Upgrading Your Coffee Experience at Home

Yes, you can upgrade your at-home coffee station on a budget

How has working from home worked for you? We're hitting the one-year mark now, and there are a few camps that have emerged. There's the "I absolutely love it" crowd, the "I'm fed up, I want to go back to work" team, and the somewhat half and half "I'd prefer a bit of both" group. We've met all of you over the past year because of coffee! Some folks have upgraded to espresso machines, while others explored various other coffee-making options that we carry. We've come up with some suggestions for budget-friendly add-ons that will up your home coffee experience.

A coffee scale can be used in some capacity for all brewing methods - even an automatic drip machine. It's all about getting the right balance of coffee and water, and a scale does away with inconsistent volume measurements like cups and scoops. You can experiment with different coffee and water ratios to hit the sweet spot that's right for you.

Many of our espresso clients have upgraded to a premium burr grinder, but a hand grinder is an affordable option for small-batch filter brewing, and with a compact profile, they don't take up a lot of counter space. We carry ceramic and stainless steel Java Gear hand grinders.

For less than ten dollars, you'll be amazed at what a clear espresso shot glass with measurement lines can do for brewing espresso. Rather than brewing right into a cup, you'll be able to check the pour time and see the amount of volume produced accurately.

Another couple of espresso machine upgrades include switching out the standard basket that comes with the machine and upgrading to a precision basket with laser CNC'd holes. Also, your standard tamper may not have quite a tight enough fit, so it doesn't compress the entire bed of coffee; upgrading to a precision tamper solves that problem.

Wine aficionados insist on the correct wine glass shape for different types of wine; the same goes for coffee cups. Specifically, a tulip-style cup with a wide mouth is not only for showing off your latte art. The wide mouth allows you to experience the full aroma of your coffee. We also carry espresso cups and saucers that hold a perfect double shot. New cups are super easy on the budget upgrade.

One final upgrade suggestion: Buy good coffee!