A beginner's guide to making coffee at home
A quick and dirty rundown on how to set up your own coffee setup at home
It’s ten years now since I started making coffee at home. I started with no knowledge other than knowing I liked coffee. As soon as I started to share coffee bits on Instagram stories people straight away told me I was doing it wrong.
Now, that can come across as helpful and genuine or I can come across as darn right rude and elitist. There’s a difference between “you could consider trying this” vs “bro what the hell are you doing??”
At this point I’m obsessed with the coffee world; the community, the experience, the design, the passion and the product itself. Give me a seat outside with a buddy, in a new city, with a banging brew and an hour to kill, I won’t ask for anything else.
If you’re at the start of your coffee journey or just keen to see what’s out there, here’s a few products on the market that’ll provide everything you need to make a decent cuppa at home:
Pour over method
Beans
Sounds simple but making sure you have the right beans for each method of brewing is important. Generally, roasters will make it clear on their packaging how the beans should be used.
You’re looking for “pour over / v60” for this method, or if it says ‘omni roast” that’ll work too (a coffee terms for a multi-purpose bean). If the packaging doesn’t say then that’s a red flag for me.
Try
Carafe
Simply, the jug you’ll brew your coffee into. There’s loads out there, but it’s hard to beat Kinto’s selection for the price. If you fancy a slightly bigger splash of the cash it’s worth a snoop of Orea’s selection.
Failing that, you can technically brew straight into a cup for extra ease.
Pour over dripper
The top part where the grounds will sit. Admittedly I’m never fully sure what the universal name for this is and for some reason these aren’t as easy to find as you’d think, even though they’re integral. Brands to look at:
Hand and Mechanical Grinders
Hand grinding takes time and effort, which is no bad thing as it can become a big part of the routine of the making process. Mechanical is fast and convinent, but takes up more space. It really depends the level you want to shoot at, and also where you plan to brew.
For example, if you are into camping then a hand grinder makes sense. Home bod, with worktop space then a mechanical design could be the move. But it’s one area where you 100% get what you pay for, and will substantially affect how the coffee brews.
Brands to look at:
Filter papers
A necessary part to brewing a decent cup is the filter papers. The size and style will depend on which pour over vessel you end up using, so always check the measurements on the respective websites.
My only tips here are to rise your papers will a bit of boiling water before you add your grounds, this helps get rid of any papery taste. Brown papers are generally composable.
Cups
Anything goes. Old ones from your grandparents, handmade ones from your local ceramists, swanky ones from design brands or just a classic no1 dad mug even if you don’t have kids. Match your vibe, as long as it’s a cup it’s good to go. Generally, pour over coffees are served with handleless cups these days, but go with the flow.
Scales
I must admit, I used some old kitchen scales for years, but as I got more into coffee and the brewing process it made sense to venture into dedicated kit. There’s something here for every budget, but a great starting point would be Timemore’s basic scales.
A good price and something you’ll regular see being used in specialty coffee shops around the world.
Kettle
Like the scales, when I first tried brewing at home I used the regular kitchen kettle and yeah that was a terrible idea. Zero control and regulation. In a similar vein, there’s something for every budget here.
I used the iconic Hario gooseneck kettle for years, works perfectly but have never been in love with the design. Recently I got the Stagg kettle by Fellow, feels like a massive upgrade in terms of looks and its ergonomic design. Both are spot on at two ends of the scale.
Boden also do a nice option.
Next time we’ll get into making espresso-based drinks at home.
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La Cabra also has fantastic beans if you into light roast
no mention of the humble moka pot. sad!