No Barista Needed: How To Brew Your Own Coffee At Home

Why start off your morning waiting in line at your local coffee shop when you can relax with your own perfect, homemade cup of coffee at home? While brewing your own morning caffeine fix may seem like a huge pain, the coffee afficionados at Toby's Estate Coffee have a Home Brewing School which shows how easy (and delicious) it is to brew your own blend at home. Here, three different methods they teach.

The French Press

The most classic home brewing method, using the French Press is perfect for either a single cup of coffee or a large serving (depending on the size of your press). Tip: Coffee bean flavors derived from chocolate and nuts taste the best in this brewing style.

Brewing Equipment: Espro Press, comes in 3 different sizes: 8 oz, 16 oz and 32 oz, tobysestate.com.

Directions: Serves 2 cups

1) If you are grinding your own coffee beans, measure out 34 grams. (If you do not have a scale, this is 5 tablespoons of beans). You can use any coffee burr grinder or have the beans grinded at your local coffee shop.

2) Add 34g of coffee grinds into the press and begin timer.

3) Slowly pour 100g of hot water on top of the grinds. Make sure to pour slowly, evenly distributing the water.

4) Let 'bloom' for 45 seconds before pouring an additional 400g of hot water in slowly.

5) Gently stir and let sit for 3 additional minutes.

6) At a total time of 4 minutes, slowly press down on the until the press reaches the bottom of the cannister—fully separtating the grinds from the coffee. Pour and enjoy.

V-60 Pour-Over

Ideal for brewing a single cup of coffee—using a V-60 brewing method enriches the flavor of the coffee beans, taking the Keurig concept to the next level. The V-60 pour over allows you to brew a cup of coffee directly into your mug.

Brewing Equipment:
Hario V-60, $32, and paper filters, $4, tobysestate.com.

Directions: Serves 1 cup

1) Line up your coffee filter in the V-60 cup and pre-wet the filter, making sure no part is left dry in order to avoid a paper taste in your coffee. Discard water that has collected into bottom of mug.

2) Add 23g of medium ground coffee into filter and start your timer.

3) Slowly pour in 45g of hot water into the center so that all of the coffee grinds get wet.

4) Stir and let sit for 45 seconds.

5) Slowly pour an additional 315g of hot water in small, dispering the water in circular motions. Let coffee bloom for an additional 2 minutes before serving.

Aeropress

Perfect for the coffee lover on-the-go, this portable coffee brewer is easy to use and light to travel with. The Aeropress produces a stronger, more concentrated blend of coffee than a brewing method of the French Press or V-60.

Brewing Equipment: Aerobie AeroPress, $25, and paper filters, $4, bedbathandbeyond.com.

Directions: Serves 1 cup

1) Insert filter into cap and pre-wet (following the Inverted AeroPress method)

2) Add 17g of medium ground coffee and start your timer.

3) Slowly pour 45g of hot water, stirring and letting sit for 45 seconds.

4) Slowly pour an additional 190g of hot water in small, circular motions dispersing the water.

5) Secure tap tightly on top.

6) At 3 minutes, flip AeroPress onto vessel and gently press down, using slight pressure to the bottom.

7) Serve and enjoy.

You can take your own private coffee brewing lesson (or latte art class) at Toby's Estate Brew School, located in Williamsburg Brooklyn, the Flatiron District and coming soon to the West Village.

Via

Images courtesy of Toby's Estate Coffee