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If there are so many variables, why not talk to people to learn the results of those experiments? The alternative is to make all those experiments yourself, whi
by soneca 6y ago
If there are so many variables, why not talk to people to learn the results of those experiments? The alternative is to make all those experiments yourself, which will take a lot of time.
I like coffee myself. I noticed that I usually prefer drip coffee, but there was a lot of inconsistency in how good my drip coffee was. So I talked to people, but mostly read people explaining what variables affect the taste of coffee.
I learned that what I don’t like is something that coffee lovers usually like. Taste sometimes described as “strong”, with a certain level of bitterness. I like my coffee with the least bitterness possible.
So I read that light roasted beans create a less bitter coffee, great one variable solved.
Also, specialists recommend that before pouring the whole water, you just wet the ground coffee on the filter and wait 30 seconds. This initial hot water allow the air to escape from the ground coffee, so when you pour the rest of the water, the absorption of the coffee by the water is more efficient. This is one of the things that will bring more bitterness out of the coffee. So I purposefully don’t do this. I put all the water at once, counting that the absorption won’t be as efficient.
So my recipe is: light roasted beans, with fast pouring water. I would have never learned this if not learning from other coffee lovers, even if they have different tastes than mine.
- whobar 6y agoPerhaps your method of dumping the water works fine for you, but it is a very inconsistent method. There's a video on Youtube[1] of a "coffee brewing champion" who uses this method sometimes, and admits you are essentially playing roulette with your brew. But it can lead to more varied flavor profile from cup to cup. You may be better off grinding coarser, and not skipping the initial "bloom" phase. When not simply dumping water into the brewer, there are of course many other variables to tweak to try and achieve a tasty cup. [1] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=miuPSjazpyw https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=miuPSjazpyw
- soneca 6y agoThanks for the video, it was awesome! Essentially this is what I do. Good to know a “champion” using it too! Fine grinding because the brewing time is short and fast pouring without initial “bloom” (just learned the term). I am ok with this level of inconsistency. I believe that I don’t have the trained palate to even notice it. When I mentioned inconsistency earlier it is because I did not know anything about coffee so I would arbitrarily use dark, medium, light roasts, different quantities even. Btw, I will try to be more exact using this 1 to 12 proportion he mentioned in the video. About trying coarser grinding, I don’t grind it myself, I buy ground coffee. I could to find a place that grinds at the counter, but there is no such shop close by. I also optimize my coffee for laziness :)
- beerandt 6y agoIf you don't like bitter, but also don't like strong, the key is to brew strong, then dilute. This affects the bitterness/ result more than blooming (pre-wetting). Then different roasts can be brewed independent of bitterness and strength. The last flavors to leech are the most bitter. But most people don't know any of this type of knowledge, they just know how they do it, and want to tell you why it's the "right way." That's why talking to coffee and tea drinkers is often insufferable. On the otherhand, talking to people with actual knowledge to share can be enjoyable. There's just not an easy way to screen for it.
- libraryatnight 6y agoI am all for sharing. The problem is this tendency for people to use language that implies their way is "correct" - or worse, "Authentic" as if authenticity has ever made anything taste better by default. I've been told everything from I "haven't really had" tea if it wasn't served properly from a seasoned Yixing pot. Tea fans are gatekeepers of the worst sort.