If you want to save money, making coffee at home is a cheaper alternative to buying it from a café. Insider spoke with coffee experts about their best tips for brewing coffee at home.
1. Make sure to use quality water 2. Use a quality filter 3. Don’t use too much coffee 4. Store your coffee in an airtight container 5. Buy a quality coffee grinder Use these tips to make better home brewed coffee: 1. Use quality water 2. Use a quality filter 3. Don’t use too much coffee 4. Store your coffee in an airtight container 5. Buy a quality coffee grinder
1. Start by cleaning your coffee maker regularly
One way to improve your cup of coffee is to regularly clean your coffee maker, according to Josh Zad, founder and creative director of popular café chain Alfred.
“Make sure to get into the nooks and crannies of each part, especially where the coffee drains through the filter,” he said. “The taste and aroma of old coffee really muddles the flavor of freshly brewed coffee.”
Zad says that the best way to clean hard-to-reach stains is by adding a bit of baking soda, vinegar, and water, letting it sit overnight, and scrubbing it off the next day.
2. Use fresh, whole bean coffee
The complex and delicious smell and taste of coffee is largely due to the aromatic compounds present in roasted coffee beans. However, immediately after roasting, these compounds begin to escape from the bean, taking much of the flavor with them.
To make the most flavorful cup of coffee, use fresh beans and grind them right before you brew. Subscribe to a coffee subscription service to get fresh roasted coffee delivered to your door.
3. Consider trying out a new brewing method, like French press or moka pot
“If you want to explore, start with Chemex, Viguera said. If you’re ready to explore different types of craft coffee, Selina Viguera, café leader of Blue Bottle Coffee’s Abbot Kinney location, told Insider that there are many fun ways to brew at home. “If you want to explore, start with Chemex, Viguera said.
There are a variety of ways to make coffee, including the moka pot, French press, AeroPress, Chemex, and pour-overs.
Viguera stated that if an individual is unsure of where to begin, there are many online sources that can be of assistance. In addition, most coffee-roasting companies offer tutorials on their websites.
4. Use a scale
If you want to brew great coffee, you need to be more precise than using rough measurements like 2 tablespoons of coffee per 6oz of water. By being more precise with your measurements, you can take your coffee brewing to the next level.
A scale allows you to measure coffee by weight instead of volume, ensuring that the amount of coffee in your cup is consistent regardless of the type of coffee beans used.
5. For a fun and unique coffee experience, invest in a pour-over carafe
If you want a specific brewing suggestion, many experts say that pour-over coffee, where you slowly pour hot water over the grounds, is their favorite way to make it.
According to Viguera, coffee made with proper technique can be delicious.
“Different cups from the same bag of coffee” means that you can change the taste of the coffee by changing the way you brew it.
6. Switch to buying whole coffee beans instead of pre-ground
In order to make better coffee, Viguera told Insider that you should buy better coffee.
Azoury believes that whole-bean coffee tastes better than pre-ground coffee because it is fresher and has a more vibrant flavor.
7. Brew fresh coffee within its first 2 weeks after roasting
Zad told Insider that coffee is a natural product and that while it will never spoil, it will lose flavor if it sits around too long.
Viguera says that coffee tastes best within the first two weeks after it has been roasted. Therefore, it is important to make sure the coffee you purchase was recently roasted.
8. Use a Burr Grinder
A coffee grinder is one of the most important tools in brewing coffee. The particle size of ground coffee determines how quickly flavors are extracted from the beans, with smaller particles extracting faster than bigger particles. When you brew coffee, you want all of your grounds to be about the same size, so all of the particles brew at the same rate.
Burr grinders give you more control over the grind size of your coffee beans, which gives you more control over the brewing process.
9. Adjust your grinder to the right size
If the coffee is ground too fine, it will result in over extraction, and if the grounds are too coarse, it will lead to under-extraction, according to Viguera.
A coffee that is over-extracted can taste dry and bitter, while one that is under-extracted can taste watery or sour.
-In order to prevent your coffee from becoming too strong, Viguera told Insider that it is important to “dial in” your coffee. This term is used by baristas to describe the act of adjusting the grind setting to find the right coarseness/fineness to brew a balanced cup.
There is a perfect coffee grind setting that creates a balance of bitterness, acidity, and sweetness. This sweet spot can vary depending on the origin of the coffee, roast level, and age.
10. Grind what you need!
You should only grind the amount of coffee you’re going to drink.
the coffee will lose its delicious complexity
,” Zad told Insider.
Did you know that almost all of brewed coffee is water? This means that the quality and taste of water has a big impact on how your coffee tastes. If the water you use tastes bad or has any strange odors, your coffee will as well. one of the best things you can do for your morning cup is to use purified water.
The quality of tap water can vary greatly from place to place. In some areas, it is clean enough to use for brewing coffee. However, it is generally a good idea to use filtered or bottled water. If you are using bottled water, make sure it is not distilled. Although distilled water is technically the purest, coffee needs some minerals in order to brew correctly and taste good.
12. Light and dark roasts require different brewing temperatures
Water temperature is another key variable when brewing coffee.
“You want to use water heated to 198 degrees Fahrenheit to 202 degrees Fahrenheit to make a properly extracted cup of coffee,” Viguera said. “Lighter roasted coffees can take more heat (202 degrees Fahrenheit), whereas darker roasted coffees taste better brewed with water closer to 198 degrees Fahrenheit.”
13. Make sure your water is the right temperature
To make the best tasting coffee, use water that is between 195 and 205 degrees Fahrenheit. The temperature of the water affects how quickly the coffee is brewed and what flavors are extracted.
The best coffee is brewed with water at around 195-205 degrees Fahrenheit, as this temperature range brings out the coffee’s sweetness and complex flavors without extracting any bitter flavors.
14. Pre-heat / Pre-wet everything
Before brewing coffee, ensure that anything coming into contact with the coffee is as close to the brewing temperature as possible. If not, the brewing device will lower the water temperature during the brewing process. Properly heated water is crucial during the brew, so you want to avoid lowering the water temperature needlessly. When brewing a pour over, prepare the filter by wetting it with hot water and letting it drain. This brings the filter to the correct temperature and washes away paper flavor that would otherwise end up in your coffee.
15. Switch things up by making cold brew at home
If you want to change up your coffee routine, try making your own cold brew at home.
After that, put it in the fridge for 24 hours to let all the flavors from the coffee come out.
16. Add spices to make your own flavored coffee
Zad believes that flavored coffee is often full of artificial ingredients which ruin the natural taste of the beans. He believes it is better to add actual ingredients to coffee to get desired flavors.
“Try adding spices to your coffee grounds when you make your cold brew,” Zad told Insider. “Throw in cinnamon sticks, crushed roasted hazelnuts, cardamom pods, anise, cacao shells, or even savory elements like caraway to steep overnight in your cold brew, and you’ll have natural spicy goodness in the morning — nothing artificial.”
17. Bloom your coffee
The bloom is the moment when coffee grounds start to bubble up when water is first poured on them. This is caused by CO2, which is a natural byproduct of the roasting process, being forced out of the coffee. The bloom is an important step in brewing coffee because the presence of CO2 can prevent extraction by pushing water away from the ground coffee.
Start by adding a small amount of water to the coffee grounds, then wait about 30 seconds for the coffee to bloom. The amount of water used for the bloom should be double the amount of coffee you’re using. For example, if you’re using 35 grams of coffee, use 70 grams of water for the bloom.
18. Use a scale to achieve the right coffee-to-water ratio
Having a set ratio of coffee to water and using a scale can help you make consistently good cups of coffee.
“For reference, the industry standard is 1:18 (one part coffee to 18 parts water), which typically produces a cup that is light in body but a greater clarity of flavor,” Viguera told Insider. “If you prefer a bolder, fuller-bodied cup, try a 1:14 ratio.”
19. Fully saturate your coffee
After adding water to your coffee during the bloom phase, give it a light stir to ensure that all of the coffee grounds are wet.
20. Experiment!
But what happens when you use the same coffee with a V60? The fun part of brewing coffee is trying different brewing methods and coffees. For example, you might use a Bee House Dripper and enjoy the taste. But what would happen if you used the same coffee bean with a V60?
There are many ways to experiment with coffee in order to make your morning cup taste better. For example, try brewing one of our Single Origins and compare the results to our House Blend. Or, use a few extra grams of coffee for your morning cup and taste the difference.