Life In the Branches : How to Brew at Home like Barista

I love going to coffee shops, I like how each one has a different feel, smell, and style. Each one more inviting and relaxing then the next. But let’s be real, most of us can’t afford to go to a coffee shop everyday but we still want good coffee everyday. Also relationship coffee is growing, a huge industry that once kept it’s consumers blinded to how it was produced is being revealed, and there are artists doing business honestly and justly. That's the coffee I want to be drinking everyday, the kind that blood sweat and love was poured into it, a kind that is promoting justice and dignity. That coffee tends to be of the highest quality so let’s learn the proper way to drink it.

What do you need?

- A manual brew- a few of our favorites are the Chemex, Kalita, V60, Aeropress, and French Press. My personal favorite is Chemex since it’s larger, and comes with a pourer. But each method will bring out different flavours in your coffee.

- Grinder: we recommend a hand grinder, or Baratza. We use Baratza Virtuoso and it is like specialty coffee shop grinder but for home.

- A scale

- Mugs

- Proper filter for brew method

- Goose Neck Kettle, or a regular kettle: Goose Neck Kettles allow for slower and more controlled pours which greatly affect the interaction between water and grinds.

What do you do?

Step 1:

Boil some water- if you want to get particular the ideal heat is 205 degrees Fahrenheit. (yes heat matters)

Step 2:

Measure with a scale the exact amount of beans you will grind and brew. Specialty coffee shops use a ratio of 1:15 grams (1 being coffee, 15 being water) So for instance you could do 30 grams of coffee to 450 grams of water.

Step 3:

Grind your coffee, this will depend on what kind of coffee you have, what amount your brewing, and what method your using. Grind size is one of the most complicated aspects of brewing. I would recommend researching according to your coffee, asking your local specialty coffee shop, or just playing around with it (this is what I do). Also for grinding, make sure you do it right before you brew. If you grind and let it sit out it’s going lose some of that flavour and aroma.

Step 4:

Place in your filter/brew method. Take the boiled water and do a series of pours, the first pour is important because it's what we call the bloom (the initial pour releasing gases and rich flavour, the coffee grinds rise up). The first pour you want to use an amount of water that is triple the amount of coffee. Example: if you use 30 grams of coffee your first pour should be 90 grams of water. Pouring can be another complicated part because it depends on the coffee, and brew method but again ask, research, or just play around. I typically like to do about four pours, and you want to make big and small circles slowly on top of the grinds.

Step: 5

Pour some hot water in the mugs you will drink in to make them hot (remember heat matters). Dump the water when the coffee is ready, swish the finished brewed coffee around a few times pour it in the cups and enjoy.

Note: If you decided to play around with the variables (water, temperature, grind size, agitation) a way you can test and tweak is the way it tastes. For example if it has a bitter edge, maybe your grind size is too small. But honestly coffee is fun to play with and ask experienced people and you will find your perfect cup. This may seem meticulous but it is honestly one of my favorite morning routines, and makes you appreciate and enjoy your coffee so much. But all of this doesn’t matter if the coffee you buy isn’t good. So I’m going to list some incredible coffees you can order, we know all of these roasters personally and they buy honestly, fairly and care about the connection between crop to cup. So enjoy connecting with these amazing coffee shops, and start discovering the beautiful world of brewing!