Specialty coffee brewing has never been much more accessible for the Home Barista.
With advancements in coffee tools and techniques, the options for brewing high-quality coffee from the comfort of your own home are constantly evolving. Whether your goal is to perfect a simple V60 brew or delve into the exciting world of home roasting, the possibilities are endless.
Ready to transform your morning coffee? Read these 5 tips to elevate your game.
1. Read, Be Open & Stay Curious
Coffee is a deep and complex topic. Resources such as books and reliable videos are excellent ways to begin this journey. To deepen your understanding of coffee, explore the various aspects of the coffee-making process, from the types of beans (Arabica and Robusta) to the methods used for processing, roasting, and brewing. By gaining a solid understanding of these topics, you’ll be well-equipped to engage with others in the coffee industry and continue to grow your knowledge.
Staying open & curious about different perspectives is also important. The coffee world is global, so how it’s done in one country, let’s say Taiwan, is different than in Melbourne. Perhaps you might think a particular drink should taste a certain way that’s different from another part of the world, but behind every cup – there is a cultural reason behind it.
If you ask more questions, dig deeper, and become more passionately curious about your coffee, you will see things in a different light.
2. Invest in Good Coffee Tools
Affordable home brewing coffee tools can be an option, but often at the expense of flavour. To elevate your coffee tasting experience, consider investing in a high-quality hand grinder. While it may initially cost more, it can make a significant difference in the taste of your coffee, even when brewed with a simple plastic V60.
Ultimately, the decision between quality and affordability comes down to personal preference. Our blog is designed to help guide you in making informed decisions about your home brewing equipment and practices.
List of Coffee Tools by Importance
- Hand Grinder
- Brewer (V60, Flower, Kalita..)
- Weighing Scale
- Electric Kettle
- Coffee Server
- Tasting Cup
- Tasting Spoon
If you are just starting out, we recommend looking into TIMEMORE & 1Zpresso for hand grinders, and Hario & CAFEC for brewers and paper filters. These brands also offer kettles, servers, and additional coffee tools if you desire.
For coffee beans, choose whole beans from a local established coffee roaster. Take note of the roast date, and have it delivered within a week. Keep it sealed, stored, and away from direct sunlight for prolonged shelf life. A bag of beans once opened, is usually fresh within a month.
3. Practice Daily & Keep Track
Just like anything in life, you need to practice consistently, and to be the best home barista, do deliberate practice. For a start, practice brewing with a single recipe with your brewer and notice the taste. We recommend James Hoffman’s 1-Cup V60 recipe to begin and try it yourself at home.
If you realize the coffee is not tasting good – either too bitter or sour, check your grinder settings. Find a good medium-fine grind setting and stick to a moderate water temperature of 90°. Once you have found a balance of aroma, flavour, body, and aftertaste of the coffee, that is when you have achieved a good brew. From then, you can tweak grind settings, temperatures, and techniques to achieve an even better brew.
By keeping all of your brews tracked, you can trace back what you did the previous week or month. This is helpful as you learn to expand your skills forward and test new ways of brewing. That is why we highly recommend using a journal or logbook and we believe it will help you immensely.
You can check out our Free Notion Brewing Journal with templates for keeping track your brews and recipes.
4. Try New Coffee Varieties & Regions
The coffee plant is an amazing gift from nature that is not known by many. Today, coffee producers from different regions harvest varieties from Geisha, Bourbon, Typica, and Pacamara to SL28, all offering unique tropical, floral, and exotic flavours.
Notable specialty coffee regions such as Ethiopia, Kenya, and Colombia are best to start with. It’s good to have an understanding of popular regions, varieties, and processing methods from each country. For example, Ethiopian coffees from Yirgacheffe are known for their floral and fruity, natural, and washed processes.
Here’s a brewing exercise – practice brewing a natural and washed Ethiopian coffee to gather some insight on the difference. Next, develop your sensory skills by tasting different coffee and taste notes. Over time you would have to build a strong foundation and can recall a taste (or coffee region) from memory.
Tasting can be a personal and collaborative experience (cuppings). Do your analysis based on your conviction and compare it with others to hear their thoughts.
5. Explore Cafe & Roasteries
It is worthwhile to visit cafés every once in a while to renew the passion for specialty coffee. First, it allows us to experience how other Baristas are brewing their coffee. Second, it gives us the opportunity to taste different varieties and learn their origins.
A practical tip is to plan for Cafe hops whenever you visit a new city. Do your research on the best cafes & roasteries with good reviews and especially cafes that have an emphasis on high-quality roasts. Know their opening times and slot a time that is convenient as you travel.
Develop the habit of continually exploring, asking questions, and learning about coffee. Engage with baristas and other coffee experts to gain deeper insights, and don’t be afraid to share your own thoughts and discoveries.
Conclusion
The art of brewing coffee can bring depth to the human experience. It is more than just a drink but also serves as a topic of discussion, a pause, and a way to bring people together.
As you continue your home barista journey, take the time to reflect on what you hope to achieve. It might include enhancing your V60 brewing skills or perfecting your latte art designs.
When you have a skill-based goal, this will bring more purpose to your brewing efforts. By committing to deliberate practice, you can effectively build and improve yourself as a home brewer.
Lastly, here are some recommended books that we believe will be a great guide as you go along this journey.
- How to Make Coffee: The Science Behind the Bean
- Craft Coffee: A Manual
- How To Make The Best Coffee at Home
Thanks for reading. We hope you have gained some valuable insights from this post. Follow Art Of Brew on Instagram and Twitter or share your thoughts in the comments below.
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