Helpful Home Barista Tips To Make The Perfect Cup Of Coffee

Trying to save money on your daily cold brew coffee fix? Perhaps you’re struggling to adjust to making your own coffee at home so that you can avoid the crowds and practice safe social distancing - hello, 2020!

Whatever the case might be, knowing how to make French press coffee, what the perfect pour over coffee ratio is - and other delicious coffee shop beverages - at home is a vital skill. Not only will you be able to save some serious cash on your daily indulgence, but it doesn’t take a lot to learn the ropes, either.

In this article, we’ll tell you some easy ways you can be your own barista at home.

Buy Great Coffee Beans

The first step in becoming your own barista is to invest in the best - beans, that is. You can have the most expensive and elaborate French press coffee press in the world, but without understanding the ins and outs of quality coffee beans, you aren’t going to produce a quality brew.

You don’t have to break the bank, either. You just need to know what you’re looking for. Purchase espresso beans for delicious lattes, or get a house blend from your favorite coffee place. 

Good-quality coffee beans are essential for all kinds of coffee, but especially for cold brew. With cold brew, you’ll be able to taste all the subtleties in the coffee, including all the imperfections.

Educate yourself to the greatest extent possible about what a good coffee bean looks like. Have you ever been to a restaurant and asked the server for a recommendation - only to discover that the server has no idea what’s good because he has never eaten anything off the menu?

Don’t be like that, and don’t always rely only on what you’ve already tried before. Experiment! Play around! Sample new items! Try out new recipes and flavor combinations to find the blends that work best for you. Who knows, you could be on the cusp of the newest coffee trend!

Choose the Right Roast

Next, you’ll want to acquaint yourself with the different types of roasts when it comes to coffee. While a light roast will have more caffeine than a dark roast, the two are going to have vastly different flavors.

The difference in light and dark roasts is in how long the beans are roasted. Light roasts, as you might expect, are roasted for less time. Therefore, very little of the caffeine is burned off. Dark roast, on the other hand, is roasted for a long time.

Light roasts are known for their bright, floral tones, while dark roasts are more earthy and perhaps even chocolatey. Medium roasts will taste like a compromise between the two. Medium roasts offer a balanced, even taste, and are usually accompanied by fruity flavors like citrus and berry.

No single roast is right or wrong-  it’s all about your preferences. Give one of each of these three roasts a try to find the type that is right for your tastebuds and personal preferences.

Look at the roast date when you buy, too. Coffee is a natural product, so it has a shelf-life - although this is usually pretty lengthy, it’s important to keep in mind that the roast dates and shelf lives can vary. Only buy enough coffee beans for what you will drink that week. Make sure you store your coffee in an airtight container, out of direct sunlight, and ideally, at room temperature.

Never store your coffee in the fridge, either (unless it’s prepared cold brew). Do this, and you run the risk of the coffee absorbing the flavors and aromas from all the other food in there. Onion and pickle-flavored coffee, anyone?

Coffee Grinder

If you’re going to make your own coffee shop brews at home, you’ve got to get the right equipment. A good coffee grinder is second only in importance to the perfect set of coffee beans. You can find affordable, high-quality coffee grinders at stores, making it easy to find the right selection online.

Different Grounds

You can purchase ground coffee to make at home, but you’ll enjoy deeper, more complex flavors if you grind your own beans.

Coffee beans can be ground in various ways, but it’s important that you consider your ultimate goals before you decide on the method that’s right for you. For example, you aren’t going to use coffee grounds that are intended for a French press in your regular instant coffee pot.

How to Make a Great Pot of Coffee

If basic coffee is all you have in mind, you won’t have too much trouble making the perfect cup right in your own kitchen. If you’re using a typical coffee maker, you will want to use about two tablespoons of coffee grounds for every six ounces of water.

Since nobody ever makes just a single six-ounce cup of coffee, here’s another way to figure it out - you’ll need about ¼ cup of coffee grounds for every six cups of coffee.

Some people think they can speed up the coffee brewing process by using warm or even hot water in the coffee maker. Don’t make this mistake! It can ruin the flavors of your coffee, as it “confuses” the coffee maker and won’t yield the results you are looking for. Instead, consider using cold water (as cold as possible!) in your coffee maker.

No matter what kind of coffee you’re making - or what equipment you use - make sure you are consistent with your pour-over coffee ratio. For example, if you’re making espresso, you will want to keep your espresso extraction ratio - which measures coffee to water - even. This will help you achieve surefire results each and every time. 

Again, regardless of what kind of equipment you use, it could be helpful for you to preheat your equipment. This will give you the most consistent flavors between cups and also extend the shelf-life of your equipment.

How to Make Your Own Cold Brew

There’s nothing quite like that perfect cup of cold brew to make a hot summer day a little more bearable! Luckily, making cold brew is easy to do - but it’s not as simple as dumping ice into your favorite flavor of coffee.

All you need to do is grind up your coffee and put the grounds in a jar. Pour some cold water over the grounds and then seal the jar. Let it rest in your refrigerator for 20 to 24 hours. 

Once the time is up, you can go ahead and strain the coffee. Do this by pouring the coffee over a piece of cheesecloth into another container. That way, you won’t have the coffee grounds ruining the smooth texture of your cold brew. 

If you like the super-strong taste of this ultra-concentrated cold brew, you can drink as is. If you’d prefer something a little lighter though, just add some more cold water.

Frother

Do you love having a latte every morning? If so, there’s no reason to spend several dollars a day on your favorite flavor at Starbucks. Instead, you just need to invest in a frother. Frothers are easy to use and relatively inexpensive - you can buy a good quality frother online for less than $20.

Once you have a frother, you can quickly froth your own milk for a delicious latte every day of the week.

Frothing Milk Without a Handheld Frother

Handheld frothers really aren’t expensive, but if you don’t want to spend the extra cash on a handheld frother, don’t worry - you don’t have to. You can make your own frothed milk at home by pouring some into a jar.

Ideally, this milk should be nonfat or 2% or the best results. Once the milk is in the jar, shake it for 30 to 60 seconds. Then, microwave it for an additional thirty seconds. It’s as easy as that!

Use a Spoon with Froth

If there’s a little too much froth in your milk, either because you shook the milk or used a handheld frother, there’s an easy fix so you don’t have to completely redo it or dump it down the drain.

To hold back some foam, use a spoon. This will allow you to pour out more milk while saving some of the froth. If you decide to make a thicker beverage, like a cappuccino, the spoon can help, too - it will let you grab more froth out of the container.

Cocktail Shaker

If you already have a cocktail shaker on hand to make your favorite adult beverages, guess what? You can also use this versatile tool to make your favorite coffee shop beverage!

All you need to do to make a delicious latte is add your flavors, coffee, and milk. Shake it up, and the whole thing will froth itself for a delicious beverage on the go.

Favorite Syrup

Lots of people avoid learning how to make their own coffee at home because they don’t think they'll have as many options available to them.

The good news is that spicing up your normal morning coffee routine in your own kitchen is as easy as adding your favorite syrup. That’s the secret that many baristas know (and hold near and dear!), in fact. The secret to a delicious cup of coffee is a tasty syrup. You can buy cheap syrups online as well as from places like Starbucks, Walmart, and other retailers.

Make Drip Coffee

There’s nothing wrong with a basic cone and filter. This will allow you to make a ton of coffee each morning to help you wake up - no expensive gear or fancy technical know-how required. If you are using a filter, make sure you keep your equipment clean. Wash off all coffee oils after brewing your coffee, or you might taste them in your next cup.

You should also rinse paper filters before use. This is a little-known tip that very few people follow. However, this will remove the papery taste on your coffee for a better overall taste.

Espresso Maker

If a shot of espresso is what gets you going for that 6 am spin class, you might want to invest in an espresso maker. There are plenty of different espresso makers that will give you single shots, perfect for making cappuccino and lattes on-demand - with no waste leftover as a result. 

No matter what kind of equipment you buy, make sure you keep it hot and clean at all times. You’ll want to practice often, too, with using the espresso maker or other gear you purchase for making coffee. This will give you the skills you need to make your barista skills second-nature.

Be Willing to Learn

You’re going to need to practice a lot when it comes to using your espresso maker, drip coffee maker, or other gear. You’re going to make mistakes - it’s part of the process! 

You might spill the latte you spent so long curating, or you might pull the coffee out before it’s done brewing, ruining the batch. It happens! No matter what, though, it’s important that you don’t get discouraged. Drink lots of coffee and keep experimenting until you find the routines that work well for you. 

Don’t try to get too technical right away, either. You need to familiarize yourself with all the basics of making good coffee before you attempt more advanced skills, like latte art. Latte art is a great way to impress your guests, but at the end of the day, for day-to-day coffee drinking, all you really need is delicious coffee that’s been brewed to perfection.

Perfect Your Home Barista Coffee Skills With These Helpful Tips

It might look easy from knowing your pour over coffee ratio to how to make French press coffee to making a cold brew coffee, but being a great barista is much harder than it might seem. Not only do you have to have some seriously impressive front- and back-of-the-house skills, but you also need to have a thorough understanding of what exactly goes into the perfect cup of coffee.

Hopefully, this article adequately “spilled the beans” to you on how you can become your own barista at home. We bet you'll be serving up delicious milk tea and espressos in no time!

Karen A Mulvey is a personal social blogger and mom with 14 years of experience in the every day world of motherhood and sustainable product research. Karen is on a mission to help everyday families select sustainable, non-toxic organic products, stop stressing about uncertainties on sustainable home goods and apparel, and start living the life they’ve always wanted.

Follow Karen at @karenAmulveycs | Karen A Mulvey

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