Easy and simple ways to improve your coffee at home

Ordering coffee at your favorite cafe can be a treat, but it’s not the cheapest option.

Making a cup at home is a cheaper alternative. Insider therefore spoke to coffee experts about their best tricks for brewing at home.

Read on for some easy ways to sharpen your coffee game.

Start by cleaning your coffee maker regularly

coffee maker kitchen dirty clean house — Old coffee grounds can affect the taste of a fresh cup.

One way to improve your cup of coffee is to clean your coffee maker regularly, Josh Zad, founder and creative director of the popular cafe chain Alfred, told Insider.

“Make sure you get into the nooks and crannies of every part, especially where the coffee drains through the filter,” he said. “The taste and aroma of old coffee really confuses the aroma of freshly brewed coffee.”

The best way to clean the hard-to-reach stains is by pouring in a shot of baking soda, a shot of vinegar and some water. Then let it sit overnight and it will scrub immediately the next day, according to Zad.

Consider trying a new brewing method, such as French press or moka pot

If you’re ready to venture further into the world of craft coffee, there are so many fun ways to brew at home, Selina Viguera, cafe leader at Blue Bottle Coffee’s Abbot Kinney location, told Insider.

Moka-pot, French press, AeroPress, Chemex and a variety of spills are just the beginning.

If you do not know where to start, Viguera said that there are many online resources, and that most coffee roasting companies have tutorials on their sites.

Invest in a pouring carafe for a fun and unique coffee experience

brew black coffee over the cup, filtered barista shutterstock_473186929 — Pour-over coffee is a popular new brewing method.

If you are looking for a specific brewing recommendation, several experts agree that the pour-over – which involves slowly pouring the hot water over the coffee grounds – is their favorite.

With the right technique, according to Viguera, it can produce a very nice cup of coffee.

Once you understand some of the variables for brewing coffee (grinding size, water temperature, agitation), you can create different cups from the same bag of coffee, she added.

Switch to buying whole coffee beans instead of pre-ground

“To make better coffee, buy better coffee,” Viguera told Insider.

Whole-cup coffee is fresher and has a more vibrant flavor than pre-ground varieties, according to Alex Azoury, the original founder and CEO of Home Grounds, a community for coffee lovers.

Brew fresh coffee within the first two weeks after brewing

“Coffee is a natural product (it is the seed of a fruit), and although it will never spoil, it will lose a lot of flavor if it is left for too long,” Zad told Insider.

According to Viguera, the coffee flavor is within the first two weeks after roasting, so it is important to make sure that the coffee you buy has been roasted recently.

To maintain the freshness of your coffee, the correct storage is also important. Zad suggested keeping it away from heat, light, moisture and the freezer.

Invest in a good coffee grinder that matches your bean preferences

After buying quality beans, it is also important to invest in a good grinder.

“It’s a good idea to get a grinder that grinds coffee in the amount and coarseness you want,” Azoury told Insider. ” A good grinder gives you both grinding and quantity options to suit your taste. ‘

Make sure you fit the grinder to the right size

Coffee that is ground too finely will, according to Viguera, cause too much extraction and soils that are too coarse lead to under-extraction.

Over-extracted coffee can taste dry and bitter, and coffee extracted underneath can taste watery or sour.

To avoid this, Viguera told Insider that it’s important to turn on your coffee. Baristas use this term to describe the act of adjusting your grinding setting to find the right roughness / fineness to brew a balanced cup.

Coffee has a sweet spot – a perfect grinding environment – that strikes a balance between bitterness, acidity and sweetness. According to Viguera, the sweet spot can differ with the origin of the coffee, the frying level and the age.

Just immediately grind the beans you plan to brew

French purple coffee — Once coffee beans are ground, it can start to lose its flavors.

You just have to grind the amount of coffee you are going to make.

“If you ground all your coffee beforehand, but did not brew it right away, you have drastically accelerated how quickly the rest of the coffee will lose its delicious complexity,” Zad told Insider.

Depending on the quality of your water, a cup of coffee may taste different

Another important factor to consider when making coffee at home is your water, which according to Viguera makes up about 98% of your brewed cup of coffee.

“As the main solvent to extract the flavor and aroma from your ground coffee, your water needs a certain amount of hardness / minerality and alkalinity for a quality extraction,” she told Insider. “Depending on where you live, your tap water may be too hard / soft to get the best out of your cup.”

Light and dark roast meat requires different brewing temperatures

steaming kettle teapot — Too hot water can ruin a cup of coffee.

Water temperature is another important variable for brewing coffee.

“You want to use water heated to 198 degrees Fahrenheit to 202 degrees Fahrenheit to make a properly extracted cup of coffee,” Viguera said. “Light roasted coffee can take more heat (202 degrees Fahrenheit), while darker roasted coffee is better brewed with water closer to 198 degrees Fahrenheit.”

Try to preheat your cup before pouring the coffee

If you pour hot coffee into a cold cup, it only makes the coffee colder as soon as it hits the ceramic.

According to Zad, a preheated cup will increase the time you can enjoy hot coffee in the morning.

Turn things on by brewing cold at home

cold brew coffee — Cold brewing is not as difficult to make as some people think.

Another way to confuse your coffee routine is by making your own cold brewery at home.

To do this, just grind your beans coarsely and add water, Zad said. Then put it in the fridge overnight to get all the rich sweetness out of the coffee.

Add spices to make your own flavored coffee

According to Zad, flavored coffee can be full of artificial ingredients that do not complement the natural flavor of the beans.

Instead, he suggested that you add the actual ingredients behind the flavor you want to your coffee.

“Try adding spices to your coffee grounds when making cold brews,” Zad told Insider. “Throw cinnamon sticks, crushed roasted hazelnuts, cardamom pods, anise, cocoa shells or even savory elements like caraway into your cold brew overnight, and you have a natural spicy goodness in the morning – nothing artificial.”

Use a scale to achieve the right coffee / water ratio

coffee scale — The ratio can change the strength of the coffee.

Knowing your brewing ratio – or coffee-to-water ratio – and using a scale, you can brew good cups all the time.

“For reference, the industry standard is 1:18 (one part coffee to 18 parts water), which usually produces a cup that is light in body but has a greater clarity of aroma,” Viguera told Insider. “If you prefer a brave, fuller cup, then try a ratio of 1:14.”

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