Asia Lui Chapa - The Home Café

The Home Caf

Creative Recipes for Espresso, Matcha, Tea and Coffee Drinks

Asia Lui Chapa

Creator of AC Home Caf

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For my Grama, Rosemary D. Lui

My inspiration and moral compass. She was the most creative person Ive ever known and always filled the house with love, warmth and fun.

For my Dad, Eric A. Chapa

My loving father and constant comfort even from afar.

He was the best of the best and never failed to put a smile on your face when you needed it.

Cheers to you, Grama and Dad. This one is for you.

An ice-cold glass of water. A warm mug of your favorite tea. That piping hot cup of coffee. The drinks you get with friends after work. If you couldnt already tell, I think drinks are pretty cool. Growing up in a healthy-eating household, the weekends were very special to me. Thats when I was allowed to have drinks that werent milk or water. I would eagerly await my hot chocolate on Saturday mornings, and the possibility of having a soda or lemonade when eating out thrilled me to no end. Even now as an adult, I get genuinely excited just thinking about what my next drink will be.

My love for drinks and creative food in general is part of the reason I took such a liking to home caf videos on Instagram, a trend that originally became popular in South Korea, Japan and China. In March 2020, I had just been laid off from my part-time job while finishing up my masters degree and was super stressed with all of the uncertainty of the year. I found solace in home caf accounts on TikTok and Instagram, like @y.na__ and @hanse___. It was something I had never seen before when it came to drinksintricate ice shapes, colorful liquids and pure fun. So, on day three of the worlds first collective quarantine, I attempted to film my first home caf video. From then on, I began posting videos on TikTok and eventually took to Instagram to create @ac_homecaf, focusing on how-tos and later on, recipes! From posting simple videos online to partnering with brands to showcase their products, the home caf trend has become such an important part of my life, and I hope it can become part of yours, as well. To me its more than just making a coffee or pouring a glass of lemonade. Its about being able to create something, no matter how simple.

This book is for anyone who loves drinks or wants to elevate their current coffee or tea game a bit, or anyone who wants to test the home caf process out. I know it may sound hard or like its too much workthats what I thought, too. I promise that making drinks at home is much more fun and a lot more affordable than you think, and you get to customize everything to your preference! You dont like your drink too sweet? Add as much or as little sweetener as you want. Do you like strong coffee? Make it strong. Want to save some money? We can make that happen.

The recipes in the chapters to come have been crafted with you, The Coffee Lover, The Tea Lover, The On-The-Go-Getter and The Curious in mind. From espresso to matcha to cocktails, you can make them all and in the comfort of your own home. Not only is it more affordable than drinking out every day, but it is actually doable. Want to build your own home caf? Lets get started!

This chapter will equip you with all you need to know about building your own home caf. When I first started crafting my own home caf recipes, there was so much trial and error. Ive learned a lot since then, and Im excited to share that knowledge here with you. If you dont know where to start when it comes to espresso, coffee, matcha or tea in general, dont worry. Ill break down the different ways to brew espresso at home, how to get that coffee shop milk foam in your kitchen and let you in on some tips for the perfect matcha shot!

A common misconception about home caf is that everything has to be made from scratch and that could not be further from the truth. Yes, you are making drinks at home, but that doesnt mean youll be sequestered to the kitchen for hours on end. Youll get some insight on some of the shortcuts you can use in your home without sacrificing quality or time.

I must admit, half of the appeal of home caf is the aesthetic and the lifestyle element of doing things your way. So, this chapter ends with some tips for fun extras that make your recipes that much fancier and more fun to drink. I hope this chapter opens your eyes to all the possibilities that a little slice of life (like drinks) has to offer.

The moka pot (pictured on the left), a staple in European and Latin American kitchens for making morning espresso, is one of the most affordable and convenient ways to make espresso at home. All you have to do is add water to the base, put espresso grounds in its basket, put it on the stove and let it brew. From taking the moka pot out of your cabinet to pouring your espresso shot, the process takes about 10 minutes at most. A con to this method is that the moka pot does not provide espresso with the crema (that creamy light brown goodness that professional machines provide) on top when brewing. But some pros to this method are that you can find moka pots in-store or online for anywhere from $7 to $30, and the cleanup is super quick. This method will make a speedy, quality shot of espresso. You cannot go wrong with the OG moka pot.

Lets be realistic not everyone has a professional-grade espresso machine. So, when I say fancier espresso machines, I mean any machine that isnt a moka pot. If you have a professional setup like one youd find in a restaurant, then quite frankly I am jealous. I have heard that (on rare occasions) you can find professional espresso machines at thrift stores. The reality is that us home baristas cant always acquire those professional tools, either because they are too expensive, dont fit into our kitchens or are simply too hard to find, and thats okay. There are a myriad of other elevated espresso makers that will get the job done and done well. While espresso experts may shy away from using automatic espresso machines because of the quality or the lack of manually pulling a shot of espresso by hand, a Nespresso (pictured on the right), an illy, a Lavazza or a Smeg will still provide you with a piping hot, strong shot of espresso with that illustrious crema on top.