Although most users limit themselves exclusively to preparing their coffee in the morning and to giving an essential use to their domestic coffee machines, there is always room for the most demanding or skilful consumers. The latter seeks to give a plus to their preparations.
Who hasn’t ever enjoyed the tricks and wisdom of a professional barista? Who hasn’t dreamed of making a barista kit and recreating in their kitchen those techniques that we see with so much admiration in the videos? Surely more than one of you, avid readers, has raised his hand, right?
To get started in this exciting world of professional coffee preparation, the first thing we must have at home are the right tools: the barista accessories. Therefore, we present you below a selection of accessories that will help you to behave at home like a real barista, and at the same time, give a professional touch to your preparations. Take note:
Everything for the barista: the accessories for baristas that you should not miss
Of course, this list is very objective, but we have tried to reflect those barista utensils that should not be missing from any amateur’s kitchen. Whatever your level of skill with these barista utensils, we are sure that you will succeed in improving the presence and variety of your preparations.
A barista team may consist of all or some of the coffee making tools presented here. Sometimes even some baristas choose to have a set of several similar utensils (different sizes or shapes) to have a greater variety and freedom when working.
Naturally, we have left out of this guide the necessary equipment, such as coffee makers, coffee grinders or milk frothers. Here we will only refer to the more technical and specific material.
If you want to buy these barista utensils, you will notice that all the purchase links we offer are to Amazon. It is because, in many cases, they are very specialised material, and it is not always easy to find a physical store near your home where you can buy them.
Multipurpose accessory for baristas
A barista kit never hurts everything you need in a single pack. We begin by presenting this accessory for baristas that resemble a Swiss Army knife.
It is a very original and practical instrument, which serves, for example, as a basket for the filter holder, as a key to adjust the vaporiser tubes (it also serves for various thicknesses: 8mm, 11mm, 12mm and 13mm), as a thermometer gauge. We can even use it to check the soft gaskets (silicone sealants and so on) of our coffee machines.
Really practical, cheap, and also takes up very little space in your kitchen. It has a very technical orientation, not so much artistic but beneficial and valuable. It can’t be missing among the tools of a barista.
Kit to make cappuccinos
We continue with one of the most common preparations in homes: cappuccinos. A self-respecting barista kit should have everything you need to prepare an excellent cappuccino.
If you want to go a step further and prepare them with a professional touch, take a look at this cappuccino accessory kit from Dalit Barista. It includes a milk jug, a sugar (or cinnamon, or chocolate powder) dispenser and a pressure and temperature regulator so that you can control the exact point of your drink.
Besides, an excellent battery-powered milk frother is the perfect complement to this kit to exercise your hobby wherever you are.
Latte Art Accessory Kit
It is one of the most recognisable skills for any self-respecting barista: being able to decorate the coffee foam with drawings, names or graphic motifs. Naturally, professional baristas use specific barista instruments for these latte art tasks. Here we offer you a very basic one at an irresistible price:
Coffee Tampers
We have a dedicated section within our online store for coffee tampers (or presses), so we won’t be spending too much time with them.
As we have already explained several times, the pressure of the ground coffee is a crucial aspect of obtaining a good result in the preparation of our espresso. An excessively coarse grind can be compensated by pressing it a little more than usual, while if we work with a too fine grind, we can alleviate the effect by leaving the coffee a little looser.
To modify the compacting of the coffee is essential to have a professional tamper that allows you to apply the pressure you are looking for on the ground coffee. Although we have a complete store on the web to buy coffee tampers, here we present you several individual options:
Firstly, a complete coffee tamper kit that includes a coffee container, a tamper and a mat, all in black. The tamper has two ends, one with 53 mm diameter and the other with 49 mm. A multipurpose kit is always good.
Another option of higher level is the Motta coffee tamper, made of 18/10 stainless steel and maximum precision. It has a 58 mm diameter and a wooden handle.
And finally, perhaps the highest-quality manual tamper on the market is the ECM tamper with pressure regulator, which you can see in the photo above. It is made of polished aluminium and its highest quality, as the title says, is that it allows us to automatically regulate the pressure we want to apply to the ground coffee, up to a maximum of 20 kilos – which is also the recommended pressure for espressos.
This coffee tampers or coffee presses will help you achieve a precise, energetic and homogeneous pressing over the entire surface of the ground coffee—the first step in making excellent quality espresso.
- Le Xpress KCLXCOFTAMPER Le’Xpress Two Sided Coffee Tamper, Stainless Steel, Silver
- Vicloon Coffee Tamper 51mm, Espresso Coffee Tamper, Stainless Steel
Cream dispenser
Among the accessories for preparing coffee, we usually don’t think first of those intended for “secondary” ingredients: sugar, cream, ornaments, sprinkles, etc.
This professional ICO cream dispenser is made of 100% stainless steel. It has been designed for intensive use and is aimed at professionals in the hotel and catering industry (baristas, confectioners, etc.). Its capacity is 0.5 litres, and its main application in the world of coffee is to be able to apply milk cream or other elements to the surface of our coffees.
Sugar dispenser
It is also convenient to have a sugar dispenser at hand to season your preparations like a professional, and always with just the right amount of sweetness. This WMF brand sugar bowl, as you can see in the picture, has a quite modern design and is made of 18/10 Cromargan stainless steel. It has a 250 ml. capacity, is hygienic, easy to clean and dishwasher safe.
Milk jug
Every barista needs to have the milk in a suitable container so that he can get hold of it when he needs it, and above all, to emulsify it properly when making milk foam. We talk about all of them in our guide to stainless steel milk jugs.
This Kerafactum brand milk jug is an excellent example because it is made of stainless steel and has a non-stick coating. We love its original anthracite black colour. A touch of distinction never hurts.
Besides, there is a wide variety of milk jugs on the market, and it’s hard not to find one that suits you. Good luck with your search! Here are just a few:
- Milk Jug, Dailyart 350ml/12 fl.oz 304 Stainless Steel
- HOOMIL Milk Jug, 350ml/12oz Stainless Steel Milk Frothing Jug Barista
KitchenAid thermometer for the milk frother
Among the most basic barista utensils is the thermometer to control the temperature of the milk and emulsify it correctly. If you have read our guide on how to froth milk correctly, you will know that temperature is a critical factor in achieving the result you want.
On a domestic level, it may not matter that much. Still, a professional barista who is demanding in work needs a thermometer that gives the barista this information with total precision, for example, this Kitchenaid barista thermometer.
Latte Macchiato Glass Set
When preparing latte macchiatos (or other mixed preparations), it is essential to serve them in a suitable glass. The glasses are usually transparent so that the consumer can enjoy the colours and visual contrasts of his drink. And they must have the right diameter: the drink must be pleasant, but the spout must not be too broad because otherwise, the colours would not be appreciated enough.
These, in particular, are made of glass and are 13 cm high. You can also take a look at these double-walled thermal glasses or this more extensive set of 6 glasses with their spoons. It won’t be for options, of course. You can find more at the coffee cup set store.
Espresso cups, for example, are much smaller:
To finish this report, we offer you a complete tutorial in Spanish with which you can learn more about barista techniques and learn more about some of the accessories that we have just presented. It lasts about 20 minutes, and we recommend you watch it:
What about you? What barista accessories do you use at home? Are there any barista utensils for making coffee that you missed on this list?
