Home-brewed coffee is getting a face-lift
A sampling of the new contraptions and beans available
Instants that demand respect. Compostable pods. High-altitude blends. And a myriad of related homebrew goodies that lift the senses with the familiar fragrant waft of a humble roasted bean: coffee.
The coffee world can’t sit still, it seems — just ask Brooklyn Roasting’s founder and CEO Jim Munson.
“The coffee market’s shifted focus several times over the past 50 years,” he said.
“From the convenienceobsessed industry of the ’60s and ’70s — think Mr. Coffee — to the ‘single origin’ coffee and Italian espresso drinks in the ’80s and ’90s, to a ‘third wave’ that began around 2000, of baristas working $20,000 espresso machines, precisely dialing their grinders and weighing each shot digitally,” Munson said.
He’s getting the sense that people right now don’t want to deal with fuss and fancy gear when brewing a cup at home.
“The modern coffee lover appreciates the difference of freshly roasted and ground coffee, but they don’t want their morning cup to be overly complicated,” he said. “They just want it to be delicious and sustainably sourced.”
Instant love
On the grab-and-go front, Food & Wine’s senior drinks editor Oset Babur-winters is noticing an interest in instant coffee.
“I’m seeing people take it more seriously. Maybe it’s because we’re traveling again or maybe it’s just because the tech has gotten better, but real coffee roasters like Partner’s Coffee and Blue Bottle are investing in instant coffee powder,” she said.
Blue Bottle offers a craft espresso instant with notes of dark chocolate, molasses and toasted malt. Their limited edition Ethiopian Samra Origin instant tastes of berry, toffee and lemon.
Instant or overnight
Partners has various instants and the option to use single-use biodegradable pouches. Pop a pouch into 24 ounces of water and put it in the fridge — the next morning, you’ve got a week’s worth of coffee. Or pour milk or hot water over one and enjoy right away.
Cold brew coffee is also hot as heck, though it, too, takes some prep time to steep. Fans say that makes for a more flavorful, less acidic brew. Cold brew’s popularity has skyrocketed in the past several years, according to the National Coffee Association’s fall 2023 trend report.
“Another trend is coffee cocktails,” said Baburwinters. (A basic recipe: Add Irish whiskey and brown sugar to some hot brewed coffee, and top with lightly whipped cream.)
Brewing gear
What’s the benchmark for a good countertop maker? Many say it’s maintaining a steady heat.
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popular machines take up a smaller countertop footprint, have a simple dashboard and produce a consistently fresh, flavorful cup.
“Coffee machines in general have gotten smarter,” said Nicole Papantoniou, the Good Housekeeping Institute’s kitchen appliances and innovation lab director. “Many connect to apps, and some even use scales to recommend the perfect grounds-to-water ratio.”
She gave shoutouts to coffee-machine makers Spinn and xbloom. Other drip makers receiving positive test reviews from the Good Housekeeping Institute and Better Homes & Gardens were Breville, Cuisinart, Wolf Gourmet, Black & Decker and Braun. Forbes’ product testing staff in June rated the Oxo 9-Cup the best stainless steel home coffee maker.
For those who want to step into pro brewing territory, sophisticated machines include Breville’s Barista Express espresso machine. It has a 15-setting bean grinder, built-in tamper, bean storage compartment, extraction pump, multi-angled steam wand for milk frothing — even a water extractor so the grounds become a dry puck for disposal.
Technivorm’s Moccamaster
has a toggle switch that lets you adjust brew volume for your preferred flavor intensity, and the machine comes in decorator colors including turquoise, white and midnight blue. Kaffe’s got stylish glass and brushed stainless storage containers and also a Usb-rechargeable milk frother.
For pod coffee fans, Nespresso ‘s slim-line Vertuoplus comes in an array of hues and has an adjustable water reservoir, convenient when there’s limited counter space.
About those pods ...
Pod or capsule coffee’s early popularity took a hit over concerns about singleuse-plastic waste, but makers are addressing the issue. Keurig, Nespresso and others now have pods made of recyclable materials.
Nespresso’s Re:ground project is a collab with Zeta Shoes to make sneakers out of recycled Nespresso cups; each pair is composed of about 12 cups. Get a free recycling bag when ordering cups, and the filled bag can be taken to any
UPS drop-off station, or to Williams-sonoma, Crate & Barrel or Sur La Table stores.
Keurig’s pods now are also made of recyclable plastic; Consumer Reports advises discarding the aluminum lid and paper filter, and rinsing before recycling; add the used grounds to your plants.
Nescafe has partnered with Terracycle on a recycling program. Call Nestle’s customer service to get a recycling box that you can fill and send back to them.
Or consider reusing capsules. Order a supply of foil or paper capsule lids from My-cap (they make them for most machines) and then refill your capsules with your own coffee, and seal.
Cool beans
Arabica beans, grown above 2,000 feet, are especially rich and aromatic, and have less caffeine than those grown at lower levels. Munson said blends he buys from high elevations in East Africa and Indonesia have become bestsellers. And Carribrew, launched in 2018 by Beverly Malbranche while she was in the Columbia-harlem Small Business Program, offers coffees grown in Haiti above 4,000 feet.
Wunderground sells beans or ground coffee infused with mushroom extract like lion’s mane and cordyceps. It has notes of chocolate, hazelnut, vanilla and orange.