Home Brewed Coffee 101

Discover the benefits of roasting your own coffee at home. From flavor control to cost savings, learn why this DIY approach to coffee preparation is worth exploring.      I find it fascinating to learn how the products we use every day reach us. I think anyone who enjoys caffeine should try roasting their own green coffee beans at least once. I don’t mean to say that everyone should become coffee snobs who only drink their own homegrown coffee, but just give it a shot. We live in a time when we can get anything we want almost instantly, like making a K-cup with a push of a button without thinking much about it. But do you know how much work went into making that product?       Most of us can’t grow our own coffee trees, since they only grow in certain places. But ordering green coffee beans online and roasting them ourselves is possible. By trying to roast coffee, I can appreciate the art of the roasters better. When I realize the skill that is needed ...

Roasting coffee with a popcorn popper is a simple and affordable method to achieve delicious, home-roasted coffee beans. Discover the steps and techniques for perfecting your own coffee roasting process.  Popcorn Poppers are one cheap way to roast coffee that is a step up from the completely manual methods.  This is ideal for your first foray into roasting.  A popcorn popper can typically be purchased for around twenty dollars.  The biggest problem I have faced with popcorn poppers is the internal components burning out and it just stops working. If you have read all of the other methods, the idea of maintaining a log still applies here.        You just put the green beans into the popper and let it do the magic.  The popper circulates hot air into the chamber, so the beans are roasted more evenly than a manual method.  The popper won't have a chaff collector, and you are unable to control the temperature, making this one of the mor...

Single-serve coffee pods are a convenient and easy way to make a cup of coffee. Learn more about how to use them and find out if this is the best option for your coffee-making needs.  Single-serve coffee pods started becoming popular around 2010 with the invention of Keurig.  These are nice because this is the most convenient method.  Just pop a pod into the machine and push a button.  Naturally this means the least control over the outcome, but at the same time it allows for the most consistency.  This could be good or bad, it means you always get the cup you love or the cup you don't like. If you are interested in Keurig , you may view their official page.

The Aeropress is a popular coffee brewing device known for its simplicity and versatility. Discover the art of making delicious coffee with an Aeropress and learn different techniques and tips for the best coffee preparation.   An Aeropress technique is kind of like a combination of French Press and Espresso.  The technique has no one right way, many people do it differently.  This is kind of like a double-edged blade because it makes it more problematic to prescribe a method.  What we can do though, is use tips from the pros and emulate the best recipes.  First the water is heated up.  Invert the Aeropress so the plunger itself is on the counter.  Next coffee grinds are poured into the Aeropress.  We want to use about twice the grinds you would normally use. Then all of the water is added like a French press except we do not worry about pre-infusion and bloom.  Instead you will stir this rather vigorously for about thirty seconds.  Once...

  Manual pour over is a popular coffee brewing method that allows you to extract the full flavor of the coffee beans. Learn about the steps, techniques, and tips for making a perfect cup of pour over coffee at home.     This method is similar to using a standard drip coffee maker, but you have more control over the water temperature and the pouring speed. You also don’t need any electricity, which makes it ideal for camping or living off the grid. You start by boiling the water and then letting it cool down for about thirty seconds to reach around 200 degrees. Then you slowly pour it over the ground coffee in a filter, using a figure-eight motion to wet the coffee evenly. There are many brands of this type of coffee maker, but Chemex is one of the most famous. You may purchase Chemex products on their site.

  Espresso is a highly concentrated coffee beverage made with finely ground coffee beans and hot water. Learn about different methods of coffee preparation and how about enjoying espresso at home. One day quite some time back a coffee drinker didn't want to have to wait for their coffee to finish brewing so they asked the question "What would happen if I used pressure to force the water through the bed of grinds?"  This led to the creation of Espresso.  Rather than just making regular coffee quicker it actually made an entirely different kind of coffee with a unique flavor.  Other coffee drinks that are built on that are lattes and cappuccinos.  The idea is to use steam to foam up or heat some milk to be added to the espresso.  This is usually the most expensive to make in terms of purchasing the necessary equipment and often the most difficult to master.  The cheaper machines will normally have a cost approaching $100.  The problem with these mac...

Discover how to roast coffee on a cookie sheet and enjoy freshly roasted, aromatic coffee from the comfort of your home. This guide will provide you with step-by-step instructions for achieving the perfect roast. One of the most basic ways to roast coffee is to use a cookie sheet in the oven.  You don't need to treat it in any special way just pour some raw coffee beans on a baking sheet preheat the oven to its highest heat setting and open it up at roughly one-minute intervals to stir or mix the beans up to a more even roast.  This is an especially attractive method because you are almost certainly going to have everything you need already in the house once you have the beans, there is no need to purchase any additional equipment.

The French press is a popular coffee brewing method that produces a rich and flavorful cup of coffee. Learn how to use a French press and master the art of coffee making with this comprehensive guide. French Pressed coffee is, by some, considered to be the purest form of coffee.  It is a method of brewing by immersion.  It is achieved by steeping grinds in the water for a short period and then depressing a plunger.  The plunger is attached to the filter which is a fine mesh.  Because a paper filter is not used, the oils remain in the cup.  This creates a different mouthfeel when tasting which some prefer, while others do not.  Also of note, is that this method can result in some grinds making their way into your cup and having a gritty texture.  The oils can lead to elevated cholesterol levels if done too much and when consuming excessive fatty foods.  Before I begin I get the tap water as hot as it will go and fill up the French press and my cups...

This recipe is based on an affogato, but with a few tweaks.  Take some ice cream (usually vanilla, but you could also go for a coffee-flavored one as well) and pour in some cold coffee (it doesn't matter if it is iced or cold brewed).  Optionally you can add in some Irish cream or Kahlua if you like it to be more of an adult dessert.