Making coffee is probably something you do everyday. We often hear our wholebean customers comment, "your coffee always tastes better in your shops." While it is certainly true that our cafés utilize industry standard equipment operated by professionally trained baristas, there is also no reason why you can't enjoy fantastic coffee at home. In fact, most home-brew can be dramatically improved by taking four simple steps.
1. Use a good burr grinder
Your coffee can only be as good as the quality of the grind. Brewing coffee is all about even extraction, which is the product of an even particle size. We recommend you spend most of your coffee budget on buying a good grinder. Grind immediately before brewing for best results.
2. Use filtered spring water.
Louisville tap water is too hard to get a proper extraction. Essentially, all of those extra particles prevent the coffee from fully dissolving. You also don't want the water to be too soft, so filtered spring water produces the best tasting brew.
3. Use a scale.
The easiest way to get consistency with your home brew is to use a kitchen scale to weigh your coffee and water. Even small 1 gram difference in dosing can make a big impact on flavor. Considering how expensive good coffee is, this investment will soon pay itself off in coffee that isn't wasted.
4. Use freshly roasted coffee
Coffee is at its best in the first 3 weeks following roasting. Rather than stockpiling large amounts of coffee we recommend buying smaller amounts as you need it. One easy way to do this is through our coffee subscription program.
Once you tackle these simple steps there are plenty of online tutorials that can help you develop your skills and technique. Learning how to make great coffee at home can be a fun hobby, with real, material benefits. Chances are your friends and family will be glad you take it up!
Photos by Matthew Stevenson