Each coffee vendor offers a unique take on how this coveted bean juice should engage our senses. In order to understand how coffee tastes so great and is so effective in daily life, we must understand how it is prepared and delivered. There are three types of coffee engagements, the one where someone only goes to a cafe or coffee house to buy, the one where someone only makes their artisan coffee at home, and the one where the person gets their coffee culture in wherever they can by buying at coffee houses, cafes, and designing it at home. The latter is great because it forces java drinkers to seek out new tools, flavors, and experiences they can replicate at home.
While it’s easy to get swept up in all the various facets of coffee culture, it’s also good to take a moment and take a personal inventory of what works for us. In addition, it’s good to understand how coffee is experienced in many forms. For someone who wishes to engage coffee at home and they are making a transition from solely cafe and shop culture, there’s an entire maker’s culture waiting for you. For the person who enjoys making artisan coffee at home, adding to a well-cultivated collection of brewers, stencils, cups, and beans is always on the agenda. Without becoming confused about any coffee culture offerings, and keeping it all organized in thought and real life, here is our list of unique coffee finds.
The At-home Coffee Station
Yes, this is a real thing and it’s becoming increasingly popular as time moves forward. A small section of a kitchen or comfortable lounge area instantly morphs into a bean juice creation mecca. These stations are usually equipped with mini fridges, more than one type of coffee, coffee grinders, stainless steel stirring spoons, several styles of cups and saucers, more than one type of brewer, various weights of cream, more than one type of chocolate, design stencils, and other instruments and ingredients that elevate the coffee experience. Some of these stations match the kitchen decor direction of a home, some are designed as a hidden gem behind custom cabinetry, and others are created simply as a stone or wooden bar with storage cabinets underneath. However an in-home coffee bar is designed, it is always a favorite destination point for family members and visitors.
Cold Brew Fantasy Brought to Life at Home
On a minimal budget with some time to invest, cold brew coffee is satisfying even if you must wait a short while for it. The simplest way to create cold brew is to place ground coffee in a large coffee filter, gather the edges and tie them together so no grounds release into the brew. Place the filter full of bound coffee in a small carafe of cool water and let it set (typically in a secure place like a refrigerator) for at least an hour or over night. When it’s ready, this becomes a cold brew coffee experience ready for ice and other favorite add-ins. For those who require a dedicated brewing system, there are cold brew coffee makers available.
Rim Cookies
Yes, this is a thing. In fact, it’s a very important thing for anyone who enjoys them. A rim cookie is a specially designed cookie that fits over the rim of a coffee cup. It’s the perfect finishing element to an already well-designed cup of coffee with whipped cream and flavorful sprinkles. These cookies are mostly flavorful and gorgeous in nature, think ginger bread or speculoos cookies in seasonal shapes with decorative icing and sprinkles. Perfectly crispy and crunchy, the rim cookie is a complete coffee culture crowd-pleaser.
Mysterious French Press
The French press is not mysterious to anyone who knows about its efficiency in making daily coffee. For anyone who does not know about it, it’s a unicorn in a sea of kitchen gadgets. When approaching this “mythical” kitchen creature, keep in mind that in order to use it you need the press, ground coffee, hot water, and a bit of time for the coffee to steep. Yes, making coffee with a French press is not only efficient, it’s living fashionably without pretension.
The Technical Espresso Experience
If living with and operating a French Press is living in an elevated fashion, owning and operating an espresso machine is the haute couture of modern coffee culture. The first step in this process is choosing an espresso machine that suits your lifestyle, one cup or two cup processing. Find a machine that offers grinding for coffee beans if you do not own a grinder. Investing in a set of espresso cups and saucers you can live with is the next step. The number of sets should support how often you entertain others. Practice makes perfect and saves face in front of friends and strangers. Do not be afraid of your espresso machine, it’s a machine that can be cleaned for another practice round. Make espresso until you are comfortable making it for yourself and others. Guests who congregate in the kitchen always watch in awe as others display espresso machine mastery.
Tricksy Stencils
Stencils are the focus of coffee lovers who demand artsy entertainment with their bean juice, and the mark of high skill for anyone who knows how to use them effectively. For the novice there are stencil kits with various designs waiting for new hands to master their presence. True coffee design magic comes in with a little (fairy dust) cinnamon, nutmeg, cocoa powder, or other flavorful powder. Until you know how to work with them, coffee design stencils may come across as tricksy. The excitement of creating a desired design atop a delicious cup of java may be overwhelming for some, so take it slowly at first, use a steady hand, and build speed gradually. Coffee stencil sets may be found on Amazon and other sites.
The Coveted All-in-One Machine
The mecca of coffee machines, the all-in-one coffee machine allows coffee lovers to create espresso, regular coffee, foam, and just about anything else you desire in a single machine. While there are smaller manual versions for at-home use, the commercial versions are grand and require very little work other than pushing a button. If you’re so immersed in coffee culture and entertainment regularly, this may be the best solution for your ever-growing coffee appliance collection.
Adding to this list, we recommend adding flavors such as chocolate, caramel, and non-alcoholic liqueur flavored syrups to coffee creations. Let’s not forget cold and iced coffee options as they are highly popular with all ages. Coffee is not just a stimulant, it’s a work of culinary and beverage art that takes time to master. What coffee appliances do you use on a regular basis? Tell us in the comments!
BON
Images: KaboomPics, GEMINI.
Images-HALUSTD from pixelgraphs,
