People all over the world will start the day in the same manner. You wake up, head down to the kitchen, and make yourself a cup of coffee.
It’s the perfect way to kick things off, making you feel a lot better after your lack of sleep the night before.
Yes, coffee is a central piece of every breakfast, fuelling workers across the globe. But, what if I told you your coffee game was a bit poor? Perhaps you use instant coffee granules to save some time? Or maybe you don’t make coffee at home and pay for one on your way to work. I find that most people opt for the latter option when they can’t make good coffee at home.
Well, I’m going to show you just how easy it is to create barista-style coffee in your kitchen. This will upgrade your coffee game and make mornings that little bit easier to deal with.
Step 1: Coffee beans
Instant coffee is only useful when you literally have no time on your hands. The step up from this is ground coffee, but you can take things one step further with coffee beans. Nowadays, loads of places let you order coffee beans online, meaning you have a bag of them in your home. Buy a cheap coffee grinder, and you suddenly have freshly ground coffee whenever you want it. This means your coffee will instantly have a better taste than the ground variety. Why? Because the ground coffee was probably ground from beans a few weeks or months ago. It’s still a level above instant coffee, but nowhere near as fresh as the beans.
Step 2: Choose your brewing method
Next, you have to choose how you’ll brew your freshly ground coffee. You’ve got lots of options, but I’ve narrowed it down to three:
An actual coffee machine
Aeropress
Moka Pot
An actual coffee machine will grind the beans and make coffee for you, just like you were in a coffee shop. Realistically, this is the best way to make coffee. However, it’s also the most expensive and coffee machines can be hundreds, sometimes even thousands, of dollars. So, if it’s not within your price range, choose one of the other two options.
An Aeropress is a funky device that’s both affordable and easy to use. It’s kind of like a cross between a filter coffee machine and a cafetière, but better. I’ve linked a video below that shows one of these machines in action:
Lastly, you have a Moka Pot, which I’d recommend if you want an authentic Italian espresso. These machines are used throughout Italy, and they produce a strong coffee that can be drunk on its own or mixed with milk to make lattes or cappuccino. Again, there’s another video below that shows you this machine in action:
What about coffee pod machines?
Okay, let’s address the elephant in the room! Coffee pod machines often claim to provide you with barista-quality coffee at home. In truth, they do a pretty good job. Still, they’re not part of this guide for a couple of reasons.
One, they don’t use freshly ground coffee, so the taste is never going to be as good. Two, they’re not great for the environment. The pods are hard to recycle, you have to keep buying them over and over again, and the machines require energy. At least with a proper coffee machine, you have no plastic waste to worry about!
So, choose whichever brewing method suits your budget and desires, then move on to the next step!
Step 3: Make your coffee
The final step is constructing your morning coffee. The precise method depends on what type of coffee you’re after. For a black one, you just have to brew the coffee as per the instructions for your preferred brewing device. Add a splash of milk if you want to make it white, and you’re good to go.
But, if you fancy pimping your coffee, get a device that helps you froth up some milk. Some coffee machines come with these attached, and you really get the hot silky milk that makes great lattes, cappuccino, and flat whites. Alternatively, you can buy electronic ones that work decently well or a manual frother that you can use after heating milk in the microwave.
After this, you can construct the coffee depending on which one you want. There’s a great resource here that shows the different coffee varieties and how to put them together.
Now, you’ve got an upgraded coffee that will be the envy of all your friends. It gives you a boost in the morning, while also ensuring you save money on expensive coffee from coffee shops!
