Quality coffee beans and freshly ground coffee are both essential elements for brewing an amazing cup of coffee. But, did you know the type of water you use for brewing coffee is just as important?
According to Barista Institute, 98% of your cup of coffee is water! Yes, WATER. You can find out more about the importance of water in your coffee by reading the article, Coffee and Water – How to use High Quality Water to Brew the Best Coffee.
Before you head over there, here are five coffee essentials you’ll need:
1. Water filter
For home use, the easiest and cheapest water filter is the Brita Water System. Choose either the pitcher or faucet system. Brita reduces odor and contaminants like copper, cadmium, and mercury.
We use pitchers, and to be precise, the Wave model ($29.99 each, not including the filter). You can get the 10-cup Everyday Water Pitcher with one filter for just $26.99 at Amazon.com. Besides Brita, we’ve tried PUR. We highly recommend Brita because the water flows consistently and the pitcher indicator works accurately. An orange indicator means it’s almost time to change your filter.
2. Freshly roasted coffee
Where you get your coffee is not important, however the freshness and the way your coffee is roasted matters. If you like the convenience of buying your grocery online, including coffee beans, try Amazon Fresh’s Sumatra Dark Roast. Get 12 oz instead of the 32 oz.
3. Grinders
There’s manual and automatic, burr and blade, flat blade burr and conical burr grinders. Find out which type suits your needs by reading the following articles we wrote:
4. Coffee makers
Some people like Aeropress, others prefer Moka pot, French press or just a simple drip coffee pot. It all depends on your personality, the time you have and your expertise. Here at CoffeeSphere.com, some of us would only use a French press while others swear by their professional espresso machine and Aeropress. And, there is also the Keurig user!
Here are a few articles to help you choose one that is right for you:
- How to Brew Coffee with Aeropress
- How to Brew with Moka Pot
- How to Make Coffee with French press
- How to use Siphon Coffee Maker
- Keurig Brewing System Review
5. Travel mugs
We love these French press travel coffee mugs! They are easy to use, portable and affordable. If you’re a French press-style coffee lover and haven’t tried one yet, please do yourself a favor, get one French press travel coffee mug.
To help you choose, we’ve written 5 Best French Press Coffee Travel Mugs that feature all the above mugs, from Bodum, Zyliss, Presse by bobble, GSI Outdoors and Stanley.
Let us know how you brew your coffee?
Great article. Here are five coffee essentials but with a twist of mine:
1. Pure water is a must.
However, I don’t use a filter of any kind because of I live beneath a huge mountain, and there’s a spring that comes beneath the mountain and flows right next to my house.
A water wonderland for me and I feel privileged.
However, for most people, water filter is a must and priority ( I say it with a 98% chance of being in the right) 🙂
2. Freshly roasted coffee.
I roast my own. The first few batches, (more like twenty or so) were pure disasters but now I am a pro.
3. Grind. I used to have a manual grinder, but it got to be tiresome (pun intended) so I switched to automatic.
But now my big muscle (my brain) longs for the days of quietude:)
4. Coffee made in a coffee maker is nice, but for me, nothing beats the punch and bitterness of Turkish coffee (counterbalanced with Turkish delight).
I make my coffee in dzezva (ibrik). It’s my coffee maker of choice:)
5. I have my favorite cup and it is just a normal cup.
Sometimes, I get kinky and drink a whole pot directly from the dzezva.
It tastes differently; I like it.