New home brewing equipment from KitchenAid impresses coffee luminaries
BY ASHLEY RODRIGUEZ
SPECIAL TO BARISTA MAGAZINE
A common question customers ask baristas is, œwhy doesn’t the coffee I make at home taste as good as yours? There are a number of reasons, and to listen to a barista list all of the variables that can affect the taste of coffee can seem like hearing a list of instructions in a foreign language. It can be confusing to hear such a complicated response to a seemingly simple request ”I just want to drink good coffee at home.
KitchenAid’s line of Craft Coffee Brewers is the answer to that request, and you can find out all about it by tuning in to the œGet Something Brewing videos, a series that interviews some of the leading experts in coffee. The first episode features Los Angeles-based Verve Coffee Roasters.
The goal is to celebrate these brew methods that baristas perform with a balance of art and science accessible to all people that appreciate high-quality coffee, yet with the convenience for home. In the first video, Tyler Wells, founder of Blacktop Coffee in Los Angeles, sits down with Colby Barr, co-founder and green buyer of Verve Coffee in Santa Cruz, Calif., to enjoy a cup of Panama Elida Estate coffee made with the new KitchenAid Precision Press Coffee Maker. Unlike other French press machines, The Precision Press coffee maker has a built in timer and a scale. This built-in technology allows home users the same control over the brewing process that professional baristas have.
Tyler and Colby discuss how coffee has become more sought after and how quality has evolved over the last few years. œThe pursuit of coffee for flavor is a new thing, says Colby. œHistorically, in the past hundred years, the way you judged coffee was looking for defects, but now, the new way of tasting coffee is finding the attributes of coffee. Their conversation paints a picture of an industry that is still learning a lot about itself, and invites others to join in the journey.
œThere is a stigma around making great coffee at home ”that it is really difficult, or that it can only happen in the café environment, Colby points out, and the Get Something Brewing videos are meant to accompany KitchenAid’s line of craft coffee-brewing devices that make coffee less esoteric and much more accessible. Along with the Precision Press, KitchenAid has also developed a Siphon Coffee Brewer and a Pour Over Coffee Brewer that give home coffee enthusiasts easy access to great coffee. œYou’re going to be able to consistently make great coffee at home, Colby says, as he and Tyler enjoy their coffees.
To have a brewer with a timer and a scale built in isn’t just exciting for home users ”it’s exciting for the industry at large, and it’s thrilling to see a big player like KitchenAid develop and furnish products that make coffee brewing easier and bridge the gap between home enthusiasts and baristas. Both Tyler and Colby discuss what it means for KitchenAid ”which has a longstanding reputation for making great products ”to enter the craft home-brewing market. œKitchenAid stands for quality and durability so it’s great to see this well-known brand develop products that make it easier and more accessible to enjoy barista style coffee at home.
Coffee doesn’t have to be complicated, and if you look at it closely, it can be simplified to the relationship between coffee and water. œIt is a remarkably easy equation: hot water, properly ground coffee, a brewing ratio, and some way to time, says Tyler. œThe variables are still the same in what makes coffee great, and now you have technology that’s going to allow you to make it better in your own home.
Check out the videos here http://www.kitchenaid.com/countertop-appliances/coffee-products/ and for more information about the full line of Craft Coffee products visit KitchenAid online. http://www.kitchenaid.com/countertop-appliances/coffee-products/
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Ashley Rodriguez thought that she’d take a break from teaching middle school science and putz around in a coffee shop for a few months. She ended up digging it way more than teaching (and was vaguely better at it). After spending 5 years making coffee in New York, she moved to the San Francisco Bay Area where she worked for Sightglass Coffee for three years. She recently decided to give full-time coffee writing a go, though she can still be found working bar shifts now and again in Temescal Alley in Oakland. Follow her on Twitter at @ashisacommonname
