What equipment do I need for good coffee at home?
For filter coffee: good hand grinder (from 100 €), scale, V60 or French Press, kettle with temperature display. For espresso: espresso grinder (from 300 €), portafilter machine (from 400 €), tamper, scale. Most important investment in both cases: the grinder.
Filter coffee — entry from approx. 200 €
You need surprisingly little for good filter coffee:
- Grinder (from 100 €). A hand grinder with steel burrs delivers consistently enough for filter coffee. For those who don't want to crank by hand: electric grinders start at 150 €.
- Brewer. V60 (from 8 €), Kalita Wave (from 25 €) or French Press (from 20 €). All deliver excellent coffee — the method is a matter of taste, not a question of quality.
- Scale (from 15 €). Without a scale, you're guessing the dosage. The result fluctuates from cup to cup. A simple kitchen scale with 0.1g accuracy is sufficient.
- Kettle with temperature display (from 50 €). Ideally with a gooseneck for pour-overs. For a French press, any kettle is fine — just wait 30 seconds after boiling before pouring.
- Filtered water. A pitcher water filter (from 20 €) significantly improves Berlin tap water.
Espresso — entry from approx. 800 €
Espresso at home is another league:
- Espresso grinder (from 300 €). There is no shortcut here. Espresso requires extremely even, steplessly adjustable grinding. Under 300 €, it gets difficult.
- Portafilter machine (from 400 €). Single boiler for pure espresso drinkers. Heat exchanger or dual boiler from 1,000 € if you want to froth milk at the same time.
- Tamper, WDT tool, scale. Small parts for approx. 50–100 € total. The tamper presses the coffee grounds evenly, the WDT tool (a fine needle) distributes them lump-free in the basket.
The most important realization
The grinder is more important than the machine. A 300 € grinder on a 400 € machine delivers better espresso than a 100 € grinder on a 1,500 € machine. If you need to save money, save on the machine, not on the grinder.
In practice at Green Wall Coffee
At Sophienstraße 27 in Berlin-Lichtenberg, guests often ask me how to get started at home. My standard tip for getting started: hand grinder + V60. Costs under 150 €, results better than any fully automatic machine under 1,000 €. For espresso, I recommend trying it here first and then deciding whether the investment is worth it.
Stop by Sophienstraße 27 in Berlin-Lichtenberg — Mon–Fri 8am–5pm, Sat 10am–5pm.
Further reading
Related questions:
- What is the most important investment: machine, grinder, or beans?
- How much money do I have to spend on good equipment?
- Is an espresso machine worth it at home?
Also relevant:
- Why choose a manual grinder vs. electric grinder? — Grinding & Grind Size
- What grind size do I need for French press? — Grinding & Grind Size
All questions in this topic: Coffee at Home vs. at a Cafe