Everything You Need to Make Coffee at Home

Do you wish to enjoy café brewed coffee in the comfort of your home? There are many methods to brew your cup of joe, but many factors contribute to making a barista-standard coffee. The perfect coffee is dependent on the freshness of the beans, the process of its making as well as the temperature at which it is served. Here is everything you need to make a barista-level coffee at home.

1. Coffee Beans

Local stores sell pre-ground coffee because of its time-saving factor. However, once the vacuum seal is broken, pre-ground coffee begins to lose its flavor, taste, and aroma significantly faster than beans. Premium quality coffee requires premium quality beans. Coffee connoisseurs dub the delicate arabica beans with darker, richer toasts and subtle notes of chocolate and caramel as the king for café grade coffee.

Remember to look for the roast date on them and pick the one that is most recently roasted. Don't use it past three weeks of the roast date. Different brewing methods require different roast levels; for a pour-over, look for a filter roast tag and an espresso roast for your espresso needs. You can also choose from single-origin coffee or a blended version. Blended coffee will have subtle hints of other flavors, while the single-origin will focus on your taste buds.

2. Coffee Grinder

When it comes to grinding, it's criminal to use a blade grinder in the premium-coffee world. The metal blade pulverizes coffee beans resulting in a wide variety of sizes. The chunkier bits don't give enough flavor while the smaller ones make bitter coffee.

 The prized burr grinder uses two serrated plates that oscillate to crush and grind coffee beans in perfectly equal-sized bits. What’s more, is that you can set your grinder to produce coarser grinds for a French press and cold brew coffee and a fine grind for your espresso and Moka pot needs. Look for a burr grinder with larger, flatter burrs and a powerful motor to ensure your coffee beans are ground quickly without a lot of heat that is likely to ruin them.

3. Stainless Steel Filter

 Yes, you read that right; a stainless steel filter makes for a premium brew. If you want a rich cup of coffee, you need a metal filter. A stainless steel filter allows oils and micro-grounds to pass through, making for a flavorful, aromatic, and bold cup.

4. Pour-Over Coffee Brewer Kit

Although you could simply put your stainless steel filter over your regular coffee cup to brew a pour-over version, it wouldn't be premium. Get yourself a pour-over kit to brew your coffee with a guaranteed consistent extraction for a rich and nuanced cup of coffee. It comes complete with a glass carafe, a coffee dripper, and a cone filter. The conical shape of the coffee dripper will guide you during your spiral pour while the carafe itself will grant you total control over water flow and brew time.

5. Digital Scale

Since the pour-over brew needs a medium to fine grind, you need a digital scale to keep track of how much water you're pouring over your coffee grinds. We suggest a lower coffee to water ratio than the recommended 1:16. Preferably, put 23 grams of coffee for every 350 grams of water for a more distinct flavor. Because grams are a considerably small unit of mass, as is the amount of coffee you will be adding, accuracy is vital. A two-decimal place scale would serve the purpose. Make sure to purchase a model that includes a tare button because you will be resetting the scale to zero before adding in coffee and water each time. A variant that is water-resistant and has a built-in timer is a wise choice.

6. Coffee Brewing Kettle

A gooseneck spouted brewing kettle is a better choice than heating the water in a saucepan. A gooseneck spout makes for steady, precise water flow and greater control over the flow rate.

A brewing kettle can be heated up directly on a stovetop quickly. Get a stainless steel kettle so that it is a lifetime purchase and doesn't leak rust into your water over time.

7. French Press Coffee Maker

Though we have repeatedly suggested using a stainless steel filter over a paper filter for the pour-over brew to enhance your experience of a flavorful coffee, the pour-over does not allow for steeping. The plunger and built-in filter in the cylindrical pot of the coffee French press thrusts hot water through the coffee grounds. That is why the French-press is preferred to the pour-over brew; it is saturated with flavor to make an enriched cup.

8. Espresso Moka Pot

Want an espresso, but don't own an espresso machine? An espresso made in a Moka pot is the closest you can get to espresso without a machine. A Moka pot uses steam pressure to force water in the lower chamber to jet through the funnel containing medium to coarse coffee grounds. It makes for an intense, concentrated cup of coffee, much stronger than your pour-over brew.

Since it is the fastest way of brewing a strong cup, it will quickly become your go-to method. Make sure you invest in a Moka pot that is compatible with all stovetops.

9. Cold Brew Coffee Brewer Kit

There is no coffee made more effortlessly than a cold brew with a coffee cold brewer. Like the Moka pot, you put coarse grounds into the mesh filter and slowly pour room temperature or cold water on top of it. A cold brew has to steep for about 12 to 18 hours because cold water takes far longer to soak up the coffee's oils, flavor, and caffeine than hot water. The cold extraction process keeps out the bitterness, producing a sweeter and smoother cup. Since the process uses no heat, the caffeine content in a cold brew is higher than in other brewing methods.

If made right, homemade coffee is just as divine as the coffee served at your favorite café. It may take a lot of skill and practice, but with the correct equipment, you can get your daily caffeine fix at home!