As industry experts, we are often asked what the secret is to brewing the best coffee at home. And while it might be nice to hire an in-home barista, we have some tips that might be more economically friendly!

COFFEE

The first thing to consider when brewing at home is what you’re brewing in the first place; your coffee beans. Make sure you start with fresh, high-quality coffee. Torke’s premium hand-roasted coffee comes in vacuum-sealed packaging for this exact reason, we want to make sure that every package doesn’t just contain high-quality coffee but that it arrives fresh at your home.

Once opening your coffee, and breaking the vacuum-pack seal, make sure to store your coffee in an air-tight container and use within one week of opening for ideal flavor. The longer coffee is exposed to air the more the organic compounds and oils that create excellent flavor start to break down.

GRIND

The next step is making sure the grind of your coffee is right. The grind of your coffee should be adjusted based on the brewing method to give the optimal flavor and extraction. Essentially, the longer the grounds sit in the water, the courser the ground should be, so it doesn’t extract too quickly (i.e. 4-minute French press). The opposite is also true, the shorter the amount of time the coffee is exposed to the water the finer the ground should be so that there is less surface area on the bean and is able to extract more quickly (i.e. 3-second espresso).

General Grind Guidelines

Extra-Course: Cold Brew

Course: French press, percolator

Medium-Course: Chemex coffee maker

Medium: Cone-shaped pour-overs, flat-bottom drip coffee machines, Aeropress (3+ brew time)

Medium-Fine: Cone-shaped pour-overs, Aeropress (2-3 minute brew time)

Fine: Moka Pot, espresso machine, Aeropress (1 minute brew time)

Extra Fine: Turkish coffee pot

WATER

So you have your fresh hand-roasted Torke coffee ground to perfection, now what? One of the key elements we often find people overlook is the water they are brewing. Just as you likely filter your drinking water, equally important is filtering the water you brew your coffee with. The chemicals used to treat water and other minerals found in untreated water not only affect the taste of the coffee in terms of flavor combination but the chemical compounds can actually alter the flavor of your coffee and diminish the complex flavor profiles found high-quality coffee.

RATIO

Finally, in order to ensure the perfect brew, make sure you are using the right amount of water-to-grounds ratio so that your coffee will not be too strong or too weak, but perfectly full-flavored. A good place to start is 1 gram of coffee to 15-18g water.

So there you have it, the four secret elements of brewing the best coffee at home. So what are you waiting for? Find your favorite roast and get brewing! Are you eager to learn more at-home brewing tips? Check out our other blogs and follow us on social media to get notified each time we publish more insider secrets.

Don’t want to worry about ratios and grind? Well, you’re in luck, our coffee masters have created Travel Packs, just for you! These pre-measured and ground packages of coffee are created specifically for a standard coffee maker four-cup brew. All you have to do is pour in, add water to the four-cup line, and press start!