How To Brew The Perfect Cup Of Coffee At Home

During the lockdown period, with grocery stores only permitting the buying of essential goods, getting your barista-brewed coffee is not an option. But fortunately for us, the brown beans of goodness are still available to purchase so we can brew the perfect cuppa at home.

You might have some sort of coffee equipment stashed away in the kitchen, not being used because it simply takes too much time. Does that sound like you? Well, with lockdown in full swing, you have (more than enough) time to attempt brewing a cup that is barista-worthy. The best part – it doesn’t have to be complicated at all.

We’ve compiled brewing methods for everyone. Whether you enjoy your coffee dark and strong, milky and sweet or even iced like the latest Dalgona trend, there’s something for you…

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Dalgona coffee

We love the super easy coffee trend know as Dalgona coffee. You don’t even need ground coffee. Instant coffee is what makes this drink work so well.

This popular milky drink couldn’t be easier to prepare. Equal amounts of instant coffee, sugar and water whisked together result in this creamy coffee-of-your-dreams. Serve it over the milk of your choice and you’re set to go. You could even flavour your Dalgona coffee cream with vanilla extract or cinnamon. The possibilities are endless!

Here’s an easy recipe:

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Anybody in the mood for a Dalgona Coffee? All you’ll need is milk, sugar, instant coffee and some good old fashion elbow grease. . I’ve never had one of these before today, but I think I’m a fan. The whipped coffee like cream on top was amazing! So if you’re an ice coffee fan, definitely give this a go! . INGREDIENTS: Makes 2 servings . – 2 tablespoons instant coffee, it has to be instant coffee in order for it to froth up nicely. – 2 tablespoons sugar. You can use slightly less but it also helps whip up the coffee. – 2 tablespoons hot water – 2 glasses of milk with ice (if you have) . DIRECTIONS: . 1. Bring some water to a boil. 2. In a small bowl mix together the sugar and coffee. 3. Carefully add the hot water and whisk (or use a hand mixer) the mixture until light and frothy. It’ll look a bit like meringue or whipped cream. 4. Fill your two glasses with ice and milk and then spoon some of this magic froth on top. 5. Take a picture and then give it a good stir before enjoying 🙂 . . . . . . . #lucky_bake #dalgonacoffee #colddrinks #dalgona #foodstagram #foodstyling #kitchenstories #thefeedfeed #foodphotography #foodporn #foodgram #recipeoftheday #chocolate #bakefromscratch #inmykitchen #gloobyfood #feedfeedbaking #coffee #coffeelovers @foodfluffer @thefeedfeed #icecoffee #icecoffeetime @manmakecoffee #coffeephotography #durrantlockdown

A post shared by Angie Batis Durrant (@miss_luckypony) on Mar 30, 2020 at 6:17am PDT

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Dark and Strong

Try a French press

This is the brewing method of choice for our friends in Europe. Here’s how:

1. First, bring water to the boil in a kettle.
2. If using whole beans, grind the beans to a consistency similar to breadcrumbs. The grounds should be uniform in size, without a lot of fine grit. Add the grounds to the French press.
3. When the water is around 95°C (about a minute after it’s been boiled), add just enough water to cover the grounds. Give it a gentle stir to make sure the water is saturating all of the coffee grounds. Leave for about 1 minute – this is called blooming as it allows CO2 to escape from the coffee for optimal flavour extraction. Now add the rest of the water and brew for about 4 minutes. Once done, slowly plunge the press, separating the grounds from the coffee.
4. Serve and enjoy.

Note: If you’re not planning on drinking the coffee immediately, don’t leave it in the French press, as it will continue to sit on the grounds and become bitter and sludgy. Instead, pour the coffee into a flask to enjoy later.

The pour-over

The equipment for this brewing technique looks fairly intricate, but trust us, it’s as simple as pouring water over the grounds. We love this method as it truly delivers the perfect cup of coffee at home. The process is slow and lends itself to a meditative practice. This is how:

1. Arrange a pour-over coffee filter in a cone and place the cone over a vessel. This could be your cup or the standard carafe if you’re making more than one cup.
2. Next, flush the filter with boiling water, letting it drip out fully, and discard the collected water in the vessel under the cone. Rinsing the filter flushes out any papery flavours from ending up in your coffee.
3. Now add your coffee to the cone (freshly ground coffee is the best) and make sure it’s placed over whatever vessel you’re brewing into. Make sure the grounds are in an even layer- this is to ensure even extraction.
4.  Pour over hot water (about 95 degrees) to saturate the grounds fully, but not so much that there is water pooling on top of them. Allow your coffee to bloom.
5.  Now comes the real brewing: Continue to add boiling water, pouring in a circular motion, and making sure not to pour it all in at once. Exercise restraint by stopping and starting, so the pour-over cone never fills up totally with water. Repeat this process until you get your desired amount of coffee.

We love this easy pour-over coffee maker from Le Creuset, R359, available at Yuppiechef

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Milky and sweet

If you have an at-home espresso machine, the possibilities are endless. Especially since you can make replicas of your favourite milky coffee treats.

Here are some of our favourites to try:

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By Features Writer Andrea Cresswell