Perfect My Brew

Good coffee can be intimidating. From deciphering techniques and origins, to blends, roasts, and grinds, it can strike a little terror into the best of us.

But we’re going to break it down, so you can brew like a true professional. Below is a list of our top tips on how to perfect your brew and what brew gear we recommend to use.

Tip #1: FRESH IS BEST

Purchasing fresh coffee is by far the most important tip! If you don’t start with fresh coffee, achieving a quality cup is an impossible feat. An easy way to check if the coffee you are purchasing is fresh is to look at the ‘roast date’ on the coffee bag. If the coffee doesn’t have a ‘roast date’, but rather has a ‘best before date’, you should assume the coffee is not fresh.

Prone to running out of coffee just at the wrong time? Look at signing up for a coffee subscription. The hard work is taken away from you, with freshly roasted coffee delivered free of charge on your chosen regularity, cancel anytime and you also save money! Win, Win!

Tip #2: INVEST IN SCALES

The ratio of coffee to water you use will drastically affect the flavour of your coffee. You may recall the blog we wrote ‘Understanding Brew Ratios‘ which explains this in detail. Following brew ratios, ensures your coffee will taste how it is intended to and is consistent every time!

An important piece of brew gear we recommend when using a brew ratio is a set of scales. Our V60 Hario scales measure the amount of coffee beans, hot water, and extraction time needed to make the perfect coffee. It improves accuracy when preparing your coffee at home. Hands down, a worthy investment for the coffee lover who wants that perfect cup every time.

Tip #3: GRIND ON DEMAND

The most ideal way to grind your coffee is to grind on demand. By this, we mean to grind your coffee only as you need it. Research suggests that coffee loses up to 60% of its aroma within 15 minutes of being ground. And aroma is a huge contributor to the flavour of coffee.

Investing in a good-quality grinder will ensure your coffee is ground and not chopped! An uneven grind size directly leads to uneven extraction. The amount of homebrewers that try and do the right thing by ‘grinding their coffee on demand’, but end up with even worse results than buying pre-ground coffee, is heartbreaking. And it’s all due to one reason. The ‘coffee grinder’ they’ve purchased is not a coffee grinder at all.

If you are going to grind your own coffee, ensure you purchase a grinder with burrs and not with a blade system. An actual coffee grinder will ensure that it grinds your coffee into even particle sizes making your coffee taste way better. Check out our blog ‘How to grind the perfect coffee – every time’ for an in-depth look into the importance of grinding!

Happy Brewing!