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If you’re looking to turn your home into a cafe-like experience, then you’re going to need some serious help. There are plenty of things you can outfit your home with to really make the most of an at-home coffee bar. The problem for many beginners is that it can all be rather intimidating if you don’t know what you need.
Any home coffee bar has a few essential items that you can’t do without. From there, you can start adding more and more until you feel satisfied with what you have. There are some that are cheap, some that are more expensive, but mostly, they’re all useful. Here is what you need for your home coffee bar.
Percolator
If you’ve never heard of a percolator before, you should start brushing up on your kitchen appliance knowledge. Essentially, what a coffee percolator does is cycle boiling water and use gravity to help coffee grounds reach the desired level of brew strength. This is an essential item as it allows you to control the coffee you want. Unlike a drip pot, you can be in control of your coffee strength which is something that’s vital for a real coffee bar experience.
Espresso Machine
They can be big, bulky, hard to learn, and often expensive, but an espresso machine is something you should definitely consider investing in. This machine is not only for making espresso, but you can eventually learn to make lattes, frappucinos, and just about anything else you’d get from your local cafe. It might not be something you should buy right away as you should brush up on your coffee knowledge beforehand, but eventually, you’ll want the versatility of one and it’ll be worth the wait.
Cart or Stand
You need a dedicated spot for your coffee bar, so a perfect idea is a cart or stand. Just like a bar cart, you can place all of your coffee making utensils and your beans or grounds in this area. It helps clear up space but it also keeps everything nearby for easy access. You should find one big enough to hold everything and one that gives you space to prep on, but not too big. Some people like to convert a smaller, more mobile kitchen island for this task and that’s also a great idea. Just make sure you have somewhere to act as your coffee station.
Coffee Storage
On that note, you also need a place to keep your grounds and beans. Keeping them tightly stored is important as air getting in can change the flavors and aromas of the beans. The best solution is often air-tight lidded glass jars, but anything that doesn’t allow in the air should do the trick. This is a really important part of having your own coffee bar because you need your beans to be fresh for as long as possible, just like a coffee shop. It’s also a great idea to think about using a labeler to remember which roasts and beans are which.
Food Scale
A food scale is something that every kitchen should have for general reasons. Accurate measurements of food are a key component to making sure you follow a recipe precisely, and the same applies to coffee. Too much ground and you could have an overpowering brew or vice versa. A small scale with accurate measurements (within 0.1g) will help you make much better coffee. As an added bonus, it can be used for other measurements as well if you really need one that badly.
Grinder
It’s a well-known fact amongst coffee lovers that buying coffee should always be with the whole beans first. From there, you can then grind the beans yourself at home. This is another measure to help protect the aromas and flavor. Coffee grinders are easy to find and don’t take up a lot of space. They help you learn the importance of making a cup of coffee from scratch and are a staple of a good coffee bar. It allows you to rely on buying whole beans so you are never compromising on flavor and quality.
Having an at-home coffee bar provides a huge advantage over going to coffee shops. First, you’re spending less money and secondly, you’re learning a valuable skill which is to brew better coffee. As you have seen here, it all starts with some simple to own equipment and these are some musts for any coffee bar.