10 Simple Tips That’ll Help You Brew Better Coffee At Home

Many people avoid making coffee at home because it seems like a delicate task that requires proper know-how. But all you need to know to better your coffee-making skills are the basics as well as handy tips from experts. Here are ten tips that'll perfect your homemade brew:

1. Make Your Own Coffee Grounds

Ditch your regular coffee grounds for fresh, whole coffee beans to heighten the quality of your homemade coffee. This way, you can be assured that the ground is fresh, and you'll be rewarded with the best smelling and delicious coffee every morning. But of course, make sure the beans are freshly ground right before brewing!

2. Use A Weighing Scale

Different coffees and blends can have a wide difference between bean size and density, so a tablespoon of one coffee might weigh significantly less than a tablespoon of another coffee. Thus, experts recommend using a scale to measure by weight (instead of volume), and so always attain optimum quality.

3. Use The Right Amount of Coffee

Cafe-worthy coffee is rich, authentic and never watered down, regardless of the strength required. The best way to approach this is to find the correct ratio of water to coffee. This may be stated on pre-packaged blends but if otherwise or if you're using your grounds, try to find your preferred ratio. You may not get it right the first time, but as they say, practice makes perfect.

4. Use A Burr Grinder

Finding a great grinder is key to making the perfect brew. Burr grinders allow you to set a precise grind size so that the particles have consistent size throughout. This makes brewing easier as the particles brew at the same rate.

5. Make Sure To Filter The Water

The quality of water used to brew coffee is commonly overlooked, but that shouldn't be so. If the water you're using contains impurities or smells bad, you definitely won't be getting that cafe-worthy quality!

6. Make Sure Your Water is the Right Temperature

The temperature of the water should be at about 195 – 205 degrees F for the best brew. That signature acidity and unique flavors we love in our coffees appear when they are brewed with water below 195 degrees F. On the other hand, water above 205 degrees F stimulates the release of more bitter flavors. So, using the optimal range produces a delicious mixture of sweetness and complex flavors that you'll find very addictive.

7. Pre-Heat / Pre-Wet The Ingredients

Before you brew your coffee, you want to make sure that anything your coffee will touch is as close to your brewing temperature as possible. If you don't do this, your brewing machine will steal heat from the water during the brewing process and significantly lower the temperature of the water.

8. Bloom Your Coffee

Blooming occurs as the coffee ground starts to bubble up when you first pour water on them. The reaction is a byproduct of the forceful removal of CO2 from the coffee. Never skip blooming your coffee, as CO2 can significantly prevent the extraction of flavors from the coffee grounds during brewing.

9. Fully Saturate Your Coffee

When brewing coffee, make sure that all ground coffee comes into contact with water for the same amount of time. The best way to ensure this is by giving the coffee a brief, light stir right after adding your water while blooming.

10. Don't Be Afraid To Experiment!

Last but not least, don't cower away from experimenting with coffee. Try new flavor notes or original blends; you may not know it yet, but brewing the coffee can be just as enjoyable as drinking it!