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