If you make really great coffee at home, what do you use?

[YouHaveNoAuthorityHereJackie]

I’ve always just stuck to instant coffee at home but noticed more and more how much I like coffee when I go out, presumably it’s being made properly with better beans. I like black coffees and the odd cappuccino. What would I need to replicate this at home? We had a hand me down nespresso machine for a while which I did like, but gave away due to the pod waste.

Aeropress and freshly ground beans if it's just for me.

A bean to cup machine (Breville, which I think might be the the NZ/Aus name for Sage - it looks identical) if I need to make a few coffees in a row

We changed just over a year ago from a Nespresso to a bean to cup machine (Philips). It's great and we've saved so much money and so many pods (even though we recycled I felt really bad about using them)

A bean to cup machine, Starbucks blonde coffee beans and full fat milk warmed in the microwave before steaming, all whilst the coffee is being made - so it's actually hot.

I have a super-automatic machine. It grinds the beans, makes the espresso or coffee, steams the milk, dumps the used grounds, and lightly cleans itself before the next cup. If you are using instant, I’m guessing you aren’t quite ready for this stage of coffee obsession.

You would be perfectly well served by a basic drip coffee maker. Cone is the preferred shape. You really don’t need anything more than that to get started and any basic identifiable brand is fine. Just don’t go for the ever changing mystery brands online.

I use an aero press or a cafetière at work (don't get the love for the aero press tbh) but it makes one cup so if it is just me in the office that is what I use.

At home a double walled stainless cafetière (which is now about 25 years old) or a bean to cup. I much prefer the bean to cup, no mess, automatic, nothing to was or rinse out after every cup.

Years ago I had a burr grinder and a proper £££ Italian coffee machine (coffee shop style), it was ok but a faff so I was very happy to let XH take it with him.

I don't like stove top coffee - alters the taste for me.

Bean to cup wins hands down.

I make my coffee using the Krups coffee machine, it cost around £150 so it's a fairly good one. I use a variety of coffee capsules but I mainly use the Starbucks ones. My DH uses another brand but can't remember for the life of me. Sorry!

We also have a milk frother, which is excellent in terms of getting that café-like latte/coffee that we all love so much.

I will ask DH which coffee capsules he uses once he gets home.

Sorry! Hope this helps! x

Aeropress for my breakfast coffee, I make it very strong and add a bit of hot water to fill a large mug. Always black. We have a cheaper DeLonghi machine which we use for mid-morning coffees, but I don't think the coffee is as good. I use Sainsbury's Italian espresso coffee.

We buy beans, grind them in a burr grinder (£50, John Lewis) and brew for four minutes in a cafetière.
We like a darkish roast but buy different types of beans like Kenya AA, Columbian, Java and Mocha and experiment with blending different ones together.
It's Coffee Nerd Central at the Sharpes'.

I can help you here.

I spent a great deal of time researching how to make excellent coffee this time last year. I only drink Americano (black) with no sugar, and to really appreciate great coffee this is my first tip,: no milk and definitely no sugar. It will only take a mug or two and you will wonder why you ever polluted your coffee.

There are several factors in making great coffee. Much depends on what you want, espresso, americano, "polluted" etc. Here is a list of what I learned and what I use.

Water: Tap water is often hopeless. However, alternatives can be expensive. The best solution if you can afford it is a reverse osmosis counter top at about £350. This will do all your drinking water as well, and eliminate limescale in kettles, irons, and anything that uses very hot water. Much of this depends on the water in your area. I live in Kent, which is about as bad as it gets. Limescale everywhere, iron from the pipes, it is dreadful. The worse the tap water, the worse your coffee. Never use distilled water. Try to avoid bottled if you can, too much plastic, but if that is your only realistic option, the easiest is Volvic for its mineral content, that is good for coffee.

Temperature should be around 95 Celsius.
NEVER NEVER use supermarket coffee. Buy from small online roasters, who will always print the roasting date. Coffee more than three months since roasting belongs in the bin. It is best to grind your own (see grinders below), but if not, set up a subscription with a small roaster and have your coffee delivered ground. Always state what you want, espresso is a very fine grind, whereas filter is coarser.
You do not need an expensive machine. I use a £20 clever dripper, but that is no good for cappuccino or espresso. For these you will need a machine.
Only buy a machine that makes what you want. Do not waste money on a milk-frother if you want espresso for example
Go onto Youtube, there are several very good videos reviewing coffee machines and makers, how to use them, how to make great coffee and more.
Buy the best grinder you can afford. They go up to over £2,000 which is ridiculous. I have one that cost £300, and it really makes a difference. Cheaper ones will be ok, but do your research.
If you use a machine, learn how to tamp correctly. You want your coffee going through in 30 seconds, give or take.
Scales with a timer are vital if you are making filter or French press

There is a UK coffee forum that is worth a look, but some of the posts are somewhat OCD in regard to the lengths they will go. One example is a spreadsheet detailing the mix of several bottled waters, in percentage ratios, for the best water. No thank you!

I hope this helps.

I use a Moka pot and Lavazza ground coffee.

I also have a freestanding heatproof (probably pyrex) coffee pot and a cone, which I love because I can be sure the water going through is really boiling.

I have a one cup (does up to travel mug size) filter machine.

So easy to clean and use and takes up very little space on the worktop.

Find a good roaster who deliver freshly roasted beans. A single origin kind. A good roaster is passionate about it, read about their products and see what takes your fancy.

Then decide how you'd like to make it. I've used an electric grinder, a mokka pot and a milk frother with perfectly fine results.

Then I bought a bean to cup machine (Gaggia Brera) it just takes out all the seperate components of making it.

We have a De lhongi bean to cup machine and the coffee is lovely, they are expensive though and take up a lot of counter room, but we seldom use our kettle any more and I can’t recall the last time I had coffee.

Stainless steel cafetiere (glass ones don't hold the heat as well) and really, really good quality beans -- and only grind what you need when you need it.

I also boil the kettle, then let it sit for two minutes before pouring onto the grounds, and then leave to steep for 10 minutes before pouring.

Sorry instant coffee 🤪

I use Monsoon Malabar beans from a small local roastery. I have small electric grinder and grind just before I use them. I use this to make pour-over style. I have a nice earthenware jug that the filter sits on and it makes two cups at a time.

I agree with PPs, start with the coffee, then move on to the grinder.

We have a weekly subscription of beans from Rave, but there are lots of good suppliers around, and we grind the beans by hand.

We use an ancient Gaggia Classic for home coffee , espressos, and an aeropress for travelling.

I use a Moka pot and grind my own beans - I add water for Americano and sometimes I just have it as espresso

Like others we have tried just about every way of making coffee. DH has a bean to cup machine, but mostly we just use a filter method with a filter paper holder into a coffee jug.
We grind our own beans, which we get delivered within 24 hrs of roasting from a company called Roast and Post.

As you are upgrading from instant, I wouldn't worry too much. A cafetière or a drip cone/filter machine, depending on your work surface space, and reasonable (not premium) coffee will be an enormous improvement.

Save the finer detail for a few years time. Gets started with the basics as above.

Cafetière. Nothing beats it. I like my coffee hot. Those gimmicky machines dont cut it fir me

Sage Barista Pro with very very fresh beans

Got an aeropress, cafetiere, dripper - 2 types of moka (Bialetti and Neapolitan flip style) - and had a posh Lelit somethingorother for a while.

Best of the lot - for me - is the Bialetti. It does 280ml, supposedly 6 shots. With hot milk in a large mug it's spot on. Very little faff. I use coffee from a local roastery, Perky Blenders.

My mate has a Pavoni lever machine on which he makes the best coffee I've ever had - after many years of YouTube tutorials and getting extremely forensically anal about tamping, water and bar pressure .

We bought a bean to cup machine, and it's brilliant. You can tinker with the settings to get it right for you...grind, strength, cup fill, temperature. It's a Delonghi Magnifica Smart.
I haven't had a cup of tea since September!

Other than that I used a vacuum type affair...water in the bottom, coffee in a funnel cone on top, onto the hob and then as the water boils it wooshes to the top with the coffee, and then you turn off the heat and it sqooshes itself back down into the jug.

I love that as it's always piping hot, imo most coffee making ends up with something brown and tepid at best.

If you want nicer coffee find beans that you like and grind them yourself with a burr grinder.

I find the italian beans from lidl or tesco very good, but mainly we buy SanFrancisco Rainforest beans in bulk from Costco. They are around £7 for a kilo(ish) and have no bitter burned twang, just very round, dense, rich, soft flavour. Not flimsy, not drying, ....just perfect!