You do not need any fancy expensive machine to brew coffee at home.
You like your favorite cappuccino at the local coffee shop? Or like to occasionally sip on caramel iced latte, or you are more of an espresso person? Or a strong americano does the job for you?
A cup of Cappuccino at a cafe
In either of the case, you have to shell out some considerable amount of money to have your favorite cuppa joe. Not to mention, the task of ordering or going to the coffee shop amidst a busy schedule.
This makes almost every coffee lover think, how can I get a cafe level coffee at home? How can I save a ton of money every month, while not cutting down on my tasty caffeine dose? How can I brew a freshly roasted coffee ground at home and soak in all that cafe aroma. In this blog post, we’ll walk you through our favorite ways of brewing coffee at home.
Note : Each of the below methods will give you one cup of coffee. Multiply the coffee and water quantity if you want to brew for more than one cup.
Method 1 : The OG no equipment method to brew coffee at home (a.k.a Chhanni pour)
Yes. You need not buy any fancy equipment to make coffee at home. If you are a fan of black coffee/americano, this is for you.
A simpler strainer used to brew coffee at home
Things needed?
Coffee grounds (coarse)
Hot Water (around 95 degrees, leave water for 30secs post boil)
Small tea strainer (put a muslin cloth on top for better results)
Glass/steel container
Brewing Technique ?
Heat the water till boil and let it rest for 30 secs
Add two teaspoons (12-14gms) of coffee grounds in the container
Add a glass of hot water(~200ml) into the container and mix the contents well. Cover it with a lid (multiply the coffee and water ratio to get more coffee)
After 4 minutes of brewing, strain the liquid with the help of a strainer(use muslin cloth on top, if handy)
Your black coffee is ready. Add brown sugar/jaggery to balance the bitterness in coffee (if needed)
Method 2 : The French Press method
This is by far the most famous way to brew coffee at home. It required you have an apparatus. As this apparatus is easily available and inexpensive, this can be found in many home kitchens.
Things needed?
Coffee grounds (coarse)
Hot Water (around 95 degrees, leave water for 30secs post boil)
French Press device (an example of a reliable and reasonably priced french press – Click here )
Brewing Technique ?
Heat the water till boil and let it rest for 30 secs
Add two teaspoons (12-14gms) of coffee grounds in the french press beaker
Pour one cup of hot water(200ml) at once into the french press container with coffee grounds and close the lid
After 5 mins, take a spoon and push down the floating wet coffee grounds with a spoon
After 3-4 mins, gently press the filter and pour
Your black coffee is ready. Add brown sugar/jaggery to balance the bitterness in coffee (if needed)
Bonus! Empty the container and add some hot milk in the beaker. Press the plunger 15-20 times and you get a nice creamy and frothy milk to make cappuccino!
If you not clear about the recipe, do head over to Sir James’s video here.
French Press technique to brew coffee at home
Method 3 : Cold Brew Method
Yay! No equipment again! This is the newest kid on the block. Works brilliantly well with cold beverages. This is definitely the cheapest way to brew coffee at home.
Things needed?
Coffee grounds (Too coarse)
Water (regular room temperature clean water)
A water bottle (preferably with a wider mouth)
Small tea strainer (put a muslin cloth on top for better results)
Brewing Technique ?
Mix two teaspoons of coffee grounds in one cup of room temperature water(200ml) and pour it into a water bottle. Close the cap
Keep the bottle in refrigerator for 12 hours
Strain the liquid with the help of a strainer(use muslin cloth on top)
You should get 150ml of concentrate approximately. Add equal amount of chilled water to enjoy your cold brew
Add a dash of lemon to spice things up. Be creative and cold brew compliments quite a few other ingredients like milk, honey, chocolate syrup, etc!
Cold Brew method to brew coffee at home
At PAHADEE, we strive to make all our offerings suitable for home consumption. Hence, most of offerings are suited for the above three methods. For the first two methods, our recommendation will be Hoysala Organics. For cold brew, our recommendation is Soldier’s Meadow Washed.
At last, you do need fancy machines to brew coffee at home. So, let the brewing begin!
According to the Specialty Coffee Association (SCA), “The term ‘specialty coffee’ refers to the highest quality green coffee beans roasted to their greatest flavor potential.”
They are the highest grade of coffee beans available across the world, as they grow in the perfect location, time, altitude, and soil.
Specialty coffee beans are mostly single-origin arabica and are available in small batches. Hence, they vary from region to region, country to country, and even year after year.
We tend to think that Specialty coffee is quite a new term that trending in the current market. But it was the first cast in the 1970s, in the Tea and Coffee Trade Journal, by Erna Knutsen. She had the vision to preserve the quality of coffee from the farm to the cup.
A cup of speciality coffee involves a team of skilled professionals (farmer, harvester, roaster, and barista). They work in harmony and focus on standards to get a coffee labelled as “specialty coffee” by SCA.
What is Specialty coffee?
On the world coffee stock exchange, specialty coffee comprises only 3% of the global yield. These coffees grow at high altitudes. Hence, they are unique, distinct, and less defective in nature.
Term specialty coffee refers to the entire process of bringing coffee from farm to cup. The process involves growing, washing, de-pulping, fermentation, drying, supplying, roasting, and finally brewing.
According to SCA, specialty coffee grades 80 or above on a scale of 100 on a Q grade score sheet.
It is further categorized into three grades. A score between 80 – 84.99 counts as very good, 85 – 89.99 is excellent and a coffee bean scoring over 95 to 100 is outstanding.
Specialty Coffee Grading
Specialty coffee is the high grade of coffee available across the world. The grading system is set by the SCA at every stage of the coffee production process. The grading parameters are:
Green Bean Grading
The grading of green beans is done by visual inspection. According to SCA protocol, a sample of 350gm of coffee beans is looked for imperfect or defective beans.
The defects are of two types: Primary or Secondary. The primary defects are black or sour beans and the presence of large/medium stones or sticks. While, secondary defects are insect damage, unhulled, broken or chipped beans, small stone or sticks, water damage, etc.
To qualify as a specialty coffee, a 350gm sample of beans should have zero primary defects and no more than five secondary defects.
Roasting
Before going through the process of cupping, the high-quality graded green beans are first transferred to a coffee roaster. A roster is a scientist as well as an artist. He uses his knowledge, techniques, and experience to bring out the specialty-level roast profiles in roasted beans
Also, the ideal roasting process helps to bring out the consistency of flavours in the high-quality beans.
Cupping
At its simplest, cupping is a technique of brewing roasted coffee with hot water. It is a way to taste and assess the various flavours present in the roasted beans. Cupping tends to bring out the quality, diverse flavours, and hidden potential in a coffee bean.
According to SCA, the quality of a specialty coffee is evaluated on the basis of various attributes like fragrance, flavour, acidity, body, consistency, mouthfeel, aftertaste, and clean cup.
During the assessment, a taster marks all the underlying flavours present in the coffee. They assign scores to each of the coffee attributes. Later these attributes define the “tasting notes” of coffee beans.
Formal coffee cupping process as per SCA standards
Specialty Coffee Around the World
With the new wave of coffee culture, the demand for speciality coffee has boomed in the 20th century. Consumers are using the latest brewing methods and high-quality coffee beans to appreciate speciality coffee.
Also, coffee house chains like costa coffee, Starbucks, etc. have created a market for speciality coffees.
Specialty Coffee in India
In India, the market of coffee was first introduced by Cafe Coffee Day (CCD).
Later, the coffee roasters like Blue Tokai, Third-wave coffee, Subko, etc, are now serving artisanal coffee.
Over the years, with the uptick in coffee demand, the production of coffee has also increased in India.
In Chikmanglur or Coorg region, small farmers are focusing on growing single-estate specialty coffee. They plan to sell their high-quality coffee at high prices on the coffee stock market.
Also Check out this YouTube video to know more about SPECIALTY COFFEE,
