Everything You Need To Make Barista

Jun 11, 2023

If you’re a coffee person, then getting your daily latte (or three) from the café can be a welcome treat and a soothing ritual. But it can also be expensive, and let's be real—who really wants to go outside first thing in the morning to get their caffeine fix? The good news is that making top-notch coffee at home is pretty simple. All you need are quality beans, the right tools and a little know-how to make top-notch coffee from the comforts of your home kitchen.

To make top-notch coffee at home, you're going to need the right tools like a consistent coffee ... [+] grinder and reliable brewing method.

Whether your go-to brewing method is an espresso machine or a drip-style coffee maker, to brew a barista-quality cup, you need to start with the same essentials. "You certainly need clean water, the right ratio of coffee to water and a uniform grind particle size," says Josey Markewicz, La Colombe's senior director of coffee quality and experience. So first, you need to pick up some high-quality coffee beans. And if you want the freshest, most consistent grounds to produce the most full-bodied cups, then you need to blitz those beans at home using one of the best coffee grinders. Then, you can start to think about your brewing method, as well as any additional tools you might need (like a milk frother) and how you plan to store your beans. While this may sound like a lot, it's much less overwhelming when you start to break down the process, noting the tools you truly need. If you’re ready to up you at-home coffee game, here's everything you need to start brewing better, more balanced cups.

If you can only remember one thing, let it be this: You can't make good coffee if you start with pre-ground, subpar coffee beans. For the most delicious java, you need to invest in whole beans that you can grind at home yourself, as pre-ground coffee tends to go stale a lot quicker.

To identify the very best whole beans, the team behind Canadian barista supply Eight Ounce Coffee offer up this simple tip: Look closely at where the coffee comes from. "If the label says Columbian, that is fantastic to learn what country it comes from, but why doesn't it say what farm it comes from?" says spokesperson Dina Ibrahim. "Do we know what type of tree the coffee comes from? Just like in wine, if you can experience coffee directly from one farm and one type of coffee variety, the quality naturally will increase because of the control and traceability the coffee needs." If you don't have access to high-quality beans, consider signing up for a coffee subscription service to send you fresh beans every month.

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And let's say you don't know what kinds of beans you like—no sweat. If you don't know whether you prefer a dark roast over a light or you’re unsure how much acidity you like in a blend, fortunately, there's an easy way to figure out your preferred flavor profile: Start trying different kinds of beans, which is best done as a local coffee shop or roaster. If you have a cup you really love, ask about it (and don't forget to take notes).

Chances are, at one point or another, you’ve had the unfortunate experience of making coffee with the wrong amount of grounds, resulting in either rocket fuel sludge or a sad, weak brew. And that's why a precise kitchen scale is so essential for a smart coffee set-up at home. By weighing your beans and water before you brew, you can ensure you make perfectly balanced cups every time. Once you figure out exactly how many grams of coffee beans you need, you can measure that exact same amount every morning. (The golden coffee-to-water ratio is 1:18, though some might prefer slightly less water.)

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The good news: Even the very best kitchen scales won't set you back that much. The Hario V60 Drip Coffee Scale and Timer, our top pick for coffee, runs less than $55. If that's a bit too much for your budget, we also love the Escali Primo, which costs $25 and comes in an array of colors.

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If there's piece of coffee equipment that's worth the splurge, it's a quality grinder. Why, exactly, is this tool so important? While picking up a bag of pre-ground coffee is objectively more convenient, when you pulverize your beans using a top-of-the-line grinder at home, you get the freshest, most uniform grounds that yield the most flavorful cups. With freshly blitzed grounds, the evenly sized particles get exposed to the water at the same rate, extracting coffee that doesn't lean bitter or sour. "You must always mind your grind," says La Colombe's Markiewicz. The other advantage of using a grinder is that it offers you the precision to grind your beans to the perfect size depending on your brewing method. Whereas coarsely ground coffee is great for cold brew and French press coffee, it's terrible for espresso.

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Based on extensive testing, our favorite multipurpose coffee grinder is the Fellow Opus Conical Burr Grinder, a sleek, user-friendly model that produces extremely consistent grounds. If you’re budget-conscious, consider the Oxo Conical Burr Coffee Grinder, a reliable $100 model that's ideal for drip and pourover coffee drinks.

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Coffee comes in a suite of styles, each of which require their own brewing method. If you like to start your morning with an easy pot of coffee, the best drip coffee maker is the OXO Brew 9-Cup Stainless Steel Coffee Maker. Brinda Ayer, Forbes Vetted's executive managing editor who tested the machine, calls it "a super-functional machine with premium features at a moderate price, and I drank a smooth and pleasant cup every time I used it."

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For dedicated espresso drinkers, consider the Breville Barista Express Impress, which we believe to be the number-one espresso machine you can buy. "Its impressive performance and user-friendly features make it a standout option for any espresso enthusiast or frequent coffee-at-home consumer," Lindsay Leopold writes of the Breville in her larger tested review of the best espresso machines.

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Prefer French press? We recommend the Fellow Clara French Press, a super sleek vessel that's both shatterproof and well-insulated. Also, if this style of coffee is your go-to, it's worth investing in an easy-to-pour electric kettle that heats your water to the perfect temperature to extract the most flavors from your coffee grounds. We recommend the Breville Variable Temperature Luxe Kettle, a machine that can efficiently heat water to the ideal degree.

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And for those who like their coffee ice-cold, our go-to cold brew maker is the Hario Mizudashi, a sleek glass pitcher with a filter that screws right into the lid.

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If you take your coffee with milk and you like that milk to be foamed (or at least a little warm before it hits your cup), then a milk frother is a must-have. With just the press of a button, The Nespresso Aeroccino3 can whip hot milk and foam for cappuccinos and lattes. But it can also make cold foam, a particularly nice feature if you like your espresso drinks over ice.

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If you’re interested in a frother but want something a little more budget-friendly, look to the Zulay Executive Series Milk Frother. While this handheld frother can't warm milk, it can whip up foam in seconds and costs just $25.

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The sad thing about coffee beans is that they have a shelf life—even the best, most high-quality ones. The longer beans are exposed to oxygen, heat, moisture and UV light, the more they lose their potency (and they can even go rancid). To avoid this, it's best to only buy the amount of beans you can go through in a reasonable time period—you don't want to stock up on bags. Then, with the beans you have at home, you need to store them properly to protect them from these external factors. The easiest way to extend their shelf life to store them properly. Our top storage solution is the Fellow Atmos Coffee Canister, a vacuum-sealed container that protects beans from the elements.

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We also like OXO's Steep Pop Coffee Containers, which are tinted to shield beans from sunlight.

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And when in doubt, if your beans no longer appear to be in tip-top shape, discard them and pick up a new bag. After all, the best coffee starts with fresh beans.