HOME BREWING TIPS

At Common Room Roasters, we’ve spent years refining the craft of exceptional coffee from sourcing to roasting to training professional baristas. The truth is, you don’t need a commercial setup to make an incredible cup at home. What you do need is an understanding of why the details matter. Because good coffee isn’t magic, it’s method.

Exceptional coffee begins long before it reaches your grinder. It starts with freshly roasted beans, sourced with integrity from producers who know their land, their craft, and their purpose. Look for roast dates, not expiration dates. Coffee is a living product it peaks, it evolves, and, eventually, it fades. Fresh is everything.

If you can, grind just before you brew. Whole beans protect the volatile oils that define a coffee’s aroma and flavor. Once ground, those compounds dissipate quickly, taking your cup’s complexity with them.

You’ve probably heard that coffee is 98% water, but it’s not just filler; it’s a flavor carrier. Use clean, filtered water heated between 195–205°F (90–96°C). That temperature window is your sweet spot, it’s hot enough to extract the coffee’s character, but not so hot that it scorches it. Hard water can mute flavor; soft water can over-accentuate acidity. Aim for balance. If you’re using a home filter or countertop system, that’s often enough to elevate your cup dramatically.

If your beans are great but your grind is inconsistent, you’re already fighting uphill. A burr grinder ensures even particle size, which means predictable extraction. Burr grinders crush. The difference? Control. Consistency. Clarity in the cup. If you invest in just one upgrade, make it this.

Every brew method tells a different story. Think of it less as right or wrong and more as mood and medium.

• Pour Over – Clean, articulate, and expressive. Perfect for single origins that shine with delicate florals or citrus brightness.

• French Press – Full-bodied and tactile. Ideal for blends or coffees with rich, chocolatey depth.

• AeroPress – Fast, versatile, and surprisingly refined. A bridge between espresso and filter, equally good for travel or home use.

• Espresso Machine – The most technical but also the most rewarding once dialed in. Focus on grind size, dose, and timing as small changes yield big results.

A good rule of thumb is a 1:16 brew ratio that’s 1 part coffee to 16 parts water. Adjust slightly based on method and taste. If your cup tastes thin or sour, tighten the ratio (more coffee, less water). If it’s too strong or bitter, loosen it. There’s no universal formula, only your personal preference refined through repetition. Brewing, after all, is less about perfection and more about understanding why your coffee tastes the way it does.

Every great home brewer eventually becomes a quiet scientist. Temperature, grind, time and all variables waiting to be explored. Here’s a simple roadmap:

• Grind size → Controls extraction speed. Finer = slower; coarser = faster.

• Brew time → Adjusts intensity. Longer brews yield deeper flavors; shorter ones keep things bright.

• Water temperature → Influences balance. Cooler highlights sweetness; hotter boosts strength.

The craft lives in those micro-adjustments. Every time you brew, you learn something about your coffee, your equipment, and your taste. Brewing coffee at home isn’t about chasing precision for its own sake, it’s about expression. The way you brew reflects who you are that day. Calm or chaotic. Measured or improvised. You might love a slow Sunday pour over or crave the unapologetic richness of a French press. Both are right.

Explore our range of Signature Blends and Single Origins, each roasted to perform across brew methods and reflect the best of its origin.
Because the best coffee you’ll ever drink might just be the one you brew yourself.