Sounds apparent but the difference between stale over roasted coffee from your supermarket, in contrast to freshly roasted specialty grade coffee from your local roaster is enormous! By reading this blog, I’m guessing you may have already dipped your toes into the thrilling world of specialty coffee, which is a great start. A good brew HAS to start with a quality coffee.

Roasting style is also an important factor to consider. If you are buying specialty grade coffee (utilized by most independent coffee shops) it is likely you will prefer coffee roasted to a medium level so as not to disguise the inherent flavours within the bean. Nobody really wants to sip on an over-roasted ashy brew first thing in the morning or at any time of the day for that matter.

 

So although lockdown is easing and your favourite local coffee shop may be open in the midst of the new normal this, for those of you who are not yet ready to venture into this new socially distanced world but are still craving a great speciality coffee shop quality brew at home, do not fear! You can absolutely brew up a storm at home.  First things first.  The most important thing that coffee shops do so well is consistency, how do they get this? They weigh everything to try and control the many variables that can influence coffee’s flavour. Brewing that perfect, well-balanced cup is dependent on precision, with most barista’s following a measured coffee:water ratio and recipe for each coffee. Without getting too scientific, too much coffee or too much water (or vice versa) leads to undesirable changes to the strength in your coffee. Leaving you with a coffee that just doesn’t quite feel right on the palate. Furthermore, on the occasion that you manage to pour an incredible taste bud tingler on the fly, it is extremely frustrating not being able to reproduce this due to not knowing the weight/ratio of coffee used. You do not need fancy equipment to track this information, just a simple pair of kitchen scales. Trust me, you will save yourself a lot of time and wasted coffee if you weigh your coffee into your chosen brewer and weigh how much water you add.

 

 

Watch this space for more tips and advice.