BREWING EQUIPMENT

Top tips for what you'll need to brew speciality coffee

Grinder. Scales. Hario Kettle. Not essential, but for a fresh, balanced, and perfectly poured cup, we recommend all three. If you really want to push the boat out, there are a few more gadgets you can arm yourself with too. See what you think.

Top of our list:

  • Good coffee grinder
  • Scales
  • Goose-neck kettle
  •  

    Good to have:

  • Timer
  • Thermometer
  • Water filter
  • GRINDERS

    How to get the right grinder for you

    Want to get serious about coffee? Get wholebeans, and get a grinder. The (not-so-secret) secret behind a great cup of coffee is a great grinder.

    Wholebeans stay flavourful longer than ground coffee, which starts to lose its delicious aroma only 15 minutes after grinding. For the ideal brew, you’ll want to grind your coffee just before you’re ready to brew

     

    Picking the right grinder

    With a grinder, you enjoy coffee at its freshest. But which to choose?

    There are two types of grinder: burr and blade. We recommend burrs – they grind your coffee beans thoroughly. Blades are cheaper, but they slice, rather than grind. (Blade grinders are always better than no grinders, though.)

    Oh, and use it just for coffee. Grinders can grind nuts and spices too but those flavours will stick around in the machine and contaminate your brew.

    Got a grinder?

    Great. Start experimenting with the settings. Create a coarse, a medium and a fine grind. See how different sizes work with different brewing methods. Play with it until you feel at ease.

    To give you a head start, here’s a little guide on what’s usually recommended for each brewing method:

    (You’ll find a method to match each grind on our brewing guide pages.)

    GRIND SIZE LOOKS LIKE TYPE OF BREW

    TURKISH GRIND

    Flour, powder

    Turkish coffee

    EXTRA FINE

    Icing/Caster sugar

    Espresso

    FINE

    Granulated sugar

    Dripper, Aeropress, Syphon

    MEDIUM

    Sand

    Dripper, Filter machine

    COARSE

    Sea salt

    Filter machine, Cafetiere

    EXTRA COARSE

    Dried chilli flakes

    Cold brew

    Other useful equipment

    Scales

    Digital scales aren’t a requirement if you’re just starting out. But as you get more serious about perfecting your brewing methods, they’ll become essential. Exact weights of ground coffee and water produce exact results.

     

    Gooseneck Kettle

    Gooseneck Kettles (such as the Stagg Kettle) make pour over brewing methods, like the classic drip brew, much easier to control. They look a bit like miniature watering cans with long, thin spouts. This makes controlling the flow and placement of water more exact. They also look super cool.

    Try our Pour Over (V60) method. You’ll get the hang of it in no time.

    Water filter

    Don’t forget the water! Your cup of coffee is 98% water – its purity markedly affects the taste. So we recommend investing in a filter.

    Everything sorted? Ok. Good. Next on the agenda: coffee. And the brewing guides.