Whether you're trying to step away from acidic, burnt drip coffee or trying to replicate your favorite coffeehouse specialties, making better coffee at home is a journey more than a destination. The first step on that road is a simple one: You need to figure out what "better" means to you. There is no single best cup of coffee. There's just the best version of what you love. Do you love your coffee rich, dark, and bitter? Maybe you prefer it as more of a smooth bass line beneath the melody of vanilla, sugar, and steamed milk? There's no wrong answer.
Once you have a direction to go in, a thing you know you like, then you can start to improve it until you hit on a home-brewed cup of coffee you love more than anything the local coffee shop has to offer. Coffee at home is like home cooking, we're not chasing a restaurant or café level of professional consistency and polish. We're just trying to help you bring the most out of your favorite at-home coffee.
WIRED's Favorite Coffee Gadgets and Tips
How to Make Better Coffee at Home
The Best Coffee Grinders
The Best Espresso Machines
The Best Coffee Subscriptions
Coffee Myths and Misconceptions
The Best Latte and Cappuccino Makers
The Best Portable Espresso Makers
The Best Electric Kettles
Gifts for Coffee Lovers
More Coffee Coverage
Updated September 2022: We've tweaked our recommendations.
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The Daily Grind
When it comes to food, the better your ingredients, the better your meals. The same is true of coffee. You have to start with good beans. That doesn't mean you need to spend a fortune on rare beans that have been crapped out by a civet (yes, that's a thing), but it does mean that this is the place to start if you want to brew a better cup at home.
I'll start with the most obvious upgrade: Nothing will improve your coffee experience more than switching from ground coffee to whole-bean coffee you grind yourself shortly before making it. The flavor (and caffeine boost) of coffee comes from the oils inside the bean. Once that bean is ground up those oils begin to break down—the flavors change, and delicate notes are lost. Ground coffee generally has a shelf life of less than a week. In most cases, the ground coffee you see in the supermarket will have been on the shelf far longer than that. This is why I suggest you buy whole-bean coffee and grind it yourself.
I know what you're thinking: That's a pain. But it's really not. Good coffee grinders make it totally painless and fast. Here are two of our favorites:
Hario Skerton Pro ($38): This is a hand burr grinder, and it's cheap. It's easy to use and fast, taking up less than two minutes to grind up some beans.Oxo Brew Conical Burr Grinder ($80): Don't want the manual approach? That's totally fine. This favorite will spit out freshly ground coffee in about 20 seconds.Most PopularGearThe 15 Best Electric Bikes for Every Kind of Ride
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We have quite a few other recommendations in our Best Coffee Grinders guide, including an explanation of the different kinds of grinders out there. Be sure to take a look to find something that fits your tastes and budget just right.
Upgrade Your Beans
Now that you have a nice grinder to freshly grind your coffee, which beans should you buy? This, again, becomes a matter of personal taste.
For lighter, brighter coffee, go with a light or medium roast.For darker and richer coffee, go with a dark roast.
Whole-bean coffee stored in a cool, dry place will last up to a month. At least, that's what coffee purists will tell you. I buy in bulk every two months, and I can't tell any difference between the end of the old beans and the fresh new beans. On the other hand, I do buy from a local supplier to ensure that the beans are as fresh as possible (Jittery Joe's Roasting Company in Athens, Georgia).
Once you are sure of which roast you'd like to check out, it's time to decide who you're going to buy from. Your best bet for killer coffee is buying from a local roaster. If you Google your location plus "locally roasted coffee" you'll have a few picks to choose from. The next thing you'll want to check on is whether or not your local coffee is grown in a way that's ecologically responsible.
Yes, I mean that. This isn't a matter of using paper straws instead of plastic: The world's coffee supply is in real danger, and ensuring you're not contributing to its demise is more vital than ever. After considerable research, the one coffee certification that seems to have the best guarantee that your coffee is both organic and shade-grown in an ecologically friendly manner is the Smithsonian Migratory Bird Center's Bird-Friendly Certified stamp.
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If you're unsure what you like, try a subscription service that sends new beans every few weeks. Below you'll two WIRED favorites, but check our Best Coffee Subscriptions guide for more.
Trade Coffee ($16 per 10 ounces): Trade highlights small roasters around the US. The website is helpful and will help match beans to your preferences.Atlas Coffee Club ($14 per 12 ounces): Atlas roasts all its beans in Texas right before it's shipped to you, so you’re getting ’em really fresh. These are single-origin, meaning the coffee comes from a single producer. Every bag is themed to the coffee’s country of origin, and you get a little postcard and tasting notes.How to Brew Better
You have a good grinder. You have good beans. How do you produce a reliably good cup of coffee every time you brew? This is the fun part: Just experiment until you get it the way you love it.
If you want to have reproducible results, make sure you weigh out your beans and water using a good scale like the Apexstone scale with timer so you can track the pace of your pour-over (for example), and take notes. It may sound nerdy, and it is, but after experimenting for a few days you'll likely find something you love, and if you have notes, then you'll know how to make your perfect cup of coffee every time—no matter where you are.
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While experimentation is fun, here are a few suggestions to get you headed in (hopefully) the right direction. You can use nearly any brewer to brew any cup of coffee, but some brewing methods lend themselves better to different types of coffee.
Dark roast coffee lovers should try a Moka pot: My fellow lovers of dark, rich coffee will likely enjoy brewing using a Moka pot. My favorite is this Primula ($40). It's simple to use, produces consistent results, and is the closest thing to espresso you'll get without investing in an espresso machine.Medium roast fans should consider a pour-over: If you like a clean, bright medium to light roast coffee, I highly suggest trying pour-over brewing. The most popular pour-over system is the Chemex ($47), but I find it fragile, and the filters are expensive. It produces a smooth cup of coffee though. Another good option is Bodum's pour-over coffee maker ($36), which has a reusable stainless steel filter, but you can get a great cup with cheaper options like Muji's porcelain coffee dripper ($13) (filters) as well as Hario's V60 Coffee Dripper ($23) (filters).Light, refreshing roast enthusiasts may like AeroPress: Those looking for a light brew would be well served by the AeroPress, which excels at extracting the subtlety and depth of even the lightest coffee roasts. We prefer the newer AeroPress Go ($40), which is more compact.In Praise of the Classic Drip Brewer
I love a great cup of coffee, but I don't always want to spend the extra time and effort to make a pour-over, pull a shot of espresso from my favorite Flair espresso hand press ($199), or even use an AeroPress. Sometimes I want my coffee and I want it now.
For those times, nothing beats a good, programmable drip brewer that's already made coffee a couple of minutes before you get to the kitchen. We enjoy Mr. Coffee brewers. They're inexpensive and get the job done. This Mr. Coffee Coffee Maker ($33) includes a timer function that can be set to brew your coffee up to 24 hours in advance. Neat!