Hello All! This is Andrew from Aldea Coffee. We know that everyone is doing more at home these days. Because of this we want to help you make Aldea coffee at home just as delicious as we make it for you in the café. The following are a few of my top recommendations. While a home brewing setup can be an investment, I believe the following items are absolutely worth every penny. You are going to get a way better cup of coffee, the equipment is going to last longer and most of the items on the list are easily fixable, should any problems arise.
Automatic Drip Set up for the Home Bound Gang
Includes: Bonavita Brewer and Baratza Grinder
Bonavita 8 Cup Connoisseur Coffee Maker:
The Bonavita is the lowest priced home coffee maker approved by the Specialty Coffee Association. For the full list of certified brewers look here. However, the low price is by no means an indication of quality. This is one of the best home brewers I have used. Bonavita is made in Germany, and is better in many ways than some of its more expensive counterparts. It has a very well designed spray head for equal saturation. And, it maintains a hot, brewing appropriate temperature very consistently. It has very few difficult parts, so it is also easy to clean. If for some reason, the water flow starts to slow a quick clean with descaling solution will get it back to full speed. Aldea does not currently sell this item in house, but it can be found on Amazon. For some more fun colors and options, check out Bonavita.com
Availability: Amazon
Price: $150
Baratza Encore Grinder:
Baratza grinders are some of the best residential grinders on the market. The Encore is a great value. You can find a cheaper burr grinder, but for a little more the Encore will put you at a whole new level. The grind consistency and quality is much better, and it is much quieter. We love Baratza because of their customer service and the ease of replacing parts. Almost every part in the Baratza can be replaced if needed. A new motor is about $15 and there are great tutorials online to do it yourself. With options like that you can keep this grinder running indefinitely. The Encore is strictly for brewed coffee and is not capable of grinding espresso. If you want that option or want to take a look at some of Baratza’s more design savvy options, check out their full line up here. We do sell Baratza Grinders in-house. The Encore is currently available online or at the café. We are happy to help you dial in your grind and help with any future repairs.
Availability. Through Aldea online or in our cafes
Price: $145
Coffee recommendations for Drip: Karolina, Alfredo and Tanzanian
Single Serve Coffee Set up for Getting Through the Day
Includes: Aeropress, Hand Grinder or Baratza Encore
Aeropress:
We at Aldea love the Aeropress for home brewing needs. At $32 it is a low, low investment to get a delicious, well-brewed cup of specialty coffee. It also does not need a kettle with a narrow spout as is often needed with pour overs. It is made of durable plastic and silicone so you do not need to worry about it getting knocked off the counter. It is also one of the best travel coffee devices to use on hand. We use an Aeropress almost everyday in our house. It is also our go to brewer for camping. Check out our Aeropress brew guide. However, there are a ton of different recipes and videos available online if you want to change it up. We love looking up recipes from different Aeropress competition champions and trying them out.
Availability Through Aldea online or in our cafés
Price: $32
Hario Hand Grinder:
Hario has two options available for hand grinder; the Skerton and Slim Mill. Both have excellent quality burrs. The Slim is smaller and has a plastic base. It is light-weight and the best option to take on the road. The Skerton is larger and has a glass bowl as the base. It’s design is definitely a little more noteworthy and will bring an element of quality to your set-up. Both hand grinders are excellent if you are brewing single cups. However, if you are brewing for multiple people, it may get a bit tiresome and you may want to upgrade to an electric grinder. We have found that some people tire of grinding their own coffee over time, but others really get into it as part of a soothing morning ritual. Both grinders are available in-house.
Availability: Through Aldea online or in our cafés
Price: $45 (slim mill), $55 (the skerton)
Encore Grinder: Please see description in Auto Drip recommendation above.
Coffee recommendations for Aeropress: Ramon, Marlon or Alfredo
Home Espresso Set up
What it includes: Rancilio Silvia or Silvia Pro Espresso Machine, Baratza Virtuoso or Sette Grinder
Rancilio:
Full disclosure. I have not personally used the Silvia residential model yet. However, we do use Rancilio for all our commercial machines. What we love about Rancilio is they combine all the essentials for making great espresso in a very straightforward, affordable package. This machine is going to give you all the same flexibility and function of an actual café model. There are no gimmicks. You will have to learn how to pull a shot correctly. You will also need to learn how to steam milk. The upside is you are going to get café quality espresso and with a little practice be able to achieve beautiful latte art. If you are a coffee enthusiast these things are not hard to learn, they will just take a little time in the beginning. I love the Silvia for the price. It is very affordable for what you are receiving. If I was really into coffee and really wanted to push the envelope for quality and my barista skills, I would get the pro. The biggest reason for the pro is the extra boiler. On such a small machine two boilers will give you a lot of consistency and ability to get great milk.
