Brew Like a Pro: Tips to Elevate Your Home Coffee Game
Brew Like a Pro: Tips to Elevate Your Home Coffee Game
At Hampton Roast Coffee, we believe that great coffee doesn’t stop at the roaster. It lives and breathes in your kitchen, your mug, and your daily rituals. Whether you’re just diving into specialty coffee or a long-time home barista, there’s always room to level up your brew. Here are our top tips to bring out the best in your beans — no café required.
1. Start with Fresh, Specialty Beans
Let’s be honest: no brewing method can save stale or low-grade coffee. Starting with freshly roasted, specialty-grade beans is half the battle won. Our small batch roasting process ensures you’re getting coffee that was roasted with care and intention — and hasn’t been sitting on a supermarket shelf for months.
Pro Tip: Look for a roast date, not just an expiry date. For peak flavour, use coffee within 2–4 weeks of roasting.
2. Invest in a Burr Grinder
Pre-ground coffee loses its flavour rapidly. Grinding your beans just before brewing releases aromatics that are essential for flavour and body.
Blade grinders chop beans unevenly, resulting in over-extraction (bitter) and under-extraction (sour) in the same cup. Burr grinders, on the other hand, crush beans consistently — giving you a smoother, more balanced brew.
Pro Tip: Adjust your grind size to match your brew method:
- Coarse: French Press
- Medium: Drip / Pour Over
- Fine: Espresso / Moka Pot
3. Mind Your Water
Coffee is 98% water — and bad water = bad coffee. Use filtered water if your tap water has a strong taste or odour. Avoid distilled or softened water, as both lack the minerals coffee needs to fully extract.
Pro Tip: The ideal brewing temperature is between 90–96°C. If you’re boiling water, wait 30–60 seconds after boiling before pouring.
4. Use the Right Coffee-to-Water Ratio
Eyeballing your coffee might work some mornings, but for consistent results, use a scale. A good starting point is:
- 1 gram of coffee for every 15–17 grams of water (about 1:15–1:17 ratio)
That’s roughly 20g of coffee to 300ml of water — perfect for a generous cup.
Pro Tip: Try a 1:16 ratio to start, then adjust based on taste.
5. Choose Your Method with Intention
Different brewing methods highlight different characteristics in coffee:
- French Press brings out richness and body.
- Pour Over (V60/Chemex) enhances clarity and brightness.
- Aeropress offers versatility and travel-friendliness.
- Espresso/Moka Pot delivers intensity and crema.
Explore and experiment to find the method that matches your mood or roast.
6. Don’t Forget the Bloom
If you’re using a manual method like pour-over or French press, let the coffee “bloom” — pour just enough hot water to wet the grounds and wait 30–45 seconds. This releases trapped carbon dioxide from freshly roasted beans and prevents sour or uneven extraction.
7. Taste, Adjust, Repeat
Every variable — grind size, water temperature, brew time, and even bean origin — affects flavour. The beauty of brewing at home is that you’re in control. Keep notes and tweak one variable at a time.
Final Thoughts
You don’t need a £5000 espresso machine to brew café-quality coffee. With a few intentional upgrades — fresh beans, a burr grinder, and mindful brewing — you can turn your morning cup into a daily masterpiece.
Looking for your next batch? Browse our freshly roasted, ethically sourced coffees [link to shop]. We roast small because details matter — and we know you’ll taste the difference.