How To Get Started Brewing Coffee At Home
How To Get Started Brewing Coffee At Home
Specialty coffee is for everyone
There’s a wealth of information to explore out there detailing techniques, tips, and recipes, but one of the truest things you can learn about coffee is that it doesn’t need to be complicated. To get on the path to brewing coffee you love, all you need is a little gear, some freshly roasted coffee, clean water, and a little bit of patience.
This page is dedicated to jumpstarting your knowledge and outfitting you with all the essential tools to empower you to brew up the good stuff from wherever you are. In addition to a few learning resources, you’ll find our recommendations for brewers, grinders, and accessories that are perfect for anyone on a mission to build a complete coffee bar at home
Check out our Intro to Pour Over Course
Learn MoreRecommended Home Coffee Brewing Gear
Coffee Brewers
With so many different ways to make coffee it can be difficult to choose the right brewer for you. Do you want a pour over brewer like so many specialty cafes use? An elegantly simple solution like the humble french press? An automatic brewer that can do the work for you? Here are some coffee brewers that we think are perfect to get started with. After selecting a brewer that fits your needs, we’ll move on to looking at the right grinder for your new set up.
Espro BLOOM
The Espro BLOOM’s unique shape and design boasts a flat-bottom, wide-mouth, and deep brew bed that encourages the water to be evenly distributed across the brew bed to produce an evenly extracted cup every time. Its patented micro-filter design provides the option to brew with a filter, producing a clean and bright cup, or the option to brew without to enjoy a rich and bull-bodied cup. It is one of our favorite pour over options.
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Tricolate Coffee Maker
This simple and durable plastic coffee brewer requires no special pouring kettle or pouring technique, due to its clever water dispersion plate above the grounds. Simply insert a paper filter and grounds, then dump hot water over the top and the Tricolate will handle the rest. Unlike traditional pour over brewers, Tricolate's unique design disallows water to bypass the coffee grounds through the sides of the filter, ensuring all water passes through the grounds. This helps facilitate a higher extraction and even allows you to use less coffee.
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Hario Metal Coffee Press
Sleek, simple, and functional, brewing coffee doesn’t get much easier than in a french press. With a metal filter built in you’ll never have to worry about ordering filters for brewing, while the process of steep, press, and pour will produce a full-bodied brew time and time again.
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Coffee Grinders
Delicious brews are nearly impossible without fresh and consistent coffee grounds. Luckily, buying a grinder to handle that for you is a cinch! Electric or manual, an investment piece or inexpensive solution, we have options for everyone. Once you’ve got this instrumental piece figured out, we can talk about keeping your coffee consistently delicious with a brewing scale.
Baratza Encore Conical Burr Coffee Grinder
The Baratza Encore has established itself as the benchmark for electric burr grinders for the home. Reliable performance, sturdy construction, and consistent grounds are exactly what this grinder brings to the table, making it the perfect grinder for new and seasoned brewers alike.
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Timemore Slim Plus
Whether you’re grinding at home or on the go, for Chemex or espresso, the Timemore Slim Plus with E&B burrs has you covered! The Slim Plus has a full grind range with stepped adjustments, roomy hopper, and unique textured, diamond-patterned design will meet your needs for years to come.
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Hario Coffee Grinder Mini Slim Plus
Striking a balance between quality and cost can be difficult sometimes, but this grinder finds the sweet spot. With a simple click wheel grind adjustment and plastic body, the Mini Slim Plus is perfect for entry level coffee brewing, and its ceramic conical burr set is certain to produce a more consistent grind than any blade grinder on the market.
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Scales
If your goal is making tasty coffee time and time again it’s important to be sure that you’re using the same recipe every time; and the simplest way to guarantee consistency is measuring out your coffee grounds and water with a quality scale. Whether you choose a features-packed wonder-scale or a barebones utility piece, you’ll see the most success with the most precise measurements you can find. Depending on how you choose to brew, this could be the last piece you need and you can skip to our accessories section; but, if you’re going to be using a pour over brewer, be sure to follow along for some advice on pouring kettles after this.
Acaia Pearl S
The top-of-the-line brewing scale from Acaia does more than just weigh your beans. You can practice your pouring with flow rate feedback, follow along with step-by-step brewing instructions in Brewguide Mode, and (for the technologically-inclined) track all of your brews in Acaia’s Brewguide App.
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Jennings CJ4000 Scale
Inexpensive and sturdy the CJ4000 would be a wonderful choice for any budget-conscious brewer. With a 4 kg capacity, 0.5 g resolution, and the option to run on battery power or AC adaptor, this scale is flexible in its uses and reliable in its read-outs.
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Timemore Black Mirror Plus Coffee and Espresso Scale
A happy medium between the top-of-the-line Acaia Pearl Model S and the budget-friendly CJ4000, the Timemore Black Mirror scale provides a chic and simple design while boasting all of the necessary features like accuracy to 0.1 gram, large capacity, silicone heat pad, and built in timer.
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Kettles
If you’re dreaming of brewing pour overs with ease a slow pouring kettle will be your best friend. Controlling the flow of water and making sure you stay on recipe can be a challenge with many tea kettles, water boilers, or makeshift solutions, but these gooseneck kettles are here to step in and solve your water woes. Be sure to double check our accessories section below to see what other items you can use for a top-notch coffee set up!
Fellow Stagg EKG Electric Variable Temperature Pouring Kettle
Beautifully designed and comfortable to handle, this electric kettle will heat your water to the specific temperature you set it to and keep it there for hours if you need. Its slow and controlled flow rate makes pour over coffee approachable, while its intuitive user interface ensures that anyone can use this kettle right out of the box.
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Hario V60 Buono Kettle
While an electric kettle adds a measure of convenience, stovetop kettles get the job done for a lot less cash. Hario’s Buono Kettle is a long held industry standard for pour over brewing, offering exceptional balance, flow control, and an aesthetically pleasing steel body. If you’re on a budget and in need of a 1.0L-1.2L precision pouring kettle, this is without a doubt the one to get.
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Brewista V-Spout Electric Kettle
Some devices require no precision gooseneck spout pouring kettle to brew great coffee. Especially if you’re using a french press, Aeropress or Delter Press, Tricolate, Walkure or Clever, a simple V-spout spout kettle gets the job done more efficiently due its higher flow rate. They also work great for tea and coffee cuppings! The Brewista V-Spout also includes the added convenience of electronic operation, allowing you to set precise brewing temperatures and keep your kettle stationed at your brew bar.
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Coffee Brewing Filters and Accessories
The right coffee accessories can help elevate your extractions to that next level, and also make the experience of brewing more enjoyable. Here’s our top picks for coffee toys and accessories that enhance the joy of making great coffee at home, plus a comprehensive selection of filters you’ll need to get started.
Coffee Filters
Waking up to find an empty box of filters is a real bummer! No matter what brewer you have, you’ll find the filters you need here. When buying filters be sure to check not only brand and model compatibility, but also that you’re getting the right size for your brewer.
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Hario 1000 ml Clear Glass Server
Having a dedicated carafe for your pour over brewer will come in handy, and this 1000 ml offering from Hario is sized to accommodate almost any brewer and up to a whole liter of coffee.
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Urnex Cafiza
Clean, fresh tasting brews require equally clean brewing equipment. Cafiza coffee detergent is specially formulated to remove built up coffee oils that would otherwise muddy up your delicious brews. Make a habit of soaking and scrubbing your new gear with coffee detergent at least once a week for the best results.
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Third Wave Water
Did you know that it takes more than clean water to make coffee taste great? The right balance of minerals is key to creating balance and highlighting the delicate flavor characteristics inherent in every coffee. Add one pack of Third Wave Water to a gallon of distilled or reverse osmosis water, and you’ll have cafe-quality water at home.
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Coffee Brewers Logbook
The best way to master the art of coffee brewing is to practice, then record your results for future reference. The Coffee Brewer’s Logbook makes it easy to build a reputare of specs and recipes for each new coffee.
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Airscape Coffee Storage Container
Protect your coffee from oxidation with an airtight storage container, like the Airscape. Coffee beans sealed away from air and light will stay fresher longer.
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Resources For Brewing At Home
Starting Point Recipes
| Brewer | Coffee Dose | Water Dose | Grind Setting | Brew Time |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| V60 | 25 g/4.5 tbsp | 400 ml/13.5 fl oz. | Medium-Fine | 2:30-3:00 |
| Wave | 30 g/5.5 tbsp | 480 ml/16 fl oz. | Medium | 3:00-3:30 |
| Chemex | 40 g/7 tbsp | 640 ml/21.5 fl oz. | Medium-Coarse | 4:00-5:00 |
| Auto Drip | 5 g/10 tbsp | 880 ml/30 fl oz. | Medium-Coarse | 4:00-5:00 |
| French Press | 30 g/5.5 tbsp | 450 ml/30 fl oz. | Medium-Coarse | 4:30-5:00 |
Starting Grind Sizes
| Grind Setting | Looks Like | Encore Grind Setting |
|---|---|---|
| Fine | Powder | 8 |
| Medium-Fine | Table Salt | 14 |
| Medium | Coarse Sand | 17 |
| Medium-Coarse | Kosher Salt | 20 |
| Coarse | Fine Gravel | 28 |
Recommended Reading
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Basic Brewing Principles
Before I got my first job as a barista I marveled at what seemed like alchemy going on behind the counter. The clinking of coffee beans being weighed into tins, the loud hum of the churning grinders...
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A Beginners Guide to Pour Over Coffee
Manual coffee-making methods are becoming an increasingly popular option for home enthusiasts and coffee shop baristas alike. The abilities to control every variable in the brewing process, create a cup...
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Beginners Guide To Immersion Brewing
Manual brewers have become commonplace all over the coffee world—from cafes to restaurants to your friend's kitchen counter it's likely that you've seen at least one recently. While many of the brewers you're likely to come across these days...
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How to clean your burr grinder
A burr grinder is one of the essential tools in your coffee brewing arsenal and sets the stage for the quality of your daily cup. As we've detailed before, a good burr grinder is one of the best...
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Care for Coffee Equipment
It isn’t glamorous, and it certainly isn’t anyone’s favorite step in the coffee process, but taking care of your gear is absolutely a requirement for brewing up top quality java. Coffee...
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Flat Bottom Brewing Principles
"I’ve been a disciple of the flat bottomed brewer for years now, waxing poetic to anyone who would listen about the consistent extraction and the ease-of-use that initially helped the Kalita Wave break onto...
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French Press Brewing Principles
There aren’t many purer representations of the wonders of full-immersion coffee brewing than the french press. Resulting in big body and rich flavors, the brewer’s simple design obscures the more complex...
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Intermediate Brewing Principles
Making good coffee consistently seems easy enough—good roasted coffee, good water, and a good recipe will produce a good brew almost always. But what about great coffee? The kind of brew that sticks with you through an entire day....
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Dialing In Your Bonavita
Bonavita has taken the automatic brewing market by storm—and for good reason. Its single button design makes for a simple user experience while still adhering to important specialty industry brewing standards...