Make your own cup of delight! A guide to brewing the perfect coffee at home

For many of us taking time out to relax with a comforting hot drink in a café can also do wonders for our mood and wellbeing.

Coffee shops offer a welcoming sanctuary as well as a place to meet friends or family and a cosy spot to work away from the office.

They are also full of pleasant noises and smells like the buzz of the espresso machine or the tempting aroma of freshly ground beans.

Since lockdown began we’ve been left counting down the days until their doors re-open and we can savour our beloved drinks once again.

If you’re missing visiting the likes of Costa, Starbucks, or favourite independent coffee shop and want to try to replicate the experience at home, Weekend is here to help.

We spoke to Shrewsbury’s speciality coffee roasters Iron & Fire for their tips on making the perfect cup without stepping out of your front door.

The team supplies beans to cafés around Shropshire, Wolverhampton and Birmingham and also runs a barista training school where it offers courses for trade customers and home enthusiasts.

They also sell beans and ground coffee for customers around the country as well as offering a subscription – and this side of the business has been booming since the start of lockdown.

“Our major business is coffee shops and cafés – but they are all closed so that side of the business has fallen off a cliff. The home orders side is really taking off as people want to get their coffee fix at home,” says head roaster Kev Burrows, who founded the artisan roastery, which he runs with his partner Joanna De Rycke, in 2014.

When it comes to choosing a coffee, there a few factors to consider so you can find the right one for your tastes, he tells Weekend.

“The world of coffee is massive and there are professionals every step of the way to make sure your final cup is of the highest quality.

“When looking at coffee quality there are a lot of variables that can affect the taste of the beans. One of the biggest influencers in taste is the species and most people will know of the two main species of coffee plant, Robusta and Arabica.

“There are two main differences between Robusta and Arabica and they are taste and resilience.

“You may think that resilience has nothing to do with coffee when you are buying it in the local supermarket or coffee roastery, and you are right. However, further up the supply chain one of the industry’s biggest issues is coffee plants contracting disease or dying.

“Whole coffee plantations have been wiped out by diseases such as Coffee Leaf Rust, this produces rust-coloured spots on the coffee leaf and causes the plant to lose all its leaves and eventually stop producing fruit.

“Robusta coffee plants can grow almost anywhere and are well built to resist common diseases but typically don’t produce coffee of a high quality. Whereas Arabica coffee plants are much more vulnerable to disease, but typically produce coffee of a high quality.

“Another aspect of coffee growing that is seen as very important is the altitude at which it is grown.

“Robusta coffee plants can grow at low altitudes and Arabica can only grow at altitudes above 1,200 metres above sea level.

“This means that only regions with high land can grow Arabica of a high quality. Countries like Kenya, Colombia and Brazil have long stretches of high altitude farmland making them hot spots for speciality coffee agriculture.

“Speciality coffee is very similar to wine. When looking at wine we hear names on bottles like Merlot or Chardonnay.

“These are varieties of grapes that offer different flavours to the bottle and the same goes for coffee,” says Kev.

When comparing coffees, it’s important to read the label on the bag as that will give you an idea of what flavour to expect.

Kev says three of the most common varietals include typica, which mostly comes from Latin American countries and gives you a clean and sweet flavour and is often a high quality.

There is also bourbon which has a more complex and sweeter flavour when compared to typica and cattura which boasts a high acidity, but lacks the clearness of bourbon in flavour.

“If you drink your coffee with milk, Brazilian Colombian and Central American coffees are a good place to start. If you like your coffee long and black, give the African coffees a go for something that’s bright and fruity.

“In general terms, the higher crop coffee is grown the better. Coffees grow slower and produce a denser bean importing more flavour. The best coffees are growing over 1,000m above sea level up to 2,600m above sea level,” explains Kev.

When it comes to making a coffee, he says it’s not necessary to have an all-singing, all dancing espresso machine at home.

“You don’t have to go to great expense to make decent coffee. An old-fashioned cafetiere or a pour over are not very expensive and you do get a really nice, clean cup of coffee. Or for a bit more money you can get an aeropress which makes a very strong coffee,” he tells Weekend.

Kev is continuing to roast beans at the his premises on Shrewsbury’s Castle Business Park to meet demand for orders.

And he says it’s clear that many of us want to ensure we can still get our coffee fix while we are staying at home.

“People can’t go out to coffee shops and they are stuck at home instead, so if you’re really into your coffee, making it at home is the next best thing,” adds Kev.

• l Iron & Fire is offering Star readers a 50 per cent discount on their first two coffees delivered to their door when they sign up to their subscription service using code STARCOFFEE50 and 25 per cent off their award-winning Colombian Jazz coffee using code STARCOFFEE25