The Coffee World

Start with a dripper, matching filters, ground coffee, a kettle, and a mug or server. A scale and gooseneck kettle make measuring and pouring easier; a useful starting recipe is 20 grams of coffee to 320 grams of water.

Use fresh coffee, clean equipment, and water you like drinking. Keep your coffee-to-water ratio consistent, then change one variable at a time: for pour-over, try a slightly finer grind if the cup tastes sour or a coarser grind if it tastes bitter.

Yes—make a latte-style drink with concentrated coffee from a moka pot or AeroPress, then add warm, frothed milk. Neither makes traditional espresso, but both can give milk drinks a stronger coffee base than regular drip coffee.

Start with an espresso machine, coffee ground for its basket, a correctly sized tamper, and a scale that fits your drip tray. For milk drinks, add a pitcher compatible with your steaming setup; if grinding whole beans, choose a grinder designed for fine espresso adjustments.

A grinder is useful if you want to buy whole beans and adjust the grind to your brewing method. A burr grinder offers more control than a blade grinder, but freshly purchased, correctly ground coffee is a practical way to begin without another appliance.