Al-anwar Newspaper English news in Australia
Cafe culture may be part of the Australian way of life, but rising costs are encouraging more people to try perfecting their coffee-making skills at home.
A new study by Nespresso shows 73 per cent of Australians are making coffee at home with 63 per cent of those claiming it’s to save money.
Nespresso coffee ambassador and former barista Mitch Monaghan says while people still visit cafes for social benefits, 30 per cent enjoy coffee both at home and at a cafe.
“There is such a thing as the perfect coffee and you can make it if you have the right tools and are prepared to experiment and find out what intensity works for your palate,’’ Monaghan says.
“We’ve found that Australians are quite satisfied with the way they’re making their coffee at home and, when you’re consuming several coffees a day, it’s a great benefit to be able to pare back your spending by making some of those coffees yourself.’’
St Ali Coffee CEO Lachlan Ward says the home coffee movement has been around for many years, but Covid turned ‘tinkering’ coffee makers into more serious devotees, supercharging the home coffee-making business.
“Home equipment has improved dramatically in the last few years in terms of quality and accessibility,’’ Ward says.
“Even the big manufacturers such as Breville and Sunbeam produce machines that can get very close to what you experience at your corner café. It’s an affordable luxury and, while everyone has their favourite café, there’s been enormous growth in our online sales, more than doubling over the last couple of years.’’
The working-from-home movement has driven the trend because the yearning to drink at least one cafe-quality coffee a day didn’t subside just because cafes closed during the height of the pandemic.
Ward’s tip for perfecting the craft at home is to use purified water to get the best results and longevity from your equipment.
“Also, where possible, buy locally roasted, fresh coffee and if you’re not using a capsule machine, invest in a coffee grinder,’’ he says.
“Freshly ground coffee will always give you the best results. We sell enormous amounts of capsules which are so convenient, but we always tell people that fresh coffee is the best way to go.’’
Monaghan says at the heart of every great coffee is confidence because nerves may delay the process causing a range of disasters. Other ways to help the home barista make the perfect coffee:
1. Froth: When making a milk-based coffee, start with an espresso and pour that into the glass first. Pour the milk into the glass immediately after heating the froth. The longer you leave it, the more chance it will aerate, and the froth will separate from the milk. Tap the jug or milk frother two or three times on the bench to remove any large air bubbles and then swirl gently to help combine froth with the milk.
2. Temperature: If coffee is poured into a cold cup, it will steal 20 per cent of the coffee’s temperature. Warm the cup separately by pouring hot water into it and tipping it out before filling it with your coffee.
3. The cup: If your coffee is too strong, it’s out of harmony. In a 300ml cup, the espresso should be 40ml and the remainder milk. If you use a bigger cup, shift that ratio accordingly.
4. Jug bob: Coffee making is often about theatre and baristas like to bounce the jug up and down when frothing the milk, but this just encourages more steam, and it over-aerates.
