After hosting 2 successful coffee walking / cycling tours around the beautiful city of Amsterdam this summer, I started pondering what to do when the weather turned bad. Walking tours in the rain are only of limited fun. Nobody wants to look like a wet dog when sampling great coffee. Thus I started thinking and I realized that one of the most frustrating things that any coffee enthusiast is likely to face is not being able to make a great cup of coffee in the comfort of his own home.

Of course only a tiny number of us – me not included – are lucky enough to own a proper Espresso machine at home. So, what are we left with? Slow coffee, right?

Thus, I contacted my good friend Jonatan from Headfirst Coffee Roasters and suggested organizing a little workshop for fellow coffee lovers to learn how to make a perfect cup of coffee at home. He loved the idea and before long the Facebook event was up.

I have to admit I was quite overwhelmed with the incredible response that this little workshop got and even saw myself forced to “close” the event for any additional attendees because I was afraid there might not be enough room!

When the evening came, Jonatan and I set up the place and then the first guests started pouring in. We had set outselves the goal to teach everyone how to properly use a French press, a Clever dripper, a Chemex, a v60 and finally the aeropress while also giving some useful info on coffee as a whole. All of this in 1:30h. Was it too ambitious?

After a few hiccups with the scales and measuring cups, we got on our way and Jonatan masterfully guided the course through the 5 different brewing methods. Interestingly enough hardly anyone in the room actually owned any of the equipment but it was really great to see so much interest from the people who love great coffee.

I think what the group didn’t expect was to learn how scientific coffee brewing really is. It might even seem a bit daunting at first but once you get a hang of it and you develop your own technique, you’ll be able to make amazing coffees at home and truly impress your friends.

Time to put that Senseo in the bin and make yourself some proper Joe.

Thanks again to everyone who came and to Jonatan for being a brilliant instructor. It was a real pleasure to host the workshop and meet so many enthusiastic coffee lovers. Stay tuned for the next workshop in a few weeks time. I hope everyone learned a lot and I look forward to hearing your feedback.

For some really useful recipes just head over to brewmethods.com and for ordering home brewing equipment you can also visit specialtycoffee.nl