Over the past few months at home, I’ve tried to up my homemade coffee game, and I think I’ve finally reached a sweet spot. I finally have enough products to enjoy every type of coffee I want, and I know what combinations of things work best with my body (coffee done wrong, or just too much, leads to some unfortunate digestive outcomes). You by no means have to purchase these different types of coffee brewers, nor do you have to get the same creamers and syrups as me, this is just what works for me and I wanted to share it with you all!
- Cold-Brew Coffee Maker
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Iced coffee is great, but when I’m not in the mood for hot coffee, I’m a cold-brew gal all the way. I got this cold-brew maker for my birthday a few months ago and it’s fantastic. I’m usually the only person drinking the cold-brew, so it takes me about three days to go through a batch if I have some every day. It basically works like a giant tea strainer for coffee grounds, and I would recommend leaving it overnight (or longer) for the best flavor.
- French Press
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This coffee maker will make you feel fancy and Parisian while also brewing your coffee quickly and perfectly. I find that the 17 oz. French press from Bodum is perfect for a hearty iced coffee or a nice steamy cup o’ joe. Also, even though I’m home right now, I could easily use this in a dorm because all you have to do is heat water in an electric kettle (or microwave, but most find that to be sacrilege), pour it in, and wait for it to steep like a cup of tea. Ten minutes is usually good; if I’m making iced coffee I’ll put it in the fridge for a while, but otherwise I’ll just pour myself a mug and be good to go.
- A Nice Dark Roast Coffee
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For the coffee itself, I love a good dark roast. I’m always a fan of the Starbucks French Roast, but lately, I’ve been into the Wicked Joe Coffee Big House Ground which is a great medium-dark roast. Another brand I have really wanted to try is Bones Coffee Co. because they’re a small business and their flavors look insane in the best way possible. I get the ground coffee because it’s more convenient, but if grinding beans is part of your coffee routine more power to you.
- Torani Syrups
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Flavored syrups are definitely not a necessity, but they’re fun and help give that barista flair to a homemade coffee. Also, I find it far easier to get the syrup for the specific flavor that I want than trying to find a creamer with said flavor.
- Coffee Creamer
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I haven’t been hardcore enough to drink black coffee since high school, so creamer is a must. Though I’m not vegan, I prefer dairy-free creamers, but feel free to find your own favs. I like both the Planet Oat creamers and the Silk Oat Yeah! creamers, but my favorite of the two has to be the Oat Yeah in “The Oatmeal Cookie One” flavor. It’s really nice on its own, and it tastes great in both hot and iced coffee. If flavor clashing is a concern for you, I would choose a more basic flavored creamer so that any added syrups won’t create some odd concoction.
- Ice
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Whether it’s made in trays, a fridge ice maker, or a standalone icemaker (I personally have one that my dad took out of our old camper that works splendidly), you need ice for iced coffee or cold brew. Obviously, I cannot recommend a specific brand of ice, but I would check out some TikTok videos for ice-maker recommendations since they were a huge trend in 2020.
That’s all my main must-haves, but a quick honorable mention (I only got it a couple days ago) is the My K-Cup reusable coffee filter from Keurig. It works on all of the Keurig brewers (I have the mini one and it works great) and you don’t have to worry about wasting coffee pods. I hope you enjoy these recommendations, now go forth in all your overcaffination!
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