There is a long-standing myth that brewing great coffee at home simply can’t be done. That you need to either invest in very expensive equipment or only get your coffee from a speciality coffee shop.
Well, that’s not true at all!
The five simple tips we’ll share below will help enjoy better coffee at home every day.
Let’s jump right in!
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1 – Good coffee makes BETTER coffee at home
This first tip may seem like an obvious one, but we can’t emphasise it enough:
If you want to enjoy better coffee at home, you need to start with a quality bean.
If you buy low-quality beans, you can’t expect to create a high-quality cup of coffee. It would take a VERY talented barista to do that!
No matter whether you buy your coffee as whole beans or ground, almost all supermarkets and regular grocery stores sell mass-produced commercial coffee.
If you want to enjoy really good coffee, though – like the type you drink at your favourite coffee shop – you’ll want to use specialty coffee.
A quick Google search for ‘specialty coffee near me’ or ‘coffee roasters near me’ will help you find any local roasters or stockists.
While you’re there, don’t be afraid to ask them how to brew the beans you’re buying.
Whether you make lattes and cappuccinos with a home espresso machine or prefer filter methods such as AeroPress or French press, they will know exactly how to make the most of the coffee you’re taking home.
You’ll find people who enjoy roasting coffee enjoy talking about it too, so don’t be shy!
Alternatively, you can buy specialty coffee beans online and have them delivered to your home. We deliver both our beans and our coffee subscription worldwide, as do many other roasters.
While specialty coffee might be a touch more expensive than the coffee in your local supermarket, the switch will be the easiest way to get better coffee at home.
2 – Buy a grinder to enjoy better coffee
Your local coffee shop – or the one you get coffee delivered from – will always offer to grind your coffee to your preferred brewing method.
That’s great when you don’t have a grinder and plan to use it all very soon.
However, if you are looking at how to have the best coffee at home, then investing in your own grinder will make all the difference.
But why grind the coffee at home yourself, you might ask? Does it really make a difference?
If you want to enjoy better coffee at home, it does indeed!
Grinding your whole-bean coffee, as and when you are about to brew, will ensure that you have the freshest coffee possible.
When coffee is ground, it releases all its aroma and flavour and it is best to capture that in your brew as fast as possible so you can have the best-tasting coffee at home.
That said, grinders aren’t cheap and – as you may expect – you really do get what you pay for.
One of our favourite home grinders is the Ode brew grinder by Fellow. It’s easy to adjust, grinds consistently and looks great on the kitchen counter, too.
If this is out of your budget, a hand grinder such as the Hario Ceramic Coffee Mill will do the same thing (with a little extra elbow grease!).
3 – Avoid using boiling water
So, having gone that extra mile to ensure you are getting great coffee at home by buying locally roasted coffee and grinding it yourself, the last thing you would want to do is ruin it.
If you boil the kettle and pour that boiling water onto your ground coffee… that’s exactly what you’ll do!
For the best coffee, the water should be at 93 – 94 degrees. This will ensure the water does not scorch the grounds and help to bring out the best your coffee has to offer.
But please bear in mind that this is only if you are using a brewing method where you pour water onto the coffee, such as a V60. If you are using a Moka pot, for example, the water will of course need to boil!
Some kettles, such as this one, allow you to dial in the temperature you want it to reach. Again, this will be a great investment if you want to enjoy better coffee at home.
However, it’s still possible to make better coffee without one. If you are using a standard kettle, simply pop open the lid and wait 30 to 40 seconds to let the water cool down a little.
Doing this will allow the water to let out its heat and naturally bring the temperature down. Once you have reduced the temperature, then go ahead and pour.
4 – Preheat and pre-wet your apparatus
This tip won’t apply to all home brewing techniques, but will help you enjoy better coffee where relevant.
Where possible, is absolutely worthwhile to preheat and pre-wet your brewing equipment with hot water.
For example, if you are brewing coffee with a V60, take the paper filter you plan to use and pop it into the holder. Then take some fresh boiling water and simply pour it over the paper filter.
This has a two-fold effect: First of all, it removes any papery residue that might be left on the filter (which can affect the taste). It also preheats the ceramic V60 itself.
If you are using a Moka pot, you can fill the main chamber and the base with hot water while you prepare the rest. This will bring the temperature of the metal up and thus make for better-tasting coffee at home.
We essentially want everything hot when we start brewing as this will only help to bring out the best elements of the coffee you are trying to brew at home.
5 – Enjoy the experience of making coffee at home
One of the best things about coffee is the process of making it yourself.
Once you start to get a good understanding of brewing coffee at home, there is nothing better than taking that first sip and thinking “Nice, I made this”.
Creating the best coffee at home is a process that you can improve and perfect over time, based on your own preferences.
The more you make coffee at home, the more intuitive it becomes and the more you look forward to it each morning.
You may even start to experiment with coffee from different countries and discover you have a preference for South American or African coffee.
Trying new coffee becomes much more fun (and more delicious!) once you know how to make it right.
Another great benefit of enjoying your home-brewed coffee is taking your time to drink it. As the temperature of the coffee in your cup changes, so does the taste.
The flavour note you get on your first sip will be totally different on your last.
While perfecting your home coffee technique can be a large part of the fun, don’t forget to enjoy your creation too!
Enjoy better coffee at home
Hopefully, these five tips will help shed some light on how to make the best coffee at home.
If you have any questions, feel free to contact us or reach out on Instagram. We’re always happy to help!