just brew it: a guide to coffee at home part II

Our coffee columnist, Gee Gallant from The Yard in Norwich, is back with her tips on how to brew the perfect cup of coffee at home. 

Following on from my last article, I am back with more of the ways to make great coffee at home. In this issue, I will give you two more types of brew methods to enjoy and trust me, there is nothing like the smell of fresh coffee on a slow Sunday morning! 

moka pot

The first is a true classic, an Italian-style brewing method for a big-bodied, rich cup of coffee. They look super stylish, can come in a range of colours to suit your style, and
cost around £30, cheaper for the smaller ones. This suits most coffee, but I really enjoy it with nutty/cocoa/sweet flavour profiles!

1. Boil your water in a kettle. We do this to keep the temperature of the moka pot from getting too hot and cooking the coffee.
2. Unscrew the pot and leave the top half to the side. You now have the filter basket sitting on top of the brewer bottom.
3. Your coffee should be ground about as fine as table salt. You need enough coffee to fill the filter basket.
4. Flatten the coffee into the filter basket with your fingers so the coffee reaches the edges.
5. Add the heated water to the brewer bottom up to the fill line – if yours doesn’t have one of these, there’s often a bolt on the side of the pot that can act as the fill line. 
6. Place the coffee basket into the brewing bottom and screw the top back on.
7. Put the brewer on the stove on a medium heat. Leave the top lid open.
8. The coffee will begin to come out; you’ll hear a puffing sound and see a rich-brown stream that will get progressively lighter in colour. Once the stream is the colour of yellow honey, remove from the heat source and close the lid.
9. As soon as the coffee stops bubbling out, pour it into cups or a carafe. You may wish to dilute it with hot water depending on your preference.

V60
Hario’s V60 brewer is probably the poster child for pour-over brewing. This is easy to learn, and once you get into it, there are so many variations you can try with different coffee flavours! V60s are really affordable and there are some accessories such as a pouring kettle that help with even extraction, but you can build up to that and use your normal kettle until you are ready to spend more. The ratio for coffee is 15g to 250ml of water and the grind should be medium to fine.

1. Fold your filter along the seam and into a cone and place in your V60, which should sit over your mug or a carafe.
2. Heat your kettle and let it cool slightly. Then pour it over the filter to rinse the filter and warm up your V60; tip out the excess from the mug.
3. Place your coffee in the cone and gently shake flat.
4. Place everything on the scale and zero it. 
5. Start the timer and pour in 50g of water covering all the coffee – this is called blooming the coffee.
6. After 30 seconds, pour in another 100g of water, using a circular motion into the coffee. Try and avoid pouring on the sides of the filter paper.
7. After 60 seconds, pour in another 50g of water.
8. After another 90 seconds, then pour another 50g of water.
9. All the water should be poured in, so let it drip until it has finished which should take two-to-three minutes. If it is quicker than expected, coarsen the grind next time; too slow and make the grind finer. 

• The Yard is owned by Gee with Shane Blake and Tait Pollack. You can find them in Pivotal House, Red Lion Street. www.theyardcoffee.co.uk