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Over 50% of American adults are daily coffee drinkers, according to E-Imports. But many folks aren't actually making a good cup of coffee at home, leaving them to head out to cafes that serve their daily java at astronomical markups. Whether you're a bonafide coffee aficionado or looking for the perfect gift for the coffee lover in your life, getting your kitchen outfitted to create amazing coffee just requires a few accessories and a little know-how. And, of course, great coffee beans.
Being able to serve up great coffee from your own home is great on the wallet, but can also increase your enjoyment of your space. To make your daily coffee dose into an amazing experience, consider setting up an at-home coffee bar. Soon, you'll have friends asking if they can stop for a cup of joe, and you'll wonder why you ever wasted time in line at Starbucks. With just 5 easy-to-use and affordable kitchen accessories, you can be your own personal, specialty coffee barista.
Moka pots aren't just for your nonna anymore. These stovetop espresso makers have been around for nearly 100 years, and are still a must-have for any at-home coffee brewer. The moka pot, or stovetop espresso maker, was invented by Alfonso Bialetti, says Caffe Diemme, and named after the city Mocha in Yemen, a place known for its coffee beans. Stovetop espresso makers bring the intensity and richness of espresso to the home without using a costly at-home espresso bar.
While the moka pot won't be able to give you as rich a cup of coffee or a frothy crema, it definitely packs a lot more punch per ounce than your standard drip or French press coffee. They are also available in a variety of colors, so they can be used to match your kitchen interior for gram-worthy photo ops, without ever having to leave your house. This is a super affordable kitchen accessory that takes up virtually no room in the kitchen and makes great tasting coffee.
What good is a piping hot shot of espresso without some dense, cloud-like milk to top it off? With a milk steamer and frother, you can triple the number of beverages you can make right at home. Macchiatos, cortados, cappuccinos, lattes, café au lait, and café con leche, are just a few. With pure chocolate syrup and a bit of steamed milk, you can take hot chocolate to the next level, and will definitely win points at your kid's sleepovers.
When you add milk (dairy or non-dairy), the fats from milk make coffee smooth and detract from the acidic tang, says Driftaway, making a milk frother a must have in your kitchen coffee bar. For this reason, try to use full fat dairy or oat milk for best results. While many folks opt for the handheld motorized whisks for frothing, we don't recommend it, because this requires steaming the milk separately which can lead to burns and spills. Instead, try a countertop model that can steam and froth.
Ever wondered how your favorite barista absolutely nails the perfect cup of coffee every time? The answer is that they "dial in," meaning they work tirelessly to weigh coffee when it's ground, brewing, and poured for proper extraction. There's no great cup of coffee that was poured out by the spoonful or by sight — all speciality coffee shops use scales to brew drip, espresso, pour over coffee, and even teas! That's why it is essential to have a precise digital scale that can read in grams, notes Home Grounds.
This handy kitchen accessory isn't just for coffee — it can also take your baking and cooking to the next level. Most professional cooks and chefs use weight rather than volume to develop recipes. That's because different ingredients have different mass — flour will clump up differently than, say, rice, so a cup of either won't weigh the same. That makes the digital kitchen scale a must have coffee connoisseurs and foodies alike.
For those looking to brew an exceptionally good tasting cup of coffee, you will need to invest in an electric grinder. Luckily, these aren't terribly expensive. This model from Kaffè is less than $30 and is #1 on Amazon's Electric Spice Grinder Best Sellers list. Be warned, because even though this grinder can absolutely powder any whole spices, try to only use this for coffee, as the oils from coffee can linger and alter the taste of your spices.
Rather than heading to the grocery store or coffee shop and batch grinding there, it's important to grind your beans every day, says Java Presse. That's because coffee rapidly loses its flavor after being exposed to oxygen, and can dry out once ground. For this reason, keep your whole coffee beans in an air-tight container and only grind as needed to get delicious, rich, and fresh coffee at home.
In many homes throughout the world, you'll see an electric kettle out on the countertop, probably worn down from countless cups of tea and coffee it's been used to make. In the United States, we have less of a hot beverage culture, so electric kettles have only recently become common in American homes. But when selecting one for your kitchen as a coffee lover, it has got to be a gooseneck model. This type of kettle is called gooseneck, probably obviously, because of its long, curved, narrow spout. Per Craft Coffee Guru, using a gooseneck kettle helps to control how quickly water is poured onto your coffee grounds, as well as allowing you to evenly saturate your coffee.
Next to beans, water is the most important ingredient in your coffee, so you want to be sure you're using it properly. Another huge bonus of these electric countertop models is that they heat up much faster than stovetop kettles, so these make enjoying any hot beverage, or even getting boiling water for cooking, much easier.