These Super Simple Coffee Hacks Will Boost Your Home Brew
Taylor Nachtrieb .
You love your morning routine.
A fresh cup of coffee to start the day isn’t just a part of it, it’s the linchpin. From that one (or three) cups, the success of your day springboards from those precious sips. What if we were to tell you that starting tomorrow, you could easily make that cup even better? Below are some of our favorite, yet easiest coffee hacks that can make an immediate and measurable difference in how your home brew tastes.
Do you buy your coffee pre-ground? Please stop.
When you buy your coffee in pre-ground form, you aren’t getting the most out of them. You can do better. Next time you’re shopping for your favorite coffee, see if you can get it in bean form. The simple truth is that coffee beans start to lose their flavor and aroma immediately after grinding. For this reason, it’s always best to grind your beans at the start of every morning.
If you need to invest in a decent grinder, we have plenty to choose from.
Our favorite is the Eureka Mignon Silenzio, a stepless grinder that is incredibly compact (coming in at only 14”H x 5”W), easy to adjust on account of the dial wheel and has an insulated interior to keep the noise level down to an absolute minimum.
Different brew methods require different grind sizes.
This one makes sense, right? If you’re making an espresso coffee, you’re looking for a truly fine grind so that your puck of grounds in the portafilter allow enough water to evenly disperse through to your cup from the group head.
On the opposite end of the spectrum, a french press or a pour over calls for a much more coarse grind. The reason being that a coarse grind offers a slower extraction process. Too much and you’ll be left with a harsh, bitter flavor.
We’re huge fans of the Acaia Lunar Scale here at Chris’ Coffee, and for many reasons.
For a lot of you coffee fanatics out there, the name of the game is precision. Next up on the list, is repetition. Once you find a process that you love, you want to to be able to keep coming back to it. For that reason, we highly recommend weighing your coffee grounds.
A fresh cup of coffee to start the day isn’t just a part of it, it’s the linchpin. From that one (or three) cups, the success of your day springboards from those precious sips. What if we were to tell you that starting tomorrow, you could easily make that cup even better? Below are some of our favorite, yet easiest coffee hacks that can make an immediate and measurable difference in how your home brew tastes.
Ground Zero
Do you buy your coffee pre-ground? Please stop.
When you buy your coffee in pre-ground form, you aren’t getting the most out of them. You can do better. Next time you’re shopping for your favorite coffee, see if you can get it in bean form. The simple truth is that coffee beans start to lose their flavor and aroma immediately after grinding. For this reason, it’s always best to grind your beans at the start of every morning.
If you need to invest in a decent grinder, we have plenty to choose from.
Our favorite is the Eureka Mignon Silenzio, a stepless grinder that is incredibly compact (coming in at only 14”H x 5”W), easy to adjust on account of the dial wheel and has an insulated interior to keep the noise level down to an absolute minimum.
Size (of the Grind) Matters
Different brew methods require different grind sizes.
This one makes sense, right? If you’re making an espresso coffee, you’re looking for a truly fine grind so that your puck of grounds in the portafilter allow enough water to evenly disperse through to your cup from the group head.
On the opposite end of the spectrum, a french press or a pour over calls for a much more coarse grind. The reason being that a coarse grind offers a slower extraction process. Too much and you’ll be left with a harsh, bitter flavor.
Always Be Scaling
We’re huge fans of the Acaia Lunar Scale here at Chris’ Coffee, and for many reasons.
For a lot of you coffee fanatics out there, the name of the game is precision. Next up on the list, is repetition. Once you find a process that you love, you want to to be able to keep coming back to it. For that reason, we highly recommend weighing your coffee grounds.
We love the Acaia Lunar Scale because of its big, bright, digital display, precision, accuracy, durability (it’s water-resistant), several auto-start modes, 0.1 g accuracy, and a rechargeable battery with more than 30 hours of life.
Not only that, you’ll look like an actual barista.
So not only will you be hitting home runs on a regular basis with your brews, you get the added benefit of looking like a pro while doing it.
Proper Storage
This one’s rather easy, and hopefully you aren’t just keeping your coffee in the bag that they came in. The ideal place to store your beans is in a cool, dark place in an airtight container of some kind. Some people on social media will suggest keeping them in the freezer, which is NOT a good idea. TikTok is fine for learning new dance moves or laughing at dogs doing human things. It’s best to trust the experts when it comes to your coffee, however.
Don’t put your coffee in the freezer.
By freezing your beans, you run the risk of condensation buildup which will have the undesired consequence of impacting the oils which are what give coffee its taste.
Pre-Heat Your Mug
This hack was new to us, but I’m glad we found it.
If you’re waiting for your Chemex or french press to steep, why not warm up that coffee mug in the meantime? Part of the magic of the morning cup of coffee is that warm feeling in your hands on a cold winter morning. Don’t let all the heat from your beverage leave so soon! Instead, pour some leftover water for your kettle or water boiler into your mug so it’s nice and warm to insulate your coffee even more.
