Get to know us
Hey, we get it. The internet is brimming with big-shot publishers claiming to be the ‘know-it-all’ of everything, including coffee. But let’s spill the beans here – most websites on Google are run by big media companies, not by coffee experts.
That’s where we at Home Brews Coffee come in. We’re not just some faceless corporation; we’re a tight-knit crew of coffee junkies who live and breathe the art of coffee brewing daily. We’re here to cut through the noise and give you the lowdown on coffee gear and home brewing, with honest reviews from people who have used the items they write about.
About Home Brews Coffee
Guess what, fellow home baristas? We make the same community! For us at Home Brews Coffee, coffee is not just a drink but a passion and a lifestyle. And we’re here for you.
Homegrounds.co is a resource that empowers you to brew and enjoy better coffee from the comfort of your home.
Like you, we are passionate coffee hobbyists researching, testing, and educating about issues relevant to the home barista market. We strive to simplify the misinformation in the market so that you can make better-informed decisions about buying and brewing coffee of amazing quality.
Our Story
The Home Brews Coffee founder, Alex Mastin, wasted time and money brewing bad-tasting coffee due to the lack of transparent online education. So, he began teaching himself how to brew better coffee via trial and error. In 2015, his learning journey became his profession, turning his findings into a coffee website. Over the years, our team of coffee-loving content creators and industry professionals have come together to educate the home barista market on brewing delicious coffee.
Our mission is to help you brew better coffee. We’re here to tell you that you don’t have to train as a professional barista to brew professional-level coffee.
The founder of Home Brews Coffee hugging his first brewing equipment
Attending a coffee cupping class at the Sydney Aroma Festival
The Editorial & Marketing Teams
The editorial team at Home Brews Coffee handles the primary task of researching, writing, reviewing, publishing and fact checking coffee brewing guides and reviews into easily digestible guides.
Steven Holm – Lead Content Creator
Steven is a barista, roaster, and an experienced video content creator. He is a YouTube reviewer and lead content creator at Home Brews Coffee. His coffee journey began in 2014 when he found a $2 espresso machine at a thrift store and instantly fell in love with the process. He’s done a bit of everything in the coffee industry, ranging from barista, roaster, green coffee buyer, quality control, and business owner.
Outside of Home Brews Coffee, Steven loves to travel, hang out with his dog, Leo, and spend as much time outdoors as possible!
Jovana Durovic – Editor In Chief, General Manager
Jovana brings over 10 years of editorial experience to Home Brews Coffee, where she has served as Editor in Chief since 2020. She oversees all content strategy, ensuring every article meets rigorous accuracy standards. A dedicated home barista, she has tested dozens of brewing methods and reviewed over 100 coffee products for the site.
Her background includes academic research and teaching, bringing a methodical, evidence-based approach to coffee education.
Julia Bobak – Leading Writer, Product Researcher, Email Community Manager
Julia holds a science degree and brings nearly a decade of research experience to her coffee writing. Her scientific background informs her systematic approach to product testing and recipe development.
She joined Home Brews Coffee in 2017 and brings a scientist’s curiosity and attention to detail to her product reviews, recipes, and deep dives into coffee industry trends.
Kashmir Brummel – Translations Content Manager, Writer
Kashmir has more than 15 years’ experience in content management and strategy, a role that has taken her from fashion to homewares and most importantly, food! After a stint as the managing editor for a restaurant and bar guide, she took the leap into freelance food journalism. She has contributed to several books on food producers and chefs in Australia.
At Home Brews Coffee since 2020, she manages content across German, Spanish, and Swedish markets, ensuring consistency and quality across all translations.
Aleksandra Peric – Freelance Barista, Coffee Recipe Maker and Photographer
Aleksandra Perić is a professional barista with over 10 years of experience in the Belgrade coffee scene. She has worked at major specialty coffee chains and trained junior baristas as a senior team member.
She creates coffee recipes and photography for Home Brews Coffee, combining her hands-on barista expertise with a creative eye.
Daniela Tehfi, M.D. – Medical Reviewer
Dr. Daniela Tehfi, M.D., is a licensed physician who reviews health-related coffee content for medical accuracy.
With clinical experience across multiple medical specialties and published scientific research, she ensures our health claims are evidence-based and properly cited.
Marc Makepeace – Translator for German
Marc is a professional translator with seven years of experience specializing in food and beverage content. His travels across coffee-producing regions inform his understanding of global coffee culture.
He translates Home Brews Coffee content for German-speaking markets, ensuring technical brewing terminology is accurately localized.
Hedvig Ekmark – Translator for Swedish
Hedvig is a former barista with hands-on experience since 2012. She joined Home Brews Coffee in 2019, bringing practical brewing knowledge to her Swedish translations.
Her barista background ensures Swedish readers receive technically accurate brewing guides.
Valeria Lima – Translator for Spanish
Valeria is a trained barista and professional translator who combines practical coffee expertise with linguistic precision.
Her barista training and experience in specialty food (including work as a chocolatier) inform her Spanish translations of brewing guides and equipment reviews.
Jaime Caballero Milani – Translator for Spanish
Jaime has decades of hospitality experience, including years as a professional barista. He grew up in his family’s bar, developing an early understanding of coffee service.
He holds degrees in Engineering and Hispanic Philology, bringing technical precision to his Spanish translations of coffee equipment content.
Our Editorial Process
At Homegrounds, all new and existing articles are researched and fact-checked to ensure their relevance to our audience’s needs. We strictly adhere to our standards of accuracy and concise writing. Our writers, editors, and fact checkers only use fact-based research and real-life coffee-brewing experience to give you the best content to help you make the best-tasting coffee at home.
Learn more about our Editorial Guidelines
Our Ethical Principles
The Home Brews Coffee team stands by rigid ethical principles when it comes to writing, especially writing about coffee. This concerns both the products we feature and the values we represent:
- We love black coffee – milk-based brews have their place, but we prefer to brew and enjoy black coffee most of the time. Through black coffee, you learn to appreciate a certain region and its characterizing tastes, aromas, and history. We do not recommend instant coffee.
- We love the process of brewing coffee as much as we love the coffee – for us, home-brewed coffee is not about the cost savings, nor is it about the caffeine kick. The process of brewing coffee is a daily ritual that we cherish. Sourcing, roasting, grinding, and brewing coffee is a hobby that gives us true satisfaction.
- We respect the environment – we believe in a strong connection and respect for Mother Earth, and therefore, we do our best to help reduce our impact and create lasting sustainability in the industry. For this reason, we are against wasteful methods of coffee brewing, such as pod-machines and K-cup.
- We support the coffee farmers – Where possible, we seek to support and pay recognition to all members of the coffee value chain, and in particular, the farmers and direct plantation workers in the coffee industry. We aim to promote coffee roasters who are Fairtrade, Ethical-Trade, Sustainable, and Bird-friendly certified, as well as those who have a Rainforest Alliance certificate.
Media Appearances
Contact Us
We’d love to hear you. If you have any comments, suggestions, corrections or any relevant information you wish to share with us, please do not hesitate to contact us at [email protected].
For partnerships, please e-mail us at [email protected].
For customer support email us at [email protected].
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