Secrets to Making the Best Coffee at Home


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There are lots of reasons to visit a local coffee shop. It is the perfect place to do some work or meet with friends. They have a lovely ambiance. Most importantly, they serve good quality coffee. Most people would drop by the coffee shop every morning to get their caffeine fix, but you don’t have to. Why? Because it’s easy to make the best coffee at home, and we’ll teach you how.

Making good coffee isn’t as difficult as it may seem. In fact, you don’t need to be a professional barista or invest in a commercial espresso machine in order to make the best coffee at home. You just need to know all the tricks, and you are sure to produce the best cup of coffee possible.

Here’s how to make the best coffee at home. One taste and you’ll ditch the drive-thru, boycott your barista, and cast off your Keurig.

Choose the right coffee beans

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Those who are new to the world of specialty coffee find it confused as to which type of beans to get. There are too many options and too many brands to make immediate sense of it all. Facing the decision of which beans to buy can be daunting.

There are a wide variety of coffee species, but the Robusta and Arabica are the main ones that are produced and sold. Choosing coffee beans is actually a question of personal taste. Robusta contains twice as much caffeine content as Arabica beans. It carries a harsher, stronger taste that some people may find unappealing. Others like it because of their deep flavor and good aroma. Arabica, on the other hand, has a softer, sweeter taste.

The coffee you make will only be as good as the ingredients you use. For the ultimate cup of coffee, experts recommend buying the freshest, best quality coffee beans you can find. Don’t skimp on the coffee beans.

Keep the beans fresh

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Coffee is a perishable food product. It doesn’t have an expiration date. But that doesn’t mean that you can buy in bulk and then store it at home. When buying coffee beans, you want to make sure that you purchase a bag of beans with a purchase date printed on it. Fresh coffee beans are always best, so be wary of those that can’t provide you with this information.

To make the best coffee at home, you should be able to consume the coffee beans 3 weeks after the roast day. As such, it is best to buy a 5 to 7-day supply of fresh beans at a time.  Make sure that you store coffee beans in an airtight container to keep it fresh. Ceramic or glass jars are ideal for this purpose.

Grind your own beans

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Most local coffee bars will be happy to grind coffee beans for you. We can’t blame people for buying ground coffee. They’re convenient and allow you to whip up a decent cup of coffee in a jiffy. But pre-grinding has its drawbacks. The beans tend to lose its aroma and freshness. If you want to produce the best-tasting coffee possible, then we highly recommend that you grind your own beans at home. If possible, grind the beans within half an hour of brewing. Remember, the best tasting coffee comes from beans that were ground just moments before being used.

Coffee grounds should be the same size so they dissolve at the same rate. This prevents coffee from ending up too bitter or too weak. That means you should also invest in a good quality coffee grinder. A burr grinder is ideal as it crushes them into a consistent size.

Use the right equipment

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Coffee or espresso machines aren’t created equal. Some machines will allow you to make the best coffee at home with just a few clicks of a button while others will require some barista skills. That means there is no one-size-fits all machine.

The best machine for you depends on your preference.  If convenience is what you’re after, then you may want to get a super automatic machine. With these machines, you can make good quality espresso even without the knowledge and skill of a professional barista. All the features are automated. You just have to sit back, relax and wait for your coffee. It’s like having your own personal barista at home. But if you’d like to have control over when extraction begins and ends, the semi automatic espresso machine may be the best choice for you. This machine comes with a portafilter, boiler, and a switch to activate or deactivate the pump to perform extraction. While other features are automated, it still allows you to have control over the brewing process.

Use clean, fresh water

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There are only 2 ingredients in making coffee – coffee beans and water. We all know that the type of coffee beans you choose has a direct effect on the taste and quality of the java you produce. But most fail to realize that water also plays an important role in the brewing process. After all, there is 98% of water in our coffee cup.

To produce the best coffee at home, it is important to use high quality water. Make sure that you’re using clean water that is free of off-flavors and odors. Tap water isn’t fresh. Often, it has odd taste or odor. For a spectacular cup of coffee, you want to start with fresh water that is food grade and free of hypochlorite, chloramines, and chlorine.

Using the wrong water can ruin a beautiful coffee as well as your equipment.  The ph level and mineral content of the water you choose will have an effect on the finished product. Too many minerals in the water can ruin your equipment over time.

Consider water temperature

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The temperature of the water is an important, yet often overlooked aspect when making coffee at home. You should never use boiling water as it may burn the coffee, making it taste unappetizing.

Water boils at 212°F. The right brewing temperature is between 195° to 205°F. To achieve the perfect temperature, you need to bring the water to a boil, take it off the heat and then let it sit for about 30 seconds.

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