A coffee shop owner has unveiled the four most frequent errors that home coffee enthusiasts commit, which prevent their morning brew from matching the quality of professional baristas. Nikola Sasal, proprietor of Brew Bear Coffee House in Evesham, West Midlands, emphasises that achieving a perfect cup hinges on "the right ratio of everything."
The Art of Home Coffee Brewing
With nearly a decade of experience running her shop since 2015, Nikola has refined her craft and identified key pitfalls in home coffee preparation. She explains that while anyone can make coffee, many lack understanding of the fundamentals, leading to subpar results.
Common Brewing Blunders
Nikola highlights four specific mistakes that commonly ruin home-brewed coffee:
- Over-steaming milk: This burns the milk, imparting an unpleasant taste.
- Using low-quality beans: Inferior beans compromise flavour and aroma.
- Incorrect espresso extraction: Under-extraction yields a bland brew, while over-extraction creates excessive bitterness.
- Adding too much cold milk: This dilutes the coffee and disrupts the intended balance.
Expert Tips for Perfection
To avoid these errors, Nikola advises focusing on precise ratios tailored to each coffee type. For her favourite, a flat white, she recommends using 4-5 ounces of well-steamed hot milk. She also stresses the importance of fresh, high-quality coffee beans, noting that stale beans become bitter and lose their nuanced flavours.
The Rise of Coffee Shop Dates
Beyond brewing techniques, Nikola has observed a notable trend in recent years: coffee shops are increasingly becoming popular venues for first dates. In conversation with SumUp, a payment solutions provider for cafes, she remarked that most of her clientele visit in pairs, often for relaxed chats or breakfasts.
Nikola attributes this shift to a growing preference for slower, calmer interactions, where people prioritise quality time over hectic schedules. She notes that customers frequently share their dating plans, allowing her team to offer extra accommodation for such occasions.
Ideal Timing for Coffee Dates
For those planning a coffee date, Nikola suggests visiting after the lunchtime rush, when the atmosphere is more tranquil. This period typically sees couples settling into cosy corners, ordering their preferred drinks, and enjoying uninterrupted time together.
This insight aligns with recent survey data from SumUp, which reveals that one in four British adults now favour coffee shops as their top choice for initial romantic meetings. The findings underscore the evolving role of these establishments as hubs for social connection and intimate encounters.
