Do you have all the necessary barista accessories at home and still think that a cup of coffee from a cafe simply tastes better? Definitely don't let that put you off. Maybe you need to slightly adjust the preparation procedure or subtly change the way you work with the coffee machine. We are absolutely sure that you too can achieve the best coffee at home. We will advise you how to do it. In this article, you will learn 4 tips that, if you follow them, will ensure you a perfect espresso and milk foam.
Basic pillars of proper coffee preparation
The basis of a barista's success are three absolutely simple pillars - purity, freshness and proportion. The overall quality of the resulting drink depends on these three criteria. If you keep your coffee machine and other barista accessories clean, use freshly ground coffee and keep the right ratio between it and water, you will get the most important thing done.
The coffee maker should clean every day. The deposits that the coffee leaves in his guts could turn rancid. At least the basic rinsing and daily maintenance of the coffee machine is therefore an absolutely necessary process. Equally balancing the ratio between ground coffee and water. Each preparation method has slightly different requirements, but if we were talking "only" about lever coffee machines, definitely remember that one shot of standard espresso should flow through 7 grams of coffee. But if you also like to prepare any drip coffee, read the correct proportions and preparation procedures on our blog. You will surely find your favorite method there.
And the freshness? We probably don't need to explain that to you. Grain freshness should share first place together with cleanliness. Coffee beans get old quickly and lose their taste. Ground coffee usually does not last more than a few hours. For grains, this time is considerably longer, but you should still process them within a week at the latest.
These three pillars are linked to other points that need to be known and that will raise your barista skills to the next level. So read on.
1. Buy freshly roasted whole grains
Forget ground coffee from ordinary stores. Excellent coffee, whether it is espresso or any other drip alternative, can only be prepared from high-quality and especially fresh coffee beans. If you would put your trust in pre-ground coffee, definitely don't rely on it being fresh. Regardless of the required coarseness of grinding, which is different for each preparation method, which will also greatly affect your final coffee experience. You can buy the ideal coffee, for example, at our cafes or at U.S on the e-shop, where new coffee products are constantly added. Here at Coffee Source, we have been roasting coffee for you every day for over 15 years.
2. Grind only as many grains as you will use immediately
This point is really closely related to the previous one. Once you get quality coffee beans, the grinder will, willy-nilly, become your right hand. You can easily use that one too small, but from a practical point of view, one is definitely more advantageous automatically. You can pre-set the roughness on it and then just grind using a button. You can read about how to precisely grind coffee in our other article blog article. We are currently interested in how much coffee needs to be processed. After all, if you're going to grind an entire packet of grains, we very much hope that you'll use it all up by the end of the day. Because if not, the next day's cup of coffee definitely won't taste nearly as good. It is therefore always needed process only the amount you need. After all, baristas in cafes also grind into each lever and for each customer separately.
3. Store coffee beans properly
We will stay with grains. Their storage is not quite like that. Whole grains also don't last forever, just a few days by default. However, you can keep them fresh longer if you store them in a leak-proof container no sun rays and will keep its contents in approx the same temperature throughout. And we're not even talking about humidity. Therefore, containers with tight closures and rubberized edges are ideal. A coffee can from the Miir brand is also a suitable option.
Also be careful about freezing coffee. In this way, you will not prolong its freshness, but you will immediately destroy it.
4. Filter the water
We are now clear about the ratio of water and coffee. However, so that the taste of your coffee is not negatively affected by anything, it is necessary to filter the used water. This will rid it of all bad particles and limescale, which most often has a hand in influencing the resulting taste. We analyzed the importance of quality water in the coffee preparation process in more detail in this article of ours.
