How to Brew Better Coffee at Home

When it comes to brewing and drinking coffee, everyone’s tastes are different. There’s no one perfect way to brew coffee and that’s the beauty of it. Coffee is personal, and your ritual should match your preferences, lifestyle, and mood.

As a coffee roaster, I get asked all the time: What’s the right way to brew this coffee? or How do I make it taste like the café version at home? The truth? There isn’t a single right way. But there are guidelines that can help you get closer to the flavours you want.

This blog post is here to give you a foundation: general brew ratios, practical tips, and troubleshooting advice. Think of it as your starting point. From there, experiment, tweak, and most importantly, enjoy the process!

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Why Brewing at Home Feels Tricky

If you’ve ever been frustrated because your home coffee doesn’t taste as good as the latte from your favourite café, you’re not alone. Café baristas use dialled-in recipes, water filtration systems, and professional equipment worth thousands of dollars. At home, you’re often working with more modest tools (and that’s okay!).

The good news? With a little attention to detail, you can dramatically improve your home coffee setup without expensive gear. The key lies in controlling the variables you can control: freshness, grind size, water, cleanliness, and brew ratios.

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Four Essential Coffee Brewing Tips

Before diving into specific brew methods, let’s cover four universal tips that make the biggest difference in flavour.

1. Clean your brewer regularly

Limescale and coffee oil build up over time and affect both taste and machine performance. Whether it’s an espresso machine, French press, or drip brewer, keeping it clean ensures your coffee shines. Use designated coffee cleaners or follow your machine’s manual.

2. Use filtered water

Coffee is over 98% water, so the quality of your water matters more than most people realize. Filtered water helps highlight sweetness, clarity, and nuance in your cup. A quick PSA for Toronto locals: our tap water is hard and can harm espresso machines. Using a Brita or BWT filter can protect your equipment while improving taste.

3. Brew with fresh coffee

I like drinking coffee within about 30 days of roast. Fresh coffee tends to have more vibrancy, clarity, and body. As beans age, the flavour flattens out. That said, don’t throw away older beans; experiment and see how flavour shifts over time. Sometimes you might prefer coffee with a little age.

4. Grind your coffee fresh before brewing

This is the single biggest upgrade most home brewers can make. Whole beans hold onto their flavour much longer than pre-ground coffee, which begins losing aroma within minutes. A burr grinder (not a blade grinder) will give you consistent particle size and better extraction. If you’re going to splurge on one piece of gear, make it the grinder. A decent grinder paired with a modest brewer will beat an expensive machine paired with pre-ground coffee every single time.

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General Brewing Ratios

These are starting points, not hard rules. Adjust based on taste and brewing style.

Espresso

Dry dose: 17–20 g of finely ground coffee

Wet yield: 40–50 mL of espresso

Filter / Immersion (Pour Over, Drip, AeroPress, French Press)

Coffee: 14–18 g

Water: 225–250 mL

Grind Size:

• Aeropress - fine grind
• Drip/Pour Over - medium grind
  
• French Press - coarse to medium grind

Moka Pot (1-cup vessel)

Coffee: 20-25 g (very fine grind, similar to espresso)

Water: 250 mL

This method produces a bold, concentrated brew. Some people dilute with hot water for an “Americano” style cup. I personally love it as-is.

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Troubleshooting Common Coffee Issues

Even with a recipe, sometimes coffee just doesn’t taste right. Here’s a quick guide to diagnosing problems.

Too bitter, thin, or watery:
Increase your coffee dose, grind finer, or both.

Too strong, sour, or overly punchy:
Decrease your coffee dose, grind coarser, or both.

Remember: small changes can have a big impact. Adjust one variable at a time so you can track what worked. We call this the scientific method!

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Building Your Coffee Ritual

Brewing coffee at home isn’t just about the final cup, it’s about the ritual. The sound of the grinder, the aroma of fresh grounds, the pour of hot water. These small details set the tone for your day.

Your ritual doesn’t need to mirror anyone else’s. Some people crave the precision of a V60 pour over. Others find comfort in the simplicity of a French press. Some love the punchy intensity of an espresso shot, while others want a mellow mug of drip coffee.

At Mood Artisan Coffee, we believe coffee should be intentional, from our female supply chain sourcing to the little nuances in brewing. It’s not about rushing or replicating café culture, it’s about creating a moment that matches your mood. Whether you’re brewing Aloof, Blissful, or any of our other single-origin coffees, the goal is the same: to make your daily coffee a moment worth savouring.

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Final Thoughts

There’s no universal “best” way to brew coffee, but there is a best way for you. The more you experiment, the more you’ll find what you enjoy most. Use these ratios and tips as a springboard, not a set of rules.

And here’s something I believe deeply: great coffee isn’t just about what’s in your cup, it’s also about where it comes from. At Mood Artisan Coffee, every coffee we roast is sourced exclusively from women farmers, co-ops, and collectives around the world. These women are reshaping an industry that hasn’t always made room for them, and your choice to brew Mood at home helps push that change forward.

So whether you’re pulling espresso shots, pouring over, or sipping from a French press, you’re not just elevating your morning ritual, you’re also part of a bigger story: one where women lead, quality comes first, and coffee is more than just fuel.

Because at the end of the day, brewing coffee at home isn’t just about taste. It’s about intention, empowerment, and creating a daily moment that truly reflects your mood.