How I mastered cafe-quality coffee with these essential accessories

If you told me eight months ago I'd be nerding out about coffee, I would have believed you. I tend to obsess over any craft I touch. 

I'll admit it, when I started testing review units like the Sunbeam Origins Sense, I was doing it all wrong. I was using old supermarket beans and had no idea how long a shot was meant to run.

It wasn't until I improved my skills at the Ninja Luxe Café that I mastered the two non-negotiables: you need fresh beans and a 25 to 30 second espresso pull.

Even then, I was hitting café-quality results only about 60 per cent of the time. It wasn't until I added a few specific accessories that I achieved true consistency.

NOTE: Prices are accurate at the time of publishing

1. Digital scale

Best for: improving consistency

If you aren't weighing your coffee, you are just guessing. To get a consistent taste, you want to measure exactly how many coffee grounds go in and how much liquid comes out. A traditional recipe I use is a 1:2 ratio. So, 18g of coffee ground into the portafilter, 36g of espresso out. A fast, water-resistant scale helps you hit that extraction in 25 to 30 seconds every morning.

Ultrean Coffee Scale

Was $49.99, now $33.99

Maeustri House Mini Coffee Scale

Now $39.99

2. WDT tool (Weiss distribution technique)

Best for: fixing channelling

A WDT tool is basically just a handle with a few fine needles. You can make one yourself easily or order one cheaply online. You use it to stir the grounds in your portafilter basket, breaking up any clumps after grinding the coffee beans. This aims to ensure your water flows through your coffee more evenly, rather than finding a shortcut (known as channelling), which leads to a more watery, sour taste.

WDT Tool

Only $12.99

Subminial Flick WDT Tool

Get yours for $60.52

3. A proper milk pitcher

Best for: latte art

It's not proper cafe-quality coffee without the latte art. Some machines come with unusually wide or blunt spouts that make it hard to pour detailed patterns. You want a pitcher that has a more pronounced, narrow spout so you can control the milk pour more precisely.

De'Longhi Milk Frothing Jug

Now $19 | Amazon

Yowamho Frothing Pitcher 600ml

$18.99 | Amazon

Normcore Handleless Milk Pitcher

Get yours for $61.87

4. Coffee leveller

Best for: a perfectly level tamp

I found it easy to accidentally tamp my coffee puck at an uneven angle, which creates an inconsistent extraction. A leveller spins the grounds into a perfectly flat bed before you apply pressure with your tamper to fix that issue. Some experts may argue it makes WDT redundant, but I also like an even coffee bed, so I can comfortably add a puck screen on top.

Matow Coffee Distribution and Tamper

51mm | $30.9953mm | $30.9958mm | $30.99

5. Puck screen

Best for: a cleaner machine

This is a thin stainless steel disc that sits on top of your coffee grounds in the portafilter. It helps distribute the water more gently, but the real benefit is that it prevents the coffee grounds from sticking to your machine's shower screen.

Bamynoir Puck Screen

51mm | $1153.3mm | Was $12.99, now $1158.5mm | $11

6. Paper filter

Best for: reducing bitterness

Similar to a puck screen, this is a paper disc that sits below your coffee grounds in the portafilter before you grind. By extracting the coffee through the paper filter, no coffee grounds seep through into the espresso and the oils are sucked into the filter, leaving you with more clarity and a less bitter shot.

Watchget Paper Filter 10 pieces

Now $9.99

READ MORE: Your ultimate guide to choosing the best automatic coffee machine