It All Began with a Caramel Frappuccino

Y’all. I’ve been drinking coffee since I was 14 years old. Not “real” coffee, but it started with Caramel Frappuccinos at Starbucks, International Delight creamer in my coffee, and everything where it was more of sugar and cream with a side of coffee. I got my first job at Starbucks in my second year of university and worked there for about two years, then in my fifth year of university, I got hired at a third wave shop in the neighbourhood I lived in now. Both jobs gave me the opportunity to learn a lot about coffee in different forms.

In addition to all of that, I’ve spent almost every cent of disposable income in coffee shops for as long as I’ve ever been employed. The perfect whole milk flat white is often more of a staple than a once-in-a-while treat. Of course, due to the global pandemic happening, I don’t get to enjoy that nearly as often. Lucky for me, over the years, I’ve gotten really good at making delicious coffee at home! I’m excited to break down for you the simple ways that I make a good cup of coffee at home any day of the week!

Homemade Faves

French Press

The CLASSIC. Four minutes to a perfect cup of coffee. French Presses are inexpensive - seriously, you can buy one at Ikea for $8. The price range on these is quite vast and truly if you’re spending a lot of money on yours, it’s because you bought a brand name one like the HBC X Le Creuset Multi Stripe French Press. Anyways, no matter the brand, they use the same method.

How to Brew a French Press:

Approximately 30 grams of coffee ground coarsely to 500 mL of boiling water. This can change depending on the type of coffee you use. When using a quality roast, the parameters can often be found on their website and you just adjust! Let the coffee steep with the lid off for 4 minutes then press the ground down to the bottom and let the delicious coffee filter to the top!

Cold Brew

A summer staple in our house! Chris and I both bought the Toddy Cold Brew System before we lived together so now it’s, double the cold brew, double the love! Just kidding. We do love making it in the summer though! Cold-brew is like a concentrated coffee steeped for 24 hours. It’s sweeter, smooth and full-bodied, while iced coffee can be more acidic. This is because cold brew is steeped in, you guessed it, cold water! Since it’s so concentrated, you can typically just pour it into a glass halfway, then add water and a dairy of your choice if you desire! I also like to sweeten mine with honey or agave syrup for the perfect summer treat! Instructions are included in the box, it’s a bit of a process, but once you get the hang of it, it’s the best! Ps, remember, this takes time so if you want cold brew for the weekend, get it steeping on Friday morning!

Nespresso

Sorry not sorry, but our Nespresso has been such a good investment! I really want Chris and I to get a Breville machine one day - actually, this is our dream machine. Yes, the price tag is insane. Look, some people buy 5 cars, I’ll buy this.

ANYWAYS, the Nespresso Inissia Coffee Machine with the Aeroccino frother is a good in-between machine. There are actually slight notes in their espresso pods and the frother work excellently! I recommend using oat milk or whole milk if you’re looking for the perfectly frothed latte! We also love this guy to keep all those pods organized! My favourite espresso pods to buy from Nespresso (only available on their website) are the Barista Creations Original Triopack. These are a good mix of a light, medium and darker espresso blend and were created to be paired with yummy, frothed milk. My Sunday morning fave! If the triopack is out of stock, no worries, you can still

My Dirty Secret

Honestly? My all-time favourite way to brew a good coffee is with a good drip brewer. We were gifted this one from Bodum for our wedding shower and honestly, it’s still in the basement because we just don’t need an automatic 12-cup brewer. That being said, it’ll probably come in handy when the children come. I’m really excited to be able to pull it out!

Other Necessities

Coffee Grinder

If you can help it, don’t cheap out on this one! We bought our Baratza Encore second hand but it actually grinds the coffee and releases all the great flavours out! When you buy that type that’s a 7-in-1, you’ll sometimes just get the coffee spun around and crushed up but not ground the way it was meant to be. (This is major coffee snobbery seeping in, you do you!)

Scale

We use a super simple one similar to this. A scale is - in my opinion - the key to getting the perfect measurements for coffee no matter how you’re brewing it. Whether I’m using a French Press or drip brewer, I use a scale rather than measure with teaspoons to ensure that I’m getting the perfect ratio!

Certified Coffee Dork

There you have it folks! Certified (not really) coffee dork coming at you with simple ways to enjoy a good cup of coffee at home. Like I mentioned throughout, there are many ways that you can achieve that perfect cup on different budgets and find a way to treat yo’self! Enjoy! xx