“A good brew will see you through.”

Brewing the perfect cup of coffee takes hard work, perseverance, skill, technique OR just a little help from your fellow coffee lovers. When it comes to brewing coffee at home whether it’s pour over coffee, hot or cold brew coffee, or even French Press coffee, it’s hard to get that exact cafe style taste. But, is it?

We have a few tricks up our sleeve and our very own coffee aficionados have shared some intel on how to avoid some coffee brewing mistakes that we might be making. Sleepy Owl aims to help fellow coffee loversmake and drink their favourite type of coffee without leaving their house. We’re here to help you improve your at-home coffee brewing skills and be your own barista.

Let’s get technical and talk about these common coffee brewing mistakes and how to avoid them.

1. Don’t be hasty
Let’s just start with this very obvious and simple coffee mistake. If you’re being hasty in brewing your coffee, you’ve already lost. Unless it’s instant coffee, we suggest giving your coffee the necessary amount of time to be brewed properly so it tastes and smells exactly the way you want it to. Rome wasn’t built in a day and the perfect cup of coffee can not be brewed in a second. All good things take time.

All our coffees, whether it’s hot brews, cold brews, ground coffee, cold coffee or French Press coffee, come with instructions on how long you must let them brew to get the best cup of coffee.

2. Using the wrong grind
Different brewing techniques need different grinds of coffee. For instance, a French Press and cold brew coffee needs coarse ground coffee, a pour over coffee and aeropress needs medium ground coffee and an espresso needs fine ground coffee. Pick the right kind of grind depending on the machines and equipment you have at home. The wrong grind will not make the desired cup of coffee.

We have a helpful grind guide to help you pick the right kind of
ground coffee according to the kind of machines and equipment you have with you.

3. Having the wrong water to coffee ratio
The water to coffee ratio also varies in each type of coffee. The water to coffee ratio can affect the texture, taste, strength and even the aroma of the coffee that you are brewing. You want to truly indulge in the flavour of the coffee, and not subdue it with more water than is needed.

Our different types of coffees come with instructions on how much water to coffee ratio you must have while brewing. Our French Press and Cold Brew Pitcher have special tips that help you brew the perfectly balanced cup and even the perfect amount of coffee.

4. Brewing with old beans
If the coffee beans are not fresh, the brew can never be! When you brew coffee and think about having a cup of coffee, you only think about having the best brew. This is why you can not ignore the freshness of the coffee beans. You should ideally use beans that have been roasted in the last three weeks before your purchase.

Not only do we source the most fresh coffee beans from select plantations in South India, we also seal them in airtight packaging so the freshness, flavour and aroma stay intact.

5. Not cleaning your coffee filter
No matter what equipment or machinery you use to brew coffee at home, it’s important to keep it clean. You don’t want remnants of your previous brews to enter your fresh brew. This is important especially if you are an avid coffee drinker who probably uses the said equipment and machinery on a daily basis.

Our coffee equipment comes with tips on how to clean it well to avoid this exact mistake.

6. Using low-quality beans
When it comes to brewing coffee at home, even if you forget to follow what we have just spoken about, if your coffee beans are low quality then you simply can't brew a good cup of coffee at home. It’s important to select only the best quality coffee beans because only those will enhance your at-home coffee brewing skills and give you a cup of coffee that might even turn out to be better than one you would have at a cafe.

We bring to you only grade-A beans from select plantations. Our 100% arabica coffee beans, robusta beans and chicory beans are all of the highest quality.

7. Reusing already brewed coffee
Once brewed, you should not use the same coffee grounds again because they will never give you the same kind of brew. Whether you’re using different types of coffee grounds, or coffee brew bags, they are meant for one time use only. You will never get the same flavour, aroma or taste if you try to brew them again.

Our coffee instructions also include how many cups certain coffees make. For instance our French Press brews two cups at a time, our Cold Brew coffee makes three cups per pack and our Hot Brew coffee gives one cup per bag.

We hope these tips help you be not only a coffee lover but a coffee expert. Making good coffee at home is a kitchen endeavour that is relatively easily achievable than some others!

May you have a perfect day and an even more perfectly brewed cup of coffee to go with it.