Coffey & Cake

Your guide to great coffee

Home brew coffee methods

Home Brew Coffee Methods

Making coffee at home is so much more than adding 1 teaspoon of granules and hot water to a mug. The specialty coffee industry has woken the world up to some really easy and quick home brew coffee methods, so I am going to share some with you today.

Firstly it is recommended that when you buy coffee beans you check the roast date. A newly roasted coffee will have a bolder flavour profile, which means it will taste so much better than 6 month old beans.

Secondly, invest in a home grinder. This will be one of the best decisions you make if you are serious about good coffee. We have a bur grinder at home and a Porlex hand grinder. Try it for yourself. Make your coffee with 1 day old ground beans and then try your coffee with freshly ground beans. There is just no comparison to the flavour and body of your coffee.

Ok so with that vital information on the table, here are some home brew coffee methods that will take your home coffee situation to a whole new level.

French Press

This home brew coffee method has been a favourite for years. It doesn’t require a lot of skill, and you can even buy filter ground beans ready to pour in the plunger and go. French press coffee is really great for small offices or your home office.

Methods

JJ Bean Coffee

Stumptown Coffee

Where to buy: You can buy a French Press from Boardmans, @Home, or online at Yuppiechef or at your local coffee shop if they sell coffee gear.

Aeropress

Did you know the Aeropress was invented by the same guy who invented the Aerobie frisbee? The Aeropress is a convenient, quick to use, easy to clean, coffee gadget. It looks like a syringe for coffee and the end product is deliciously extracted coffee. Here are some methods to help you on your way.

Methods

Stumptown Coffee 1

Stumptown Coffee 2

Roaming Barista

Where to buy: Your local coffee shop might stock the Aeropress otherwise you can buy it online at Cape Coffee Beans.

Pour Over

We don’t use the Pour Over method that much at home, although we do have a basic set up for it. I love drinking pour overs when I visit The Factory Cafe, because they really know how to make a good cup of coffee with the Pour Over. If you want to get loads of flavour out of your coffee at home then this method is perfect for that.

Methods

Colombo Coffee Pour Over Iced Coffee

Stumptown Coffee

Where to buy: There are few different Pour Over options to buy. Chat to your local barista about what you need to get your kit together at home.

Chemex

Methods

Stumptown Coffee

Elemental Coffee

Sumpcoffee

Where to buy: Again your local coffee shop will probably sell these. I know Colombo Coffee so, as well as Bean There, and Urban Grind Roasters. You can also order one online from Cape Coffee Beans.

Cold Brew

Methods

Temple Coffee Roasters: Bruer method

Coffey & Cake : home method

Where to buy: We bought our Bruer from Colombo Coffee otherwise you can make your own drip like we did with an empty 1l bottle.

Home Brew Coffee Methods

I hope these videos are helpful. I have learnt a lot about home brewing from watching youtube so keep watching videos and trying new things. If you have a home brew coffee method that you’d like to share, please comment below.

Barista Courses in South Africa

As the specialty coffee industry grows, employment opportunities rise (which is AWESOME) and now there are numerous brilliant barista courses in South Africa. Becoming a barista empowers men and women to enter the hospitality industry and further their education and skills.

So let’s take a look at a few barista courses in South Africa and maybe this list will help you take the next step to training as a barista.

BARISTA COURSES IN SOUTH AFRICA

Durban

Colombo Coffee offer a number of fantastic courses at their factory. Click on the options below to read more about each course.

Cape Town

Origin Coffee was my first experience of specialty coffee and when I was a student in CT I started favouring Origin Coffee over any other coffee. That’s where the coffee snob in me came out I think. Many of my friends who have done a barista course in CT have gone through Origin Coffee so read more about what their barista course entails.

Truth Coffee also have a barista school and they offer 3 unique courses. Take a look below.

Joburg

Bean There Coffee is a well known place to train as a barista in Joburg so here are their details for you. There is not much information on their website but they train all over Joburg so drop them a mail or stop in at one of their roasteries.

A newbie in Joburg and SUCH a rad place to visit is Urban Grind Roasters. They have plenty of training options, check it out.

If you are looking for a course in the North of Joburg, take a look at Africa Black Espresso Bar in Northriding. They offer a latte art course and a barista training course. All the details are on their website.

Midrand - Pretoria

Vintage Coffee is one of my favourite spots in Gauteng. Vintage Coffee is a non-profit coffee shop and every month they give their profits to a charity chosen by their customers. Vintage Coffee offer a barista training so take a look at their website and contact them if you’re in that area of South Africa.

TriBeCa is also a highly recommended spot to do your barista course. Take a look at their website for contacts at their Centurion factory. TriBeCa are the brilliant crew that have been training the Woolworths baristas (and how great has W Cafe’s coffee got).

Port Elizabeth

Mastertons is a well known brand in the PE area and they are committed to excellence when it comes to sourcing, roasting and training. Contact them here for more info.

Another recommended course is with Roast Master’s Coffee Academy. Take a look at their courses here.

The Ciro Coffee Academy also offer a number of brilliant courses around South Africa. If you want to enter the hotel industry and want to add to your hospitality skills take a look at Ciro’s training courses here.

These are but a few courses to start looking at. If you’ve done a course somewhere else please comment below with how you found the course and contact details.

Saturday Morning Coffee

I just love waking up on a Saturday morning to a good cup of coffee. This morning we were spoilt for choice with two amazing coffees from Colombo Coffee, a Ugandan Sipi Falls and a Guatemalan Finca El Coyegual. Paul made himself a pour over earlier using the Finca, and I was more in the mood to try the Finca through an Aeropress.

This is how we made it…

Add 20grams of ground coffee (table salt grind) to the Aeropress chamber

Add 40g of boiled water and stir for 35 seconds

Add boiled water, up to a ratio of 1:11 (1 part coffee to 11 parts water = 2og coffee to 220g water)

Leave for 1 minute then continue by pressing the Aeropress plunger down through the chamber.

Easy as that! You can drink it black and really experience the fruity flavour as you sip, thereafter leaving your mouth with a chocolate taste. You can also add milk (full cream for a sweeter/creamier taste).

*Excuse the Thai stubby cooler over our Aeropress chamber. It apparently adds insulation so Paul is trying it out.*

 

How do you enjoy your Saturday morning coffee? Share your recipes in the comments below.
If you want to learn more about home brewing and home brew methods here is a great collection of methods by Stumptown.

Help us explore Australia’s coffee scene

It has been a goal on the list for 2016 to get to Australia for a proper coffee tour around the country! You can help us explore Australia’s coffee scene by recommending your favourite specialty coffee shop. As you can see on our directory, the country/continent of Australia has yet to be explored.

The destinations we have mapped out are…

Perth | Brisbane | Melbourne | Sydney | Gold Coast

Now it’s your turn to fill in the gaps. Which Australian coffee shops should we visit?

Our bags aren’t packed but we are ready to go. We have family all over Aus so we can’t wait to visit them. For now we are searching the web day and night (well web alerts like sky scanner are doing that for us) for good flight prices, and we are putting together a list of coffee shops to visit.

The Australian coffee scene has in many ways lead the charge in the specialty coffee movement. The current world barista champ is from Aus, so we cannot wait to explore the Australian coffee scene.

So help us out by commenting below with a link to your recommended Australian coffee shops.

THANK YOU!!!!