Have you often had trouble making your coffee as good as the one you get at your favorite café? Don’t despair. Mette Kaarsberg from Homebarista provides tips and tricks for a better coffee experience at home and guides you through four coffee brewing methods that everyone can try.
The trend in recent years is clear. We are becoming more and more aware of what we consume. Food and cooking have achieved unprecedented status – whether it’s the new Nordic cuisine at Noma or good kitchen equipment at home. And coffee is no exception!
But what does it take to make a good cup of coffee without having to hire your own barista or spend thousands of dollars? Homebarista Mette Kaarsberg guides us to the perfect cup of coffee through four easy-to-use brewing methods: French Press, Pour Over, Siphon Brewing, and Cold Brew.
Coffee with a French Press
Most of us have the classic BODUM Chambord French Press sitting at home in the kitchen.
French Press brewing is used daily in hundreds of thousands of homes, and this method is also a simple and easy place to start if you want to make a good cup of coffee. But despite the popularity of the French Press, people often forget a number of things when brewing.
“For French Press brewing, it’s important to use fresh, coarsely ground coffee beans. The coffee beans should be ground like coarse salt, and the coffee dosage is crucial. The result won’t be better if you generously add an extra gram of coffee,” says Mette Kaarsberg.
And according to her, it also matters how the water is poured into the coffee.
“The beans should first be wet and allowed to bloom and release CO2 gases. After 30 seconds, stir thoroughly while pouring in the rest of the water. The coffee should stand for a total of four minutes, including the 30 seconds,” says Mette Kaarsberg.
Pour Over Method
The Pour Over method is, like French Press brewing, a classic brewing method and a good place to start if you want to explore coffee brewing methods.
“Compared to the French Press method, where the beans have full contact with water throughout the extraction time, the water runs through a filter in Pour Over brewing. The coffee has shorter water contact, so it’s good to grind the coffee finely like table salt,” says Mette Kaarsberg.
Before starting a Pour Over brew, it’s important to rinse the filter if it’s made of paper. This is done to cleanse the paper of any chlorine substances that could give an off-taste to the coffee. The filter is also rinsed to ensure it fits snugly in the filter holder so the water runs through the beans and not past them.
Siphon Method
The ancient Siphon brewing, which brews by creating a vacuum, has experienced a renaissance. As a result, Bodum has also relaunched their old Siphon brewer from the 1950s in a new electronic version. The method can look advanced and high-tech, but according to Mette Kaarsberg, the brewing method is quite simple.
“The hot steam from the bottom moves the water up into the upper chamber with the beans. The heat source is removed when the water and coffee have extracted long enough, and then a vacuum is created, drawing the coffee down through a filter,” she says.
The method with an electronic Siphon brewer can seem entirely scientific, but if you’re more analog in your coffee brewing, there is, according to Mette Kaarsberg, an option for that too.
“You can certainly manage with a manual Siphon machine. It can do just the same. The most important thing is to experiment with the coffee and enjoy the different expressions you can achieve with the various methods,” she says.
Cold Brew
Summer, sun, and warmth. There’s not much that beats coffee brewed using the Cold Brew method on a warm summer day. Cold Brew has been popular in the USA for several years and the method brings out a sweeter taste with a higher caffeine content.
“Cold Brew is a good introduction for people who might not like regular coffee. Cold-brewed coffee is made with fresh, cold water and brewed for 12-24 hours, and this process brings out all the sweetness from the coffee while the bitter compounds disappear,” says Mette Kaarsberg.
But just like with the other brewing methods, there are also some things that are particularly important with Cold Brew.
“Cold Brew coffee should be covered and sealed tightly with either a lid or plastic wrap. After the 12-24 hours in the refrigerator or at room temperature, the lid is changed, and then the coffee is pressed and optionally added with milk or syrup as needed,” she says.
See how to make Cold Brew here:
5 Coffee Tips for a Good Cup of Coffee:
- View coffee as a food product and demand corresponding quality and freshness. Therefore, always buy whole beans and keep an eye on the roast date.
- The dosage of coffee is crucial. Bodum recommends using about 6-7 grams per 100 ml of water. A good starting point for the right dosage is to use a Bodum measuring spoon, which holds 7 grams. A rule of thumb is to use one spoon per cup.
- Water temperature is important. If you use boiling water, the sweetness and flavor disappear. 91-93 degrees is ideal for coffee.
- Consider a water filter or a filtering jug to remove lime and impurities from the water. This is especially true in areas like Copenhagen with a lot of lime.
- For French Press brewing, it’s important that the plunger moves easily and smoothly. If it’s not possible to press the plunger down with a single finger, it’s most likely because your beans have been ground too finely, forming a blockage, or the filter hasn’t been cleaned properly.
Source: Press Release