There is nothing I look forward to more each morning than greeting the day with a delicious cup of home brewed coffee. Whether I am enjoying a classic drip in my favorite mug or a delicious almond milk latte garnished with cinnamon, I adore coffee and nothing beats a freshly made brew at home.
I know I have said this before, but I really do believe that coffee is a very personal experience for each individual. Everyone likes to enjoy their coffee a certain way so it would be silly for me to sit here and preach about certain methods of coffee making being superior to other methods. Rather, I want to focus today's post on three of my favorite coffee brewing accessories. These three items have made a huge difference in the way that I am able to enjoy a delicious cup of java from the comfort of my home and all three items are absolute essentials in creating the best at home coffee bar.
Nespresso Aeroccino
We received both the Nespresso and Aeroccino as a gift set. While I knew that I had always wanted the Nespresso, I had originally viewed the Aeroccino as a "nice to have." Of course now I am sitting here laughing to myself because little did I know how much I would absolutely LOVE having the Aeroccino. This electric can froth milk in 70 seconds hot or cold! In addition, it's easy super easy to use (just add milk and push the button) and clean! Lattes for breakfast? No problem! Cappucinos after dinner? You bet! I adore this machine and it also works brilliantly for frothing both almond milk and soy milk. This is a coffee making staple in my house and one that I would highly recommend for any coffee drinker.
Krups Burr Grinder
Grinding my own coffee beans at home was something I started doing a few years ago. If the truth be told, I only decided to start grinding my own beans after an unfortunate (but ultimately fortunate) situation at a very well known coffee chain.
Every week I would visit this coffee store to buy my weekly supply of beans. The store offered complimentary bean grinding for those bags purchased in store (whats not to love about that?!). Well, on one of my weekly visits, I had purchased the bag and asked the barista to grind the beans. Long story short, I was returned a half bag of grinds, which was frustrating since I had just paid for a whole bag of coffee beans. When I questioned the barista about the discrepancy, she swore that it just looked like there was less because the beans had been ground. Reasonable assumption if it hadn't been a whole half of a bag that was missing. In any event, I decided to take matters into my own hands. I bought a Krups Burr Grinder.
OMG, what a difference freshly ground coffee can make! I have the ability to customize the degree to which the beans are ground and the quantity produced during each grinding. I now have delicious coffee every morning made to my exact brew strength specifications. Coffee is even better now that I have freshly ground beans and something that I recommend for anyone who enjoys a fresh cup of joe in the morning.
Coffee Caddy
When we initially moved into our current house (as you may recall from this post) I was faced with some serious storage challenges in the kitchen. I was able to come up with some very creative storage solutions and eventually we were able to build a beautiful pantry, but there are still a few solutions that resulted from dealing with the initial storage challenge that I am keeping, like this fabulous coffee caddy. Not only does it provide an organized and compact space for all of my coffee accessories, it fits seamlessly in most spaces and cost less than $10! Whether or not you are faced with storage challenges in your kitchen, this is a wonderful organizer that helps me corral all of my coffee making necessities and easily keep track of my inventory.