How to Brew Café Worthy Coffee at Home
Coffee from home doesn’t have to be boring or lack flavour. Seeing how we’re all currently doing our part and socially distancing ourselves, you may have more time in the morning to experiment with that cup o’ Joe. I thought I’d share my three favourite methods I use for at home brewing to spark some isolation inspiration. The three methods I’ve listed below are fairly straightforward, though I’ve left out a lot of finite details as I’m trying to appease you guys (my friends and customers) not necessarily the barista community. Once someone starts talking barista lingo it can start to get a bit confusing and I recognize that so I’ve tried to keep it simple. I switch between these methods daily, despite the fact that I have an entire café setup in my office so you know they’re legit! You now have a reason to use those fancy coffee beans you ordered. Let’s start brewing!
1) The Aeropress
The Aeropress is a favourite among coffee nerds and is my go to for easy at home brewing. It’s one of the best brewers in the kitchen and on the road. I’ve taken it camping, biking, hiking, and travelling. What kind of coffee does it make? Sweet, smooth and low acidity. It’s a full immersion brew, like a French press, but filtered with paper (or reusable filters) like a pour over. And like espresso, it uses a pressurized brewing environment. It’s truly unique! Not having access to good coffee when I travel is one of my worst fears so you better believe that I take this compact little brewer everywhere! Even better, they’ve recently released an even more compact version with fewer parts and a built in cup that is super travel friendly! I won’t get into too many details about the proper brewing technique for using the Aeropress. However, if you’re interested I’ve linked an article below written by Stumptown Coffee who does an exceptional job at breaking down each step for you. Alternatively, I’m always here for your coffee questions!
2) The French Press
The French Press has to be one of the most popular and easy to use home brewing methods I’ve come across. You see these in almost every household, coffee nerd or not. The French Press brews by soaking ground coffee directly in hot water (“immersion” method) rather than letting water pass through the grounds and then a filter. When done right, coffee made in a French press tends to be more robust and rich than that of drip coffee because you don’t lose any of those flavourful oils like you do with a paper filter.
The process couldn’t be easier. You pour the grounds into the carafe, fill it with boiling water, and give it a quick stir to ensure all the coffee is saturated. Then you wait approximately five minutes, and slowly depress the plunger to press all of the grounds through the water and to the bottom of the carafe. Voila! French Press coffee!
Pro Tips:
- Make sure you are using a coarser grind than you would normally use for drip coffee since the grinds will be in constant contact with the water. A fine grind will leave you with that bitter, over-extracted taste that no one enjoys!
- Once you’ve finished brewing, decant the extra coffee into a thermos as soon as you can if you’re not drinking it all at once. Since the grounds are still in contact with the liquid it can lead to sludge like consistency.
3) The Pour Over
The pour over is probably one of the most attractive brewing methods there are. Some of them seem to mimic high-end art pieces. For this reason alone they’ve become quite popular for home brewers, not to mention they brew exceptional coffee. I’m not going to lie, the list of pour over coffee brewers on the market is seemingly endless and they all brew differently, so it can be a bit overwhelming. For myself when picking an at home brewer, I try to keep it simple. Three of my favourites currently are the Chemex, the Hario V60 and the Kalita Wave. Though all of these vary the basic brew method is similar. Pouring water over freshly ground coffee beans that sit in a filter of some sort. Gravity aids the water as it passes through the grounds and enters your vessel below. The result is a clean, clear and light bodied tasting brew. Though these drip style coffee brewers are a bit more complex, most of them are small, portable and inexpensive, making them great alternatives for brewing small batches of great tasting coffee!
Pro Tip:
-You should use a gooseneck kettle to control the rate of your pour.
Okay Coffee peeps! That’s it. Those are my three favourite home brewing methods at the moment. Besides my Linea Mini espresso machine ‘Little Fern’ whom many of you have had the pleasure of meeting, those are my go-tos. I’ve included some links below that provide more in depth descriptions and brew methods for each than I’ve provided you with. I tried to keep it short and sweet and not too complicated but informative! Please feel free to leave comments below or send me an email or DM with any questions or comments you may have regarding this blog post or even if you just want to chat coffee!
Stay safe and caffeinated friends,
Jamie
https://www.stumptowncoffee.com/brew-guides/aeropress