5 time-saving tools for at-home baristas

Every budding at-home barista wants to create fabulous coffee. You spend the time finding the best grinder, sourcing the best beans, and perfecting your brew, but having a few bits of extra equipment can take your morning cup of Joe from good to amazing! These five products will perfect your home brewing experience.

Milk Pitchers

Do you dream of topping off your morning brew with lashings of steamed milk, finished with an immaculate tulip or swan? Then you probably need to invest in a milk pitcher. There’s nothing quite like the satisfaction of finishing your brewing experience with perfectly frothed milk.

Stop dreaming of an immaculate tulip or swan – start doing it! The Rhino Stealth Milk Pitcher was designed by those who know a thing or two about the specialty coffee industry. With features like a premium non-stick coating and a professional pouring spout your morning brew will be dressed to impress in no time.

The Brewista Nasty Jug was designed in collaboration with Irvine Quek, the youngest winner of the World Latte Art Competition, and is perfect for anyone who wants to learn latte art. The spout is ‘V’ shaped, giving better flow control and the short handle lets you get closer to your pour. (Plus, it looks uber cool on your countertop.)

Thermometer

With a barista-grade thermometer, there’ll be no more crying over burnt milk. Rhino’s Digital Set Temp Beeping Thermometer is set to beep when milk reaches its optimal serving temperature, meaning you can carry on brewing your espresso. It also comes with a practical clip, so you can always keep it with your milk pitcher.

Brewing Scales

Getting the coffee/water ratio right is vital if you want to make the perfect cup of coffee. Too few grounds and you get a sour cup, too many and your coffee could taste bitter and dry. Just like Goldilocks, you need to get it just right, which is why you should invest in some brewing scales. The Rhino Digital Bench Scale is accurate to 0.1g and is perfect for weighting doses into a filter basket or portafilter.

Knock Box

Used coffee grounds have some fantastic uses, for example you can use them as a raw fertiliser in your garden or as a base to grow mushrooms on! No matter what you do with your left-over grounds, it’s a good idea to have a knock box next to your coffee maker.

The Domestic Knock Box from Rhino comes with a non-slip base and a rubber-coated rod so you can quietly empty your portafilter. Holding up to 20 pucks of coffee, it’s ideal for domestic use. 

Tamper and Mat

If you’re using an espresso machine for your home brewing, you’ll need a tamper and mat. A tamper helps to pack the grounds evenly into a portafilter; without using one, your coffee will come out weak and lifeless. The mat is there to keep your countertop looking pristine and to protect it from regular tamping.

Rhino’s Pro Black Tamper combined with their Classic Corner Tamping Mat are the perfect duo for any small barista area in a kitchen.

We’re always on the hunt for new products to make coffee brewing even more enjoyable and efficient and we like to share our discoveries with our customers. If you’d like to learn the latest coffee news, sign up here.

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