Home Brewing

With all this lamenting about how tough it is to find a good cafe here in the Okanagan, it came to me that perhaps a slight change in focus could be a good idea.  For those of us without easy access to coffee that’s worth paying for, I have one acronym: DIY.

I know there are many out there that brew coffee at home, and a few that do it well.  Most people use autodrip coffee makers that are notorious for making crap coffee.  The series of posts below is concerned with doing it just as well or better than most cafes.  Not only that, but doing it easily and affordable.  I tell you about some cheap and easy brewing methods, show you how to do them well, and tell you where to get the equipment you’ll need.  My aim is that you need not waste your money on crappy coffee ever again.

Part One – The Basics: grinding, buying coffee, water quality, equipment
Part Two – Why You Need to Ditch the Automatic Brewer
Part Three – Easy, Cheap, and Effective Brewing Methods: An overview of three great ways to make an amazing cup.
Part Four – Brewing Method How-to: Manual Drip (Pourover)
Part Five - Brewing Method How-to: French Press
Part Six – Brewing Method How-to: Aeropress
Part Seven – Other Brewing Methods

(You might’ve noticed that none of these parts is dedicated to making espresso at home.  That’s because making cafe quality espresso at home requires a pretty significant investment in more complicated and expensive equipment, and I have very little experience with home espresso equipment.  The methods I will cover are those that can be done to cafe quality with affordable and easy to use equipment.)

My aim with this series is to set you up and teach you some skills you can put to good use.  If you live in the Okanagan, you will be able to make coffee that far surpasses what is available in most cafes.  Rather than burnt and stale coffee from a giant urn you will be making flavourful and fresh coffee anytime.  What’s even better is that most of these methods can be done anywhere you have access to hot water, so you can still have coffee on the go!