10 tips for the perfect brew!

No matter what your preference or brew type, here are some fail safe ways to truly up your at -home barista skills!

    1. Use filtered water; sounds a little bougie I know, but you can really elevate a cup of coffee simply by using lovely fresh, filtered water rather than straight out of the tap. 
    2. Whole beans over pre-ground for the ultimate freshness.  This is also a great way to avoid any wastage; measure out the exact weight of beans you need from roast to roast and specific to your brew type, and grind to measure! Yummo. 
    3. Invest in a great grinder: To the point above, there are so many amazing grinders on the market these days that won’t cost a bomb and take up half of your kitchen bench space. From hand grinders, to little electric numbers with all the bells and whistles. Check out some reviews online and get grinding!
    4. Time your brew extraction; if you’re an espresso lover, you should be roughly looking for a 30second extraction, for a press pot, you’re looking at about a 4 min brew, and for a pour over - just let that bad boy drip through, but too long and you might want to increase the coarseness of your grind… 
    5. Don’t use boiling water; contrary to popular belief, you should be using water that is just shy of boiling point temperatures. Let it sit for a few minutes after the kettle has stopped boiling and you're good to go.
  • Let your coffee bloom: When ground coffee meets hot water, it will let off carbon dioxide and you’ll notice a little bubbling. This is a good thing. For those using the pour over method, let your coffee bloom by pouring half of your water measure over the coffee and letting it sit for 30 seconds before finishing the pour. Lean over and enjoy the bloomin’ fresh aromas. This is also a great test of freshness. 
  • Regularly clean your equipment; It’s easy to set and forget with coffee equipment, but like anything mechanical, where there’s water involved and coffee grinds and heat, and dairy, you want to make sure you’re giving your equipment  a good clean at least once every week, and in some cases every day. Use a toothbrush to get into all the nooks and crannies, especially for your grinder as the coffee bean oils can build up. 
    1. Pre-heat your coffee cup: FANCY! This is a real baller move, especially if you’re brewing a cuppa for a guest. Sit your coffee cup on top of the espresso machine while you’re brewing or pop some hot water in the cup and pour it out before you pour your coffee for the full cafe experience
    2. Know your Roast: Get to know where your coffee is from and start exploring your taste profile. This will help arm you with all the right cupping lingo. 
    Experiment with different brew types and flavours: dont be afraid to mix it up. You might love a coffee with milk in the morning and a black coffee in the afternoon. Go on a coffee roast adventure with Brew Sip Happy (wink wink, nudge nudge) and explore different roasts and blends each month, and start taking note of what you love most in a roast!

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