My quest to make good coffee at home began 5 years ago, before it was the popular thing to do. Since it wasn’t trending yet I had to research the different options and decide which to try. I settled on giving pour over a try. My first pour over method was using a strainer with a coffee filter and grounds over a cup. I knew then that I was very close to making coffee shop coffee at home. For Christmas that year Eric (then my boyfriend, now my husband) gave me a real pour over set. To this day that’s how I make my coffee. Dead serious that when I buy a cup of coffee, I’m often disappointed because I like mine better. I still get duds sometimes but my work to make coffee shop coffee at home has paid off.
People assume that since I love coffee, I would drink it all the time. But the truth is I’m a one cup of coffee in the morning kind of woman. Since pour over is stronger and more caffeinated than some methods I can’t usually handle more than that one cup (shout-out to heartburn and caffeine sensitivity.) I savor that one cup as long as I can. When he’s home in the morning Eric will ask me when I’m going to start doing something productive and I tell him, “I’m still drinking my coffee.” Sometimes I’ll have a latte or iced coffee later in the day but I prefer to start the day with a cup of pour over. I realized pretty quickly on in my quest that I don’t like flavoring in my coffee, especially bought syrups. If I do go for flavor it has to be very subtle. My cup of coffee needs sugar and cream and that’s it.
Coffee is my grocery splurge. That one cup of coffee means enough to me to start with good beans. I grind my own beans for freshness. I started out drinking a dark roast from Starbucks but I found that it was hard to get a consistently good cup because occasionally I’d get a burnt bean that would ruin the whole cup. Lately I’ve been using a medium or blonde roast. I like the lightness of a blonde roast and that the flavor notes of the coffee really show up to play. Medium roast coffee is a nice balance of richness and flavor. My favorite brand right now is Peets, but I will try other coffees as well. Freshest is best so I try to get coffees that claim to be small batch roasted. Tip: you should buy coffee in the amount that you can use up within 2 weeks of opening. Stale coffee is a thing and why risk going there? One of my life goals is to get fresh roasted coffee straight from the source but I’m too cheap to go there just yet. I know once I do, there will be no going back.
I do have some recommendations for those of you looking to up your coffee game at home. If your favorite coffee drink is a latte; get yourself a milk frother. Use according to the directions. I like to add a little bit of sugar to the milk before I froth it so it has a nice touch of sweetness to it. For the coffee, heat 6 oz of water until it just comes to a boil. Pour it over 3 T of ground coffee and let it set for 4 minutes (I like to do this step in a glass measuring cup). Strain it through a coffee filter. If you don’t have a pour over set you can put the coffee filter in a strainer or a funnel. Be creative! Stir it into your frothed milk. If you pour the coffee in at the edge of the cup and then over the top of the milk at the end you can make a nice design using a coffee stirrer or toothpick (Latte art for those of us who can’t actually make latte art). If you like iced coffee you need nothing more than standard kitchen utensils. Make your coffee base using the same method as for the latte. After it is strained add your sugar and stir until it is dissolved. Add ice and milk (or cold water if you prefer it black). I’m serious when I say this is my favorite way to make iced coffee and it’s a total win that you can make it almost anywhere!
Just because I don’t do flavors doesn’t mean you don’t. What are some of your favorite flavors? What would you like to see at Refresh this year? Pumpkin spice is out of season but should it make a comeback just for you?
Bio: I’m Rhoda Oberholzer. I’m the happy wife of Eric for three years, and mom to Adah Grace for 1 1/2 of those. My role as wife and Mama gives me joy. I love to create in everything I do: cooking, decorating, sewing, up-cycling old things, landscaping, etc. I struggle to follow directions because it feels restrictive. I’d rather work on a project any day than do my housework. I enjoy hosting and serving people and making them feel loved. I like to be real and live life honestly. My life desire is to be Jesus to those closest to me and to all the passer-bys along life’s way.”