Lockdown dilemmas: how to make the perfect cup of coffee at home?
Recently there was a feature in the paper saying that if you are stuck working from home, you might like to perfect your coffee making skills. They interviewed a top barrista and he inspired my husband to up his coffee making game at home. But I have the advantage of having been to Dark Woods Coffee for training on coffee making … so I knew that one of the country’s most highly qualified barristas lives not very far away from Harland Works … so I thought I’d ask Tom how he makes his coffee at home. And what his top tips for us less-qualified people might be for improving our home made coffee. He very kind agreed to share his tips …
So, Tom with all your expertise and experience … how do you make your coffee at home?
A big (1 litre) double walled French Press and a Wilfa Svart electric burr grinder. Why? Two greedy coffee drinkers in our house so volume is important - I like the aeropress but it doesn’t touch the sides! I’ve long believed that the French press is underrated – it can make really tasty and full-bodied coffee if you follow a good method cafetiere-brew-guide.pdf (darkwoodscoffee.co.uk) and it’s one of the easiest ways of brewing at home. That said, you can make great coffee with pretty much all types of brewing kit so see what suits your palate, budget and lifestyle.
Ooh that’s encouraging: that’s what I use at home, a Cafetiere and a grinder so I must be on the right track! Aside from choice of method, what are your suggestions for the 3 top 3 upgrades you think people could consider, if they want to improve the coffee they make at home?
1 Buy a decent burr grinder. This can be an electric one like the Wilfa (£105) or a hand grinder like the Hario Skerton (£38) but it must have burrs (grinding plates) rather than blades like a food processor as these grind really unevenly. Being able to grind to an even and specific grind texture for your chosen brewing method is key to extracting the right flavours from your coffee, however you choose to make it.
The added bonus is that freshly ground coffee is more aromatic and gives you tastier and more vibrant brews even if the beans you use aren’t fancy.
2 Pay attention to your brewing method because the devil is always in the details. If you bake a cake without weighing your ingredients or paying attention to your cooking times or temperatures you wouldn’t be surprised if it didn’t turn out well. Coffee is no different! It sounds a bit fussy but weighing your coffee and water and timing your brews with a consistent and appropriate water temperature (92-96c) is really easy to do and is fundamental to getting a tastier and more consistent coffee.
3 Once you are doing 1 and 2 with a brewing method that works for you, it’s time to splash out on some better coffee. Specialty coffee refers to the top grade of beans grown globally and will likely be sweeter, more complex and less bitter than cheaper supermarket alternatives. There are many styles and roasts out there so it’s a case of working out what you like – your perfect coffee is out there if you know where to look!
Yup - the choice in coffee can be confusing I find. And obviously you know a huge amount about it at Dark Woods as its the heart of your business. For us - more mortals - what would you suggest we could be looking out for when we choose the coffee we're buying?
Fundamentally it’s worth remembering that everyone’s tastes are different and that often people are drinking the “wrong” style of coffee. Becoming an informed consumer helps you know what to look for in a coffee that you like and means that you are more likely to enjoy drinking it. Specialty coffees will always be better than their commercial counterparts but if you are drinking a bright and juicy light roast when you actually prefer a rich and robust dark roast then you’ll be dissatisfied - no matter how expensive or high scoring that coffee might be.
Ok - so find something you like? And make sure to prepare it in the best way possible to get the best from it? I think I’ve got that - and thanks for sharing your tips Tom.
PS If you want to become more informed about the coffee you drink see below link to more resources, kindly provided by Dark Woods
Understanding the different types of coffee available is such a complex topic that there’s lots to learn. Dark Woods buy from coffee growers all over the world and offer a huge range of styles from light to dark roast and from classic coffee flavours through to the weird and wonderful. To share some of their coffee expertise they have created some great resources - for example, have a read of The origins of our coffee - Specialty wholesale coffee roaster - Dark Woods Coffee to get super informed.
