From a local Perth coffee roaster to you. We’re spilling the beans on how to make the best coffee at home.
We’re all going a little stir crazy at home so what better way to relieve the boredom than to work on your barista skills?
Here are our 6 tips for making the best coffee at home.
1. Buy Fresh and Local Coffee
Most people will know this one but for those that don’t it’s a game-changer: buy freshly roasted coffee and preferably from a local Perth coffee roaster (like us! “wink, wink”).
Avoid bags of coffee that just have a use by date as this gives you no information as to when the coffee was actually roasted. Look for coffee bags dated with the date the coffee was roasted. This will allow you to use the coffee beans during their peak time: 7-14 days from the date they were roasted. Ask the coffee roaster when you buy your beans if you’re unsure.
Take a look at our blog on coffee freshness for more info.
2. Whole Coffee Beans make a Wholelotta Difference
Buy whole coffee beans and grind fresh!
Once coffee beans are ground they go stale very quickly. The longer your ground coffee waits to be used the more it will be exposed to the air and the more they will decrease in flavour. Grinding right before you make your coffee greatly increases the taste.
Check out what Chris Baca has to say on pre-ground coffee.
Regardless of which device you want to use – e.g. coffee machine, Chemex, Moccmaster – you want to grind fresh. One of the best purchases you can make is on a good quality coffee grinder. Make sure you get a burr grinder as this will lend towards a more uniform grind size. More uniform = more consistent coffee. Stay away from blade grinders like spice grinders as this will result in inconsistent and uncontrollable grind size. Ask your local coffee roaster (hello!) on a home grinder that will work best for you.
3. Follow the Recipe
Don’t take short cuts – work to a recipe.
This is essential in making delicious coffee. It can be confusing for some however, with practice you’ll get it in no time.
Recipes for brewing generally consist of 3 factors:
1. Dose (the amount of ground coffee used).
2. Yield (the amount of water used).
3. Time (how long the coffee and water stay in contact with each other).
Here’s where it gets (a little) complicated: The recipe you use will vary widely depending on which device you are using to brew coffee. However, to point you in the right direction…
For manual/filter brewing gadgets
Most will require a 1:17 ratio (coffee:water) e.g. 20 grams of coffee will produce 340mls of filter coffee.
Time is dependent on the device you’re using however, in most scenarios time is a representation of the grind size. If you are finding that the taste of your brew is not hitting that sweet spot and it’s running for a long time – make the grind finer. If your brew is running for a short amount of time – make the grind coarser.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AjlXAZTraHM&t=3s
For espresso
The recipe will be more like 1:2 (coffee:water).
For time, it should be around 27-33 seconds.
For more details and guidance click here.
4. Filtered Water is your Best Friend
Filtered water for coffee makes a huge difference in coffee flavour. If you’re wondering why your coffee isn’t the same as the cafe’s this could be why.
We could really geek out here as this is a huge and overwhelming topic but, we’ll (try to) restrain ourselves. To keep it short, filtered water is delicious and it’s even more delicious for coffee. If you don’t have quality water filter at home then you can actually make your own, check out this video by Barista Hustle.
If you want to get a good introduction to the topic of water for coffee we love this video by James Hoffmann.
5. Keep it Clean
This one is a bit of a no brainer but keeping your coffee brewing gear clean is going to keep things working properly and keep your brew tasting sweet. Dirty coffee equipment is not only visually off-putting but it will noticeably make bad tasting coffee.
It’s a common belief that a home coffee machine with low usage does not need to be cleaned with the same frequency or care as that of a high usage machine. But, this isn’t true. The more often you clean the better the coffee is.
Note: don’t go overboard with the amount of cleaning product used.
This is true for all coffee brewing gadgets. Make sure they are thoroughly washed and dried after each use to prevent a build-up of coffee oils. Put all the pieces back together so as to avoid losing them. Take care and pride in your equipment.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=W_x1KKGN-OM&t=10s
6. Experiment and Educate
Making coffee is fun, diverse and creative.
There are so many different ways to make coffee so experiment with it! Try out a new type of brewing method you haven’t tried before, pick up a new gadget with your next coffee order and peruse the many “how to guides” on our YouTube channel.
We’re always here to help.
You can reach out to us via social media @leafbean_machine @karvancoffee and share with us your coffee journey.
Have fun and #keeponbrewing
The Leaf Bean Machine team
