Top Secrets To Make The Perfect Coffee Like A Professional Barista

Coffee is a cultural staple in countless countries worldwide and an integral part of the day for millions of people. Humans have consumed this beloved beverage since at least 850 CE—in many instances, it’s part of our daily life. For those of us who consume coffee on the regular, it can be easy to get stuck in the habit of making the same old coffee, day in and day out. Sometimes this can go on for so long that we don’t know what we’re missing. All it takes is a trip to a cool indie coffee shop or a visit with a friend who happens to be a coffee enthusiast for us to realize what we’ve gone without for so long: a truly epic cup of coffee.

While both experimentation and practice are needed to perfect our coffee-making skills, there are a few nifty tricks and tips that can boost flavor and texture. The following will take a look at a few secrets associated with a genuinely excellent cup of joe.

Start With The Beans

First and foremost, good coffee comes from good ingredients, and this means selecting the right beans. Coffee beans are where the caffeine comes from as well as all those other lovely benefits of coffee. Even if you change nothing else about your coffee routine, switching up the beans you buy, and use can result in a drastically different cup of coffee. It might take a little trial and error, but you might just fall in love with a particular bean. Where coffee berries are grown and how they’re roasted can change up the richness, flavor, and caffeine levels. All of these can impact the coffee you end up drinking.

If you’re partial to specific flavors as well, like vanilla or hazelnut, you can try out some flavored beans. Flavored beans might very well take your morning coffee to a whole new place.

The Right Coffee Maker

When choosing the actual maker of your coffee, preference plays a big part. Some people ended up using a french press because of an old roommate and won’t ever go back. Patient folk enjoy watching their single-serve drip machine complete a mug full of steaming joe at a snail’s pace. Some of us need an office-sized machine like at PureBean.com.au to make use of all its options. You should figure out what is the right coffee maker for you, and then ensure that you’re cleaning it out properly on a regular basis. This is especially important if you’ve got hard water that leaves calcium deposits on your machine. Consider running vinegar through the machine once every two weeks to keep everything spick and span (and keep your coffee from getting that old coffee-maker taste). Just be sure to run water through it afterward; otherwise, you’re going to end up with some vinegar-flavored coffee.

Consider Fresh Ground

Coffee beans can be sold both pre-ground and in bean format. Coffee lovers swear by freshly ground beans, and for a good reason. Aromas and flavors have time to escape and be lessened by the process of oxidation which more drastically impacts ground coffee than coffee in bean format (less surface area means less contact with oxygen). This means that if you purchase a grinder and run beans through it right before you make your coffee, you’re going to end up with richer flavor and more decadent aromas (we don’t know about you, but for us, the smell of coffee in the morning is an important part of the whole ritual). There are also some coffee makers on the market that contain a grinder if you’re interested in fresh coffee but don’t want to be dealing with an extra step in the morning.

The Right Filter

No matter what machine you use to brew your coffee, there is going to be an element of filtration. Many people are shocked to discover that they prefer their coffee from one filter over another. Commonly reusable plastic filters leave the slightest hint of plastic taste in a hot beverage. Paper filters depending on their treatment, can also leave a less than desirable hint of chemical in our drinks. Glass or stainless steel options do exist, and, as a bonus, they’re reusable, so they’re great for the planet too. 

The above tips should help you step up your coffee-making game. Of course, everyone’s taste buds are slightly different, so one of the most important factors in making a wonderful cup of coffee is listening to your own preferences. Just because one style of coffee is super popular (and makes for stellar social media pictures) doesn’t mean that you have to like it.