What You Need to Make the Best Coffee at Home

They say money makes the world go round but if that’s true caffeine can’t be far behind. Caffeine is the most widely consumed mood altering substance known to man and has been since it spread out of the Sufi monasteries of Yemen in the 15th century.

Today coffee is consumed in every corner of the globe and there are more ways to enjoy it than ever before. But despite its popularity, achieving the perfect cup of coffee at home can often seem like the impossible dream. But it doesn’t have to be.

Brewing the Perfect Cup of Coffee

To your grandparents achieving the perfect cup of coffee likely meant buying a can of ground coffee off the supermarket shelf and dragging out the percolator. While there’s still plenty of good to be said about percolated coffee (and we love you grandma and grandpa) we’re going to take a slightly different approach here, one more in tune with what you’ll find in the best high-end coffee bars.

● Buy Freshly Roasted Beans – Some purists will say you should roast your own beans. We’re not them. There are a lot of places you can buy different types of pre-roasted coffee beans and many will produce a superb final product. If you have a favorite type of coffee (say, Sumatra Dark Roast) pick up a pound and bring it home.

● Make Sure You have a High Quality Grinder – Spend a few dollars extra on a high quality grinder that will produce a nice even grind. If you have a choice between a spin grinder and a burr grinder we recommend the burr grinder. It will typically do a better job unlocking the complex chemical compounds within the beans.

● Grind the Beans – Different brew methods require different grind levels. Any decent coffee grinder will come with presets for the various levels of grind. In a nutshell those different grinds are:

○ Coarse grind for French press and vacuum coffee makers.
○ Medium grind for drip coffee makers with flat bottom filters.
○ Medium/Fine grind for drip coffee makers with cone shaped filters.
○ Fine to Superfine grind for espresso makers.
○ A Powdery, “Turkish” grind for Turkish style coffee obviously.

● Use the Right Water – Your ideal cup of coffee is going to be 99% water so the water you use will pretty much dictate the quality of the finished product. Don’t even think of using tap water unless it’s subjected to a thorough filtration process. The best thing to do is use a reliable brand name spring water every time. No buts.

● Brew Your Coffee – Using your preferred method. Nuff said.

● Add Flavorings etc – Once you’ve finished brewing your ideal cup, add a dash of the best Monin coffee syrups from A1Coffee, some real milk (did we mention the importance of real milk? No? Well consider it mentioned) and a wee bit of unrefined sugar. Stir gently and enjoy!

You don’t need to traipse down to the local coffee bar to enjoy the ideal cup of coffee. All it takes is the right ingredients, the right grinder, real milk and some patience.