How to Brew Your Little Heart Out at Home
Last seen circa 1978, filter coffee is slowly making a comeback – here's how to make it work for you at home
If you live in Australia or New Zealand, the sight of people sitting on pavements outside cafes has become as common as the once-ubiquitous corner dairy. Drinking coffee seems to have become everyone’s favourite pastime, but if you too are fed up of listening to Bon Iver and marvelling at bad cafe art – or if you’re just a little tired of spending $5 a pop – you might want to give home brewing a chance. I chatted with Hannah Cho, of boutique roaster Kokako, about how to set yourself up.
Soft-brew coffee, by contrast, is all about purity and cleanliness of flavour – think lighter, fruitier coffees rather than strong espresso. For this reason, it’s particularly well suited to single-origin coffee beans, roasted lighter in order to preserve their individual characteristics.
While soft-brew coffee takes a little more time, its low cost of entry (you can buy a simple French press or cone filter and a hand grinder for less than $100) and delicate flavours are seeing it make a return to kitchens all over the world. Here’s how to get started.
While soft-brew coffee takes a little more time, its low cost of entry (you can buy a simple French press or cone filter and a hand grinder for less than $100) and delicate flavours are seeing it make a return to kitchens all over the world. Here’s how to get started.
1. Consider your kit
Find a really good boutique coffee roaster – such as Kokako or Coffee Supreme in New Zealand, or St Ali or Double Roasters in Oz – and get to know the guys making the coffee. Ask them a few questions about the gear and what they recommend. There is a huge range on the market – from simple to entirely automated, though the difference with espresso is that even the most simple kit can produce the best coffee with a little skill.
The four ceramic filters here are a classic method known as a ‘pour-over’ in which water is gently poured over the grounds and then run through a simple paper filter. (The Hario V60 and the Kalita are great options here.) It’s easy – and cheap: a basic one such as this will cost $30 or $40 at the most.
Find a really good boutique coffee roaster – such as Kokako or Coffee Supreme in New Zealand, or St Ali or Double Roasters in Oz – and get to know the guys making the coffee. Ask them a few questions about the gear and what they recommend. There is a huge range on the market – from simple to entirely automated, though the difference with espresso is that even the most simple kit can produce the best coffee with a little skill.
The four ceramic filters here are a classic method known as a ‘pour-over’ in which water is gently poured over the grounds and then run through a simple paper filter. (The Hario V60 and the Kalita are great options here.) It’s easy – and cheap: a basic one such as this will cost $30 or $40 at the most.
Aeropress Coffee Maker
An Aeropress, meanwhile, is another great place to start for a novice. You can take it anywhere you need since it’s made of plastic and it’s lightweight. It takes up minimal space and can be packed up easily for weekends away at the bach or camping.
For an even more basic method, try a French press – or if you’re in New Zealand, a plunger. You’ll soon be hooked on its ritualistic qualities. Design wise, they’re timeless, and you can find one to fit in just about any kitchen. If you have a large one, they're great for brewing a big pot of coffee for a few people in a hurry.
If you’re up for a few lessons, says Cho, using a Chemex or syphon filter can be really rewarding – though they require a bit more technique than the more basic methods. But the theatrics are a real crowd pleaser. Impress your well-to-do friends with a hand-blown glass number: it’ll pay for itself in compliments.
Mazzer Coffee Grinders / Super Jolly
2. Get a grinder
One of the key parts of brewing good coffee at home is making sure it’s freshly ground. So get a grinder. Not a cheap one, a good one. It should have a conical burr (where the beans are crushed between two burrs, rather than a blade, which Hannah says won’t give you a consistent grind). It should be adjustable too, to suit the beans and the weather and your equipment. And it should fit with the theme of your other appliances.
I’m very partial to a Mazzer – but if you’re on a budget, a simple hand-held grinder (Hario do some nice ones) will do the trick very well.
One of the key parts of brewing good coffee at home is making sure it’s freshly ground. So get a grinder. Not a cheap one, a good one. It should have a conical burr (where the beans are crushed between two burrs, rather than a blade, which Hannah says won’t give you a consistent grind). It should be adjustable too, to suit the beans and the weather and your equipment. And it should fit with the theme of your other appliances.
I’m very partial to a Mazzer – but if you’re on a budget, a simple hand-held grinder (Hario do some nice ones) will do the trick very well.
3. Buy single-origin beans
Granted, lightly roasted single-origin beans are more expensive than supermarket ones – you’ll need to go to a boutique roaster – but the flavour they provide is incomparable, and it’s still way cheaper than paying $5 for a coffee someone else made.
Some coffee roasters will even do home delivery – in New Zealand, Coffee Supreme has a subscription service, delivering a different coffee to your house each week, which allows you to try different beans.
Granted, lightly roasted single-origin beans are more expensive than supermarket ones – you’ll need to go to a boutique roaster – but the flavour they provide is incomparable, and it’s still way cheaper than paying $5 for a coffee someone else made.
Some coffee roasters will even do home delivery – in New Zealand, Coffee Supreme has a subscription service, delivering a different coffee to your house each week, which allows you to try different beans.
4. Be precise
There’s a recipe for brewing coffee, says Cho. The general rule of thumb is to use about 15g of coffee for 250ml of water – whatever system you’re using, you want to slowly pour the water over the coffee grounds to let them gently extract the flavour. “A set of electric scales are an ideal, near essential, way to help you achieve the best results,” she says.
Temperature’s important too, which means a kettle – such as the Hario V60 Power Kettle – is the ultimate brewing accessory. This particular model has a long, narrow spout which is perfect for controlling the water flow over the grounds – remember, you want the water at about 90ºC for the perfect brew, and this is one very good way to achieve that.
There’s a recipe for brewing coffee, says Cho. The general rule of thumb is to use about 15g of coffee for 250ml of water – whatever system you’re using, you want to slowly pour the water over the coffee grounds to let them gently extract the flavour. “A set of electric scales are an ideal, near essential, way to help you achieve the best results,” she says.
Temperature’s important too, which means a kettle – such as the Hario V60 Power Kettle – is the ultimate brewing accessory. This particular model has a long, narrow spout which is perfect for controlling the water flow over the grounds – remember, you want the water at about 90ºC for the perfect brew, and this is one very good way to achieve that.
5. Get some good mugs
Drinking coffee, and in particular soft-brewed coffee, is all about ritual. It takes a little longer, but the results are worth it – it creates a pause in your day while you slow down and make something.
Part of that involves getting nice things to drink from – think about investing in some boutique ceramics, the lumpier and more misshapen the better. Then leave them out of the cupboard – the easier and more desirable you make it for yourself to brew at home, the more you’ll do it.
Drinking coffee, and in particular soft-brewed coffee, is all about ritual. It takes a little longer, but the results are worth it – it creates a pause in your day while you slow down and make something.
Part of that involves getting nice things to drink from – think about investing in some boutique ceramics, the lumpier and more misshapen the better. Then leave them out of the cupboard – the easier and more desirable you make it for yourself to brew at home, the more you’ll do it.
6. Dedicate a space to it
It’s obvious, but think about your space. Brewing at home should be functional – you don’t want to be pulling everything out and putting it away again every time. Set yourself up with a small area of the kitchen, purely dedicated to the craft.
Failing that – in a small kitchen, say, with very limited bench space – make sure you have a cupboard that is easily accessible. Making coffee should be instinctive and fun – hauling stuff from the back of the cupboard isn’t instinctive or fun.
It’s obvious, but think about your space. Brewing at home should be functional – you don’t want to be pulling everything out and putting it away again every time. Set yourself up with a small area of the kitchen, purely dedicated to the craft.
Failing that – in a small kitchen, say, with very limited bench space – make sure you have a cupboard that is easily accessible. Making coffee should be instinctive and fun – hauling stuff from the back of the cupboard isn’t instinctive or fun.
7. Renovate with coffee in mind
If you’re renovating your kitchen, think about how you make coffee when you’re doing it – and make it even easier to remove yourself from the joys of the obnoxiously busy Sunday morning cafe run. A centre island with your gear on the back wall, like this one by Dorrington Atcheson Architects, is a great way to bring the social qualities of going out for coffee into your own home.
If you’re renovating your kitchen, think about how you make coffee when you’re doing it – and make it even easier to remove yourself from the joys of the obnoxiously busy Sunday morning cafe run. A centre island with your gear on the back wall, like this one by Dorrington Atcheson Architects, is a great way to bring the social qualities of going out for coffee into your own home.
But why pick just one of the options above? This coffee station in a kitchen has the right approach: a good-quality burr grinder with a baby commercial espresso machine beside it, and then a variety of brewing methods above including French press, pour-over, Chemex, Aeropress – and some very nice mugs. I’m hoping the drawers contain plenty of the right kind of filters.
And if you decide that coffee has become your calling, then go all out. Create a literal in-home cafe like this hole-in-the-wall number. Maybe even employ your own barista. Cho, unfortunately, is unavailable.
TELL US
How do you make coffee at home? Share your ritual in the Comments below.
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TELL US
How do you make coffee at home? Share your ritual in the Comments below.
MORE
Cafe-Style Kitchens: How to Groove to the Bistro Beat
12 Breakfast Bars That Give Cafés a Run for Their Money
How to Bring Breakfast Back
Espresso machines look good, no doubt – and if you have the space and budget for a serious machine like the one above and the patience to learn, then go for it. But they are hellishly hard to use for a novice, and non-commercial machines often don’t offer enough pressure to push water through the grounds fast enough. You could easily end up with lacklustre coffee… And no one wants that.