<p>Three things contribute to a good cup of coffee.</p>

<ul>
<li><p>The coffee itself.</p></li>
<li><p>The tools used to prepare the coffee.</p></li>
<li><p>The skills of the person making the coffee.</p></li>
</ul>

<p>Unless you're talking about espresso or espresso based drinks (cappuccino) the skill involved is easily developed. </p>

<p>Do you use a burr grinder or a blade to grind your coffee? Or do you use pre-ground coffee? This, believe it or not, makes a huge difference. Coffee shops use a burr grinder to get a consistent grind.</p>

<p>Without knowing the coffee shops you're referring to (as well as your own brewing habits) it's hard to give a reasoned answer. It may simply be the coffee used and the amount of coffee used.</p>

CC BY-SA 3.0
2016-12-16T10:13:43.910Z
I think you mentioned most things. I would emphasize the grinder more, it is in my opinion the first best way to improve home brewed coffee (rather buy a cheap espresso machine and an expensive grinder than the reverse). Secondly I would suggest that he checks his water and if it is too hard, go buy a filter or suitable bottled water. Another factor is that, depending on the café, the baristas will dial in the espresso at least once, probably several times a day to always get the best result. At home it's almost impossible as you'd run through way too much coffee.
avocado1
CC BY-SA 3.0
2016-12-15T15:47:00.697Z
2016-12-15T15:47:00.697Z
Mayo
<p>Depending on the coffee shop I go to I often find I like the coffee more than the coffee I make at home or that I have at other peoples homes. Of course cafes and shops have bigger and more fancy looking machines and often their own blends, but what is it that the machines do that home coffee machines can't match?</p>

<p>At home I have a Delonghi Dedica machine which  has good reviews for quality coffee and I have used all sort of different coffee blends including ones from coffee shops themselves. </p>

<flavor><coffee-machines><quality><coffee-shop>
What makes coffee from a coffee shop/cafe better than the coffee I make at home?
Paddy Livingstone
# What makes coffee from a coffee shop/cafe better than the coffee I make at home?

(Asked by: username_0 on 2016-12-15)

Depending on the coffee shop I go to I often find I like the coffee more than the coffee I make at home or that I have at other peoples homes. Of course cafes and shops have bigger and more fancy looking machines and often their own blends, but what is it that the machines do that home coffee machines can't match?

At home I have a Delonghi Dedica machine which has good reviews for quality coffee and I have used all sort of different coffee blends including ones from coffee shops themselves.

**Tags:** flavor, coffee-machines, quality, coffee-shop


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## 1 answers

### Answer by username_1 on 2016-12-15. Score: 5 | Accepted answer

Three things contribute to a good cup of coffee.

* The coffee itself.
* The tools used to prepare the coffee.
* The skills of the person making the coffee.

Unless you're talking about espresso or espresso based drinks (cappuccino) the skill involved is easily developed.

Do you use a burr grinder or a blade to grind your coffee? Or do you use pre-ground coffee? This, believe it or not, makes a huge difference. Coffee shops use a burr grinder to get a consistent grind.

Without knowing the coffee shops you're referring to (as well as your own brewing habits) it's hard to give a reasoned answer. It may simply be the coffee used and the amount of coffee used.

> **Comments:**
> **username_2**: I think you mentioned most things. I would emphasize the grinder more, it is in my opinion the first best way to improve home brewed coffee (rather buy a cheap espresso machine and an expensive grinder than the reverse). Secondly I would suggest that he checks his water and if it is too hard, go buy a filter or suitable bottled water. Another factor is that, depending on the café, the baristas will dial in the espresso at least once, probably several times a day to always get the best result. At home it's almost impossible as you'd run through way too much coffee.  

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