I recently posted an image on my Instagram account with what I called “My Top 3 Essentials For Filter Coffee.” which was the follow-up post to my original one called “My Top 3 Essentials For Espresso.”
But this time I included a grinder!
When it comes to making great filter coffee at home you do want to still purchase a good quality grinder…but unlike espresso I don’t believe you have to spend upwards of $500+ to accomplish this. But again you do get what you pay for, so don’t cheap out here either.
I wanted to highlight briefly the three items from the post and why I love them so much.
Porlex Mini Grinder
I love this grinder for a couple of reasons. If you are like me and you find yourself travelling a lot, this is such a handy grinder to be able to bring with you. If you’re into camping/backpacking this is a must-have item to grind fresh coffee when you don’t have access to a power source…since you are the power!
The Porlex Mini is also beautifully designed to fit inside of your Aeropress which easily could have made it onto this list. This grinder is built with stainless steal casing and includes ceramic burrs. The fit and finish of this grinder is incredible. It feels great in your hand. The team at Porlex has recently updated this grinder to include a number of new enhancements. There is also a larger format “Tall Grinder”, but I feel that for most people this is the best option. The Porlex Mini will grind about 20g of coffee at a time which is plenty for most pour-overs you’d do either at home or while away.
The only thing I will tell you is to beware when you pack this thing into your carry-on luggage as on more than one occasion I have caused Border Security to become concerned thinking I had a pipe-bomb in my bag! I’M NOT KIDDING…LOL.
I grabbed mine from Eight Ounce Coffee Supply.
Kalita Wave 155 Brewer
This is my daily-brewer. Almost every day I grab my Kalita Wave 155 and brew a cup of coffee. This brewer will make about 12-16oz of coffee.
Because this is a flat-bottom brewer with just three small holes in the bottom, it allows for even the novice coffee brewer to experience a more consistent brew every time. I believe that this is the better choice over the Hario V60 for beginner brewers but to each their own. The Kalita allows you to brew great coffee even if your grind isn’t just perfect. I like this forgiving nature and I truly like the results I get from brewing coffee on it.
My brewer is the stainless steel version as I like the durability of this over the ceramic or glass versions. While I don’t plan on dropping it anytime soon, accidents do happen. While looks aren’t everything, I will say that I LOVE the look of the Kalita Wave filters. The wave design (while not only stylish) also helps to maintain consistency of brew and greater temperature stability.
I grabbed mine from Eight Ounce Coffee Supply.
Acaia Pearl Scale
I cannot stress enough to anyone who is getting into home coffee brewing how important a good scale is. It is one of the most significant purchases you will even make so think carefully how much you want to spend.
Like I mentioned in my previous blog on my top 3 essentials for espresso, I have always loved the clean lines, and simple design of the Acaia Pearl scale. I have owned this for a few years now and love its sleek profile and that its bluetooth enabled so I can pair it with the Acaia Coffee App to increase its functionality. The importance of a scale is to ensure you are weighing all of your elements (ground coffee & water) so that your final product is following a brew-ratio of 16:1 (16g of water for every 1g of coffee).
When I talk to people who are newer to coffee I stress the importance of weighing with a scale. It’s like baking…you wouldn’t just throw ingredients together into a bowl and hope that your chocolate chip cookies turn out. You follow a recipe to ensure consistency with baking just like you do with brewing coffee.
I grabbed mine from Eight Ounce Coffee Supply.
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There are many other incredible tools for helping to brew great filter coffee at home. Check out my blog about BREWING GREAT COFFEE AT HOME if you want to find a retailer near you that offers great coffee gear.
Did I miss anything? What would you include as your top 3 filter coffee gear essentials? I’d love to hear from you. Or if you have any questions leave me a comment below or contact me through this blog.
Stay Caffeinated,
Tyler
*note: This is not a sponsored blog post. I did not receive any compensation for sharing about these products. I whole-heartedly believe in all of them and use them daily.
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