Drinking coffee at home that tastes just as good as in your favorite coffee shop. Or even better! Think that's impossible? Taste is very personal. Therefore, it is impossible to provide the right coffee recipe for everyone. But, with these tips, you can become a real home barista and always enjoy your perfect cup of coffee.

Whether you are an espresso drinker, have a filter machine at home or grind your own fresh beans every day - there are tips for everyone!

Tip 1: Have patience

You probably can't wait to make the tastiest cups of coffee yourself... But we'll make no bones about it: the perfect cup of coffee requires some patience. Making coffee is a bit like making tea: tea needs time for the flavors to soak into the water. Similarly, water extracts the flavors from ground coffee beans. Different brewing methods involve different times, because different grinds and amounts are used. Rule of thumb: the coarser the grind, the longer it takes to extract the flavors. Therefore, an espresso brew takes a relatively short time, and you often have to wait a whole day for your cold brew.

Tip 2: Measure for treasure

When you've finally made that perfect cup of coffee, of course you want to be able to repeat it later. By measuring and keeping track of a few things, you'll naturally find your ideal coffee recipe. You'll find that small differences in grind, amount of coffee/water, temperature and, of course, the coffee you use can have a big impact on the final result.

Tip 3: The fresher, the better!

Fresh coffee beans are the secret to a perfect cup of coffee. Ten days after roasting is the "sweet spot" of coffee, which is when it is at its most delicious. After that, the flavor slowly deteriorates. So try looking up when your coffee was roasted. The quality of your coffee also deteriorates considerably if it comes into contact with air. Keep your coffee in an airtight container in a cool, dark place. You sometimes hear that it is best to store your coffee in the refrigerator, but we have never found evidence that this benefits the coffee. Kitchen cabinet is fine in other words!

Tip 4: Grind the beans yourself

You want a cup of coffee that explodes with flavor and aromas? Then it's best to grind your own beans. Freshly ground coffee gives you much more flavor and aroma that is lost once the coffee is ground. So coffee you buy ground already has a little less flavor. So invest especially in a good bean grinder, for good coffee the grinder is even more important than the machine! Does it cost a lot? Not really. For less than two dollars you can buy a hand grinder with which you can experiment endlessly with the coarseness/fines to taste the difference.

Tip 5: What? Water!

An espresso consists of about 95% water. Therefore, it will not surprise you that water also significantly affects the taste of your cup of coffee. If you have filtered water at home, it is - of course - better to use. It contains less lime, which is better for your machine and better for you. Also, never use boiling water, it will burn your coffee. But too low a temperature means you won't get all the flavors out of the coffee. The ideal temperature is around 93 degrees, but varies by brewing method, so check it out for yours and test it out!