee grinds.

Is Nespresso Drip Coffee?

No, Nespresso is not drip coffee. Even though the coffee capsules have coffee grounds and a mini-filter it is not drip coffee as a high pressure jet of water is used to brew the coffee. Nespresso is more like espresso (but is not espresso) than drip coffee.

I, and many coffee lovers and experts classify both Nespresso and Keurig coffee as their own unique brewing methods using single serve capsules and pods.

Is Drip Coffee Popular In Europe?

No, I’m European and obviously lived most of my life between the United Kingdom and Spain, I can personally tell you that drip coffee is not a thing in Europe be it “Europe’s Island” (The UK) or on the continent.

The British have a preference for instant coffee at home and gourmet coffee drinks when out enjoying coffee. In continental Europe, at home a moka pot is used to brew the strong coffee.

Coffee to go, not popular in Europe, it’s enjoyed sitting inside the coffee shop or on the terrace and is typically an espresso based coffee beverage like a shot of espresso or a latte, cappuccino or other such drink.

Final Thoughts – What Is Drip Coffee?

If you have read this far, you know all about what is drip coffee and what makes it such a popular coffee still to this very day in the US.

Me, yes, I’m guilty of enjoying drip coffee from time to time and as I said, I am known to program my auto brew to go off just before my alarm clock does.

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Derek Marshall

Derek Marshall, a certified barista by the Specialty Coffee Association possesses over two decades of experience in specialty coffee shops. He holds professional certifications for coffee brewing and barista skills. Derek is also an author with authoritative books covering various coffee topics including specialty coffee, sustainability and coffee, coffee brewing, coffee recipes, coffee cocktails and books focusing on Brazilian coffee, Vietnamese coffee, Indonesian coffee and Malaysian coffee. As a barista for over two decades, Derek Marshall has worked in specialty coffee shops across the United Kingdom, Spain, Thailand, Malaysia, Cambodia, Indonesia, and Vietnam. His expertise extends to the distinct coffee cultures, specialty beverages, and brewing techniques of each nation. Functioning as a coffee consultant, Derek charges US$50 per hour. To learn more about Derek Marshall and Latte Love Brew, visit his About Me Page. For coffee inquiries, contact him at +34-639-410-375 or Derek@LatteLoveBrew.com, mentioning your name and location