If you are considering brewing coffee at home with a manual coffee maker, you will require 3 important accessories. These include a burr grinder, a kettle, and a scale at the absolute bare minimum. This article recommends a few reasonably priced options to get you started using manual methods.
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When comparing the cost of manual coffee makers and their required accessories to traditional drip coffee pots, you should know that your involvement saves money. The manual brewing options will always beat the automated options with regards to the best tasting coffee for the price.
Manual coffee makers tend to be much less expensive compared to their electronic counterparts. This frees up money that can be spent on a better grinder and other coffee related accessories. For a truly fair comparison, remember that both will require a burr grinder for consistent results.
This short guide covers the basic required equipment of using manual brewing methods at home successfully, so that you can reference these items in one place.
Purchasing items using the links in this post may compensate me at no additional cost to you. I only include links to awesome stuff that I actually use and am familiar with.
The Burr Grinder
The burr grinder is a must have accessory for anyone who is serious about brewing coffee at home. For most people, this item is the most expensive piece of coffee equipment they own. I can understand if the purchase seems hard to justify. However, most of the manual methods are very sensitive to inconsistent grinding. A burr grinder is the only way to achieve that consistency and you should try to purchase the best one you can afford (and sacrifice elsewhere if necessary).
A blade grinder will do in a pinch but will leave bitter elements in your coffee and doesn’t work at all for certain methods (like the french press). If you grind your coffee at the shop, you will be limited to fewer methods and your coffee will expire very quickly. Not owning your own burr grinder greatly limits what you can do at home.
Read more: What is a Burr Grinder?
I would argue that the grinder is hands down your most important coffee-related purchase because it has the largest impact on the flavor of your coffee, aside from the coffee itself. Money spent on a quality grinder goes a long way, enabling you consistent grinding, long-lasting durability, and support for the many brewing methods out there.
There are two grinders that I recommend from my own experience, depending on your budget. The less expensive option is the Bodum Bistro (view on Amazon). This grinder has a great grind consistency and built in timer functionality (although if you weigh your beans, you won’t use this feature). Bodum makes awesome gear and their grinder is one of the great standards for under $100.
If you are willing to spend a bit more, I would suggest the Breville Smart Grinder Pro (view on Amazon). This grinder has an even more consistent grind with a nicer set of burrs and a much larger range. The Smart Grinder has more advanced features as well and will calculate doses and cups for you. I currently use this product as my main grinder and I must admit the programmable features are quite nice.
The Kettle
Aside from the grinding, you will also need kettle for heating water. Any basic kettle will work fine, but some methods benefit from a gooseneck kettle, which has a long spout for very precise pouring. I personally don’t use one, as I try to be very careful with my pouring. However, I’ll still admit that a gooseneck kettle would make my life easier. A kettle can also be used to make tea, oatmeal, and in other situations where boiling water quickly is needed.
Should you use a stovetop kettle or an electric kettle? I personally use both, but I generally use my electric kettle more often. If you have a high-end stovetop, you will probably be able to boil water faster with a stove top kettle. Stovetop kettles are also useful when the power goes out, assuming you have some other source of heat.
There are a few kettles that I would suggest looking into. The first is a KitchenAid 1.25L Eletric Kettle (view on Amazon). This kettle is equipped with 1500 watts of power and heats water quickly. This is more power than many of the other kettles, resulting in faster coffee making and less time standing around. If you go the electric kettle route, be sure to get something plenty of power, otherwise you will be waiting a long time for your water to heat. This kettle is a no-nonsense basic kettle with a simple on/off switch and would look fantastic in your kitchen (it matches that fancy KitchenAid mixer that everyone seems to have).
If you prefer a stovetop option, you might as well go for one with a gooseneck. The Coffee Gator 40 oz Pourover Kettle (view on Amazon) is a great choice. This kettle holds 40 ounces (many kettles hold less) and includes a temperature gauge. Aeropress coffee brews best at just under 180 degrees, so this level of precision is very nice to have.
The Kitchen Scale
You don’t have to use a scale with some manual coffee methods, but you seriously should consider it. If aren’t already accustomed to using a scale, you might imagine that it would only make your morning routine more complicated. However, the scale frees you from having to use any other utensils to measure coffee.
With a scale, you can even measure your water for the ultimate precision in coffee to water ratios. Most kitchen scales are very small and can be tucked away easily. When it comes time to measure your coffee, simply add a container of some type and tare the scale. Now you can measure coffee in it’s whole bean form quickly and easily.
Read More: How to Measure Coffee and Water
A scale will save you steps and time and allow you fine precision with less effort. Many of them are between $10-20, and if you love coffee, you really should own one. If you use a pourover or a Chemex, you will require a scale because you will be pouring water multiple times and will need to keep track of the total amount.
I have two scales that I use and recommend. The first is the Escali Digital scale (view on Amazon), which is simple, reliable, and gets the job done. I also recently acquired a Etekcity Digital Scale (view on Amazon) which has a slightly smaller footprint and made with stainless steel. Both work great for coffee making.
Scales are also useful to have around for general cooking. They can measure serving sizes and help you portion things with accuracy. For such a cheap price, this is a fantastic convenience. Everyone should own a scale in their kitchen.
Getting More Involved in Your Coffee Making
Once you have all the required essentials, you are ready to start making awesome home-brewed coffee. The other important purchase that goes without saying is quality whole bean coffee. Look for beans with a roast date on the bag and always purchase the freshest possible coffee that you have access to.
If you are new here, I would encourage you to explore this site a bit. You will find all sorts of instruction for brewing using various methods as well as tips to reduce bitterness and improve the taste of your coffee. If you don’t know much about manual brewing methods and want to see some of your options, I would recommend you start with my brewing methods comparison post (which includes most of the manual coffee makers).
Read More: A Comparison of 7 Brewing Methods
After you have made the investment in the above mentioned equipment, put it to great use by having multiple brewing methods that compliment each other. This way, you can have some variety in your coffee making. Some beans work best with certain coffee makers, so having access to more than one brewing option is always nice.
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Happy Brewing!
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