BREW GUIDES

I know what you’re thinking! Really. Clean my machine!? It can’t be that easy. I assure you it is. Coffee has loads of acids and oils that extract into the water when it is brewed. And while they make your coffee tasty when they are fresh, they turn rancid (AKA: disgusting) when they’ve been sitting there for a while. That delicious bag of beans you got from your Kindred subscription deserves better than that, and so do you. Clean your machine! It might just make your coffee woes go away forever ;)

Your cup of coffee is made up of 98% water, that means it's pretty important! Unfortunately most cities don’t have ideal coffee brewing water running out of the kitchen faucet. If you're using tap water, you’re probably missing out on a lot of the wonderful flavors your coffee has to offer. While some people turn into full on chemists to mix the best coffee water, we suggest starting simple with some bottled water. Legendary espresso machine manufacturer La Marzocco recommends using Crystal Geyser, and if it's good enough for La Marzocco, it's good enough for the rest of us. You can also check out Third Wave Water in our gear recommendations above.

More than a fancy kettle or an expensive prosumer espresso machine, your grinder matters the most when it comes to brewing coffee. When you have a precise burr grinder (blade grinders don’t make the cut), it does the heavy lifting of extracting all the yumminess your coffee has to offer. While you don’t need to take a loan out to make good coffee, you do get what you pay for when it comes to grinders. If you’re looking to take your coffee to the next level, investing in a grinder is a must. We have a couple that are our favorites in different price ranges. Take a look at our gear recommendations and see if there is a grinder that’s calling your name.