1st October is International Coffee Day and to celebrate this – very important – date, we asked skilled barista and the person behind the rapidly growing online coffee community @thedrummingbarista, Sean Tiernan, to share his steps to perfect your morning cuppa.
Prep your vessel
“You shouldn’t ever drink hot coffee from a cold cup,” says Sean. A pre-heated cup helps keep your coffee warmer for longer. Don’t worry, you don’t have to microwave your cup or anything, just pour freshly boiled water into your chosen vessel while preparing your brew.
Beans are the key
Fresh is best! For a guaranteed tastier coffee, always start with fresh whole coffee beans from a single origin subscription and grind on demand. Pay attention to the roast date (if there is one) as coffee is best consumed within a 7 to 14 day window after it’s roasted. To achieve an evenly extracted and tastier coffee, distribute grinds in your coffee maker so they form a flat surface for the water to flow over and onto.
Steamy details
It’s best to use chilled milk and, once steamed, to pour it into the cup immediately. For all those plant-based milk fans, steam your milk the same way you would do dairy but stop a couple of seconds earlier in order to not overheat and curdle the milk.
The way you pour
When pouring milk into an espresso shot, angle the cup to 45 degrees and pour into the centre of the shot, keeping a consistent flow. When the liquid has risen close enough to the top of the cup, start to angle the cup back up to 90 degrees – voila!
Work with the best
“When it comes to coffee, you’re only as good as your tools,” says Sean. “So, invest in good equipment. From a game-changing grinder to trusty scales and, most importantly a pro coffee maker, look for top quality products like Bialetti’s stovetop Brikka which ticks all the boxes. Once you’ve mastered the art, you’ll be left asking “where have you bean all my life?”