How To Make Better Coffee At Home
4 min read
Many of us are confined, which probably means that we should forget about this early morning visit to the local café. Don’t be afraid, it is possible to make quality coffee in your kitchen. Making a better cup of coffee isn’t difficult. First, find out what “best” means to you. There isn’t just one “right” cup of coffee, there is just the best version of what you love. Do you like rich, dark coffee that’s thick enough to fit in a spoon, as my grandfather used to say? Or do you prefer something more clear, which does not overwhelm you with bitterness? Or maybe you prefer a light coffee with cream and sugar.
Once you find what you like, you can then start improving it until you have a cup of homemade coffee that you love more than anything a coffee shop has to offer.
Ground Coffee At Home
When it comes to food, the better the ingredients, the better the meals. The same goes for coffee. You have to start with good grains. That doesn’t mean you have to spend a fortune on rare beans that have been taken from a civet (yes, it does exist) but it does mean you have to start there to make better coffee at home.
So I would start with an obvious upgrade: nothing will improve your coffee experience more than replacing pre-ground coffee for whole beans that you will grind yourself just before doing so.
The flavor (and caffeine boost) of coffee comes from the oils in the bean. Once the grain is ground, these oils begin to break down. Ground coffee generally has a shelf life of less than a week. In most cases, the ground coffee you see in the supermarket has been on the shelf for a lot longer than that. This is why I suggest you buy whole grains and grind them yourself.
I know what you are thinking: it’s a chore. But it is not. Good coffee grinders will make the task quick and completely effortless.
UpgradezVos Grains
Now that you have a great grinder for making truly ground coffee, which beans should you choose? Again, this is a matter of personal taste. For a lighter, clearer coffee, choose a light or medium roast coffee.For a darker, richer coffee, choose full-bodied roast black coffee.
Whole grains stored in a cool, dry place will keep for up to a month. That’s what coffee purists will tell you. Personally, I buy lots of it every two months and I can’t tell the difference between old and newer beans. On the other hand, I buy them from a local supplier who makes sure the grains are as fresh as possible.
If you’re not sure what you like, you can try a subscription service that sends out new kernels at regular intervals and provides samples for blind testing.
Once you’ve chosen the type of grain you like, I suggest trying to find an eco-responsible seller. After much research, the certification that seems to be the best guarantee that your coffee is both organic and grown in an eco-responsible way is the Smithsonian Migratory Bird Center’s Bird-Friendly Certified label.
How To Make Better Coffee
You have a good mill. You have good beans. How do you make a great cup of coffee every time? This is the fun part: experiment until you find the way you like.
If you want a repeatable result, remember to weigh the grains and water using a scale so that you can keep track of them. It might sound a bit geeky, and it is, but after fumbling around for several days you will no doubt find something you like and if you’ve taken notes then you’ll know how to make the perfect cup of coffee every time. no matter where you are.
Here are some suggestions to go in the right direction, you can use any method but some look better depending on the types of coffee.Black coffee lovers should try a Mokapot: My favorite is the Primula, it’s easy to use, still produces good results, and it’s the closest espresso thing you will get without an espresso machine.
Medium roast fans should consider a filter coffee maker: The most popular is the Chemex but I find it fragile and the filters are expensive. The coffee produced on the other hand is quite smooth. Another good option is the Bodum filter coffee maker with a reusable stainless steel filter.
Those who like light coffee will no doubt love the AeroPress: it excels at extracting the subtlety and depth of light roast coffees. We really like the new AeroPress Go which is more compact.
An Ode To The Classic Electric Coffee Maker
I love a good cup of coffee, but I don’t always want to spend time brewing my coffee, using an AeroPress, or making a shot of espresso with a hand press. Sometimes I want my coffee quickly.
For that, nothing beats a good programmable electric coffee maker that has already brewed coffee before you even get into the kitchen. Mr. Coffee makers are inexpensive and do a good job.
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