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I'm a Coffee Roaster: Here's What You're Doing Wrong That's Ruining Your Coffee

46 points by voldemort1968 5y ago

carols10cents 5y ago
The article says this about Baratza grinders: > I prefer the Baratza line of grinders which can be easily maintained over time. An entry level model will set you back about $150 and you may be able to find it cheaper used. Which I think undersells the best part of Baratza, as a part relevant to HN: the company actively supports maintenance, sells all parts and refurbished models, and has very helpful customer support. I love that they don't need to be forced into right-to-repair. I'm a very happy customer.
- anotherevan 5y ago
  I have a Baratza Sette 270 which I'm also quite happy with. I like this because the beans drop straight through, not shunted out a chute to the side. Amount of remains left in the grinder are quite minimal.
- hippari 5y ago
  I'm very happy that this seems to applied to the majority of coffee equipment manufacturer ( or at least for manual brewing equipment ) . Even big brand like Hario will happily sell you a set of replacement burr at a reasonable price if yours ever get damaged. I hope the coffee community keep it this way for eternity.
faizshah 5y ago
Does tap water really make that much of a difference? Anyone tried side by side?
- majormajor 5y ago
  Also curious to know the answer to this. That's one I hadn't seen before. I'm guessing the author would recommend distilled?
  - chriswrites 5y ago
    Definitely not distilled. Most of the best coffee cities around the world have tap water with dissolved solids around 150ppm. If you’re in a place like mine in Phoenix, the tap water is like 500+ppm, so we use RO and demineralize with something like Third Wave Water (or you can make your own for cheap). It’s super fussy, but the taste difference is real.
  - nvilcins 5y ago
    I'm a novice coffee enthusiast, and I was blown away by the difference appropriate water made to the coffee. I am now "making" my own water by adding optimal mineral mixture to distilled water. The results are superior to those with tap water ("raw" and filtered) or pretty much any bottled water brand that I've tested.
- whitepoplar 5y ago
  Maybe it does, but personally, I get the most enjoyment out of coffee (or anything else) if I don't try to over-optimize. Good coffee in a french press with good enough water? Delicious!
  - tartoran 5y ago
    And lets add delicious is very subjective and different folks have different standards and that is ok. But sometimes it’s good to try a different taste as we might like it more, one never knows... I personally am not interested into being a coffee purist because I cannot make much difference anyway, maybe its my taste buds, I don’t know but and find no reason to bother improving something I like good enough..
- ErikVandeWater 5y ago
  Probably highly depends on where you are. Tap water could also improve the taste the way NY tap water supposedly makes the pizza taste good.
  - verdverm 5y ago
    It's key in Long Island bagels too
  - simtel20 5y ago
    The ny tap water story is just a story. You can get a water report on the tap water, and then distill water and add the minerals that will match. Beer brewers are more familiar with this, but it's not a super secret dark art.
- _s 5y ago
  That’s the only comment there I’m unsure about - bottled water is pretty much filtered tap water in most places. There’s direct spring water and rain water you can use - but they have varying minerals again, and then are you distilling water for pure H2O? I actually don’t know what the author means here. I do concur with consistency and then changing only one variable at a time - beans, temps, ground amount & size, water type(?), extraction time / length / size. It’s probably something I haven’t paid any attention to and have my favourite spots to get coffee from.
- maloney 5y ago
  Yes! Water is the main ingredient, with that said tap water might be fine if you like the taste of your tap water. If the tap water tastes bad your coffee will not be as good as it could be.
- ravenstine 5y ago
  Really depends on the tap water and might be mostly due to chlorine. As someone who drinks distilled water almost exclusively, it's surprising how apparent the chlorine is when I occasionally have to the drink tap water in my area. Chlorine is basic while coffee is acidic, and chlorine is just pretty reactive in general, so it would be surprising if chlorine didn't affect the flavor of and in a negative way.
  - BrandoElFollito 5y ago
    I thought that distilled water is bad because there are no more micro elements?
    - mixmastamyk 5y ago
      Yes, we need minerals. Also, Chlorine will dissipate in a few hours or so. Put in a pitcher in the fridge for a cool drink any time.
    - ravenstine 5y ago
      You should already be getting your minerals from your diet, and food is an all around better way to get micronutrients in general. The mineral that's in the highest abundance in tap water is calcium, but there's better calcium to be found in broccoli. Same with things like magnesium... if one's health hinges on what's in their ingested water, their diet is terrible. There's nothing in water you can't get in greater quality and abundance in food. There's this urban myth that distilled water pulls minerals out of your bones. Go find some high quality studies that demonstrate this incredibly flawed idea and get back to me. ;) Things like calcium in your bones aren't in a form that distilled water could dissolve away even if it wanted to (that's just not how things are working in the body though). The other theory is that the body would cannibalize calcium from the bones if there's no other calcium available; if you're getting even a modest amount of calcium from diet, which is easy to do with even the most unhealthy diets, this is never going to happen. If you are osteoporotic or are at risk of it, no amount of water is going to save you, and the evidence that mineral-free water would make it worse is nonexistent. If it was dangerous to be consuming water devoid of minerals, the FDA would pull things like reverse-osmosis and ZeroWater filters off the shelves. But people keep repeating the evils of distilled water as if it's concluded fact when it's anything but. Meanwhile, distillation and reverse-osmosis guarantee that heavy metals, microplastics, and many pharmaceuticals never make it into your drinking water in any meaningful amount. For some people it improves the flavor, as in my case, but others don't like it. But to anyone reading this, try drinking distilled exclusively for a few weeks and then drink tap water again. For me there's an obvious difference in smell and flavor that is tolerable but still off-putting.
- cultofmetatron 5y ago
  That really varies. Tap water in new york. yea I'd prolly go with that. Down in central Florida, the tap water tastes like a donkey's butthole (high sulfer content). I have to use bottled water down here to make a coffee thats remotely drinkable.
- admn2 5y ago
  They sell something called (no joke) third wave water, which are packets you add to distilled water
  - robocat 5y ago
    https://thirdwavewater.com/ https://thirdwavewater.com/ "Profiles" product menu: Classic | Dark | Espresso Here's some of their copy: «Life is Too Short to Ruin Your Coffee with Bad Water» • Bad water destroys great coffee • Don't drink boring, flat coffee anymore • Starting your day right shouldn't be this difficult «Protect Your Coffee Maker» • Stop ruining your coffee maker by causing lime scale buildup! • Do you have an espresso machine? • Third Wave Water has a water profile just for your needs «Find Full Flavor» • Achieve Optimum Extraction and taste your coffee like the Roaster intended • Reduce Bitterness with all natural minerals • Balanced Water Chemistry to compliment your coffee (pH and kH) «Brew Consistently» • Stop Chasing the Perfect Cup • Brew the same amazing cup of coffee every morning Over 3 million gallons of coffee brewed. "This coffee tasted 10X better with Third Wave Water! This stuff is the real deal! If you love coffee you'll love Third Wave Water!"
- rasmusfabbe 5y ago
  Perhaps the author lives in a place with bad tap water, like where you don’t drink it if you can avoid it. I’ve visited a few places like that. If the tap water is good to drink it will be good to make coffee with. Period.
fredley 5y ago
As a counter (and I watch James Hoffmann's output religiously, which is potentially up a notch even from this): If you enjoy your coffee the way it is, don't get pressured into making it 'better'.
canjobear 5y ago
I've studiously avoided gaining the ability to discriminate good from bad coffee. I don't see any upsides, and the coffee snobs are insufferable.
- CarelessExpert 5y ago
  Eh, I just see them as "different" coffee. I have a decent burr grinder, buy fresh roasted beans, and brew with a Moka pot. I also have a drip machine when I plan to drink a lot of coffee over a period of time, i.e. a lazy morning reading. I've got an aeropress when I'm feeling like something a little different (or when I'm making coffee at the office). And I keep good ol' freeze dried coffee in the cupboard when I'm feeling lazy or want a quick caffeine buzz. They're all different and I love em all for different reasons. Though I will say I absolutely refuse to drink Keurig coffee. It's an environmental disaster and it has the strength and flavour of coffee brewed with used beans...
- OnlineGladiator 5y ago
  Why is being a coffee snob worse than being any other type of snob?
  - canjobear 5y ago
    It's not, it's just that I encounter the coffee snobs more than I'd like
- okareaman 5y ago
  As someone who drank Navy coffee for 6 years, who cares what it tastes like? The question is, does it wake you up?
  - jeffbee 5y ago
    Is that where if the pot gets cold they pour the coffee back into the tank and brew it over? Because I can tell you they do that in the US Coast Guard.
creamytaco 5y ago
Or, drink the cheapest, quickest coffee you can make/get for caffeine and tea for taste. No equipment needed, less of your life wasted.
- Tistron 5y ago
  Yeah. I skip coffee altogether most of the time, and drink large amounts of black tea from yunnan instead. I get awake, but don't get an elevated pulse and tense stomach like I get from coffee. Chinese tea is, imo, much better than Indian. So much less bitter and more fragrant. There's quite a large difference between different teas, also from the same region, so try a few different ones. I live in Copenhagen but go to a specific tea store in malmö for my tea.
- eps 5y ago
  If you are just after the caffeine, you can get it in tablets in a drugstore. They kick in almost instantly and way more forcefully than a comparable amount in a coffee drink.
dexwiz 5y ago
Most higher end grocery stores in the US now carry locally roasted beans. As long as you check the roast date you will be fine. But to expand on that point, pay attention to origin and roast style. Mass produced coffee is like any other fungible commodity, but craft coffee is much more varied. Coffee may not be as diverse as teas but it’s definitely more than dark roast arabica beans.
- plorkyeran 5y ago
  Supermarkets generally refuse to stock coffee with a listed roast date. If you live near one which does allow that, that's the exception.
darkmagnus 5y ago
My best advice, put just a small pinch of kosher salt in the carafe before brewing. It will help tamp down some of the bitterness, if you don't like that
- deleted 5y ago
  [deleted]
jeffbee 5y ago
Pretty sensible, but it kinda implies there’s exactly one way to enjoy coffee, which I think might not be true. Starting with that ratio, I’ve found that as time goes on from the date is roasting I need to up the dose to get a good cup. Then eventually I switch over to a French press because it becomes impossible to get a good pour-over, maybe 7-10 days after roasting. At that point you’re making a different thing. Also the French press is pretty indifferent to ratio; you’re just deciding how wired you want to get.
rland 5y ago
Grinding the beans before brewing instead of buying pre-ground gets you 80% of the way there. If you're lazy and/or don't want to become a coffee snob, just get a grinder, grind whole beans, and call it a day.
toxik 5y ago
I pour about 1500 ml water over about 50 grams of coffee. It’s fine. It tastes good for some time. What makes coffee taste especially bad is just sitting out. It gets sour and real bitter.
- httpsterio 5y ago
  That's really strong coffee unless your steep time is very slow or the grind is coarse. I think your guests will most likely not go for a second serving :p
  - toxik 5y ago
    That’s a ratio of near twice what the article recommends, it’s really weak. And I don’t make it like this for guests because it’s too weak. Well, maybe okay for Americans.
    - httpsterio 5y ago
      oops I misread that as 500ml of water, not 1500ml.
xupybd 5y ago
I've tried fresh beans. Roasted and fast couriered to door to be consumed within the week. I'm not sure I care that much about the difference in taste. If you enjoy this sort of thing great, but I'm pretty happy with my stale beans and cheap espresso machine.
arduinomancer 5y ago
IMO beans make the biggest difference If you just get some fresh locally roasted beans and make French press you’re already mostly there It’s diminishing returns after that point Highly doubt anyone’s going to notice a difference with tap water
gregd 5y ago
Drink the coffee the way you like it. If you like to experiment, try different methods of brewing - French Press or pour over are easiest. You can try single origin beans, or blends, ground or whole bean that you grind with a propeller grinder gasp. I consider myself a coffee snob and even I buy pre ground beans sometimes because I'm a lazy old codger. Frankly I sometimes don't want to go through my coffee ritual in the morning and just want a simple, quiet, pour over to get me going. Absolutely nobody should be knocking the way you take your coffee.
- httpsterio 5y ago
  Author didn't say that everyone needs to fix their habits or anything. It wasn't pretentious at all. It gave some solid tips on where it most often goes wrong if you want to go from mediocre coffee to great. I don't measure my own coffee on a scale from "terrible" to "enjoyable" because they're all for a different purpose and mindset. The main point is that people enjoy their coffee. If they're often finding the experience lacking, then they should try to fix the process.
Phenomenit 5y ago
I don’t know, weighing my coffee three times a day doesn’t seem too appealing. Using scoopes is fine as long you tune in your taste with the scoop, but you have to try to scoop consistently.
- httpsterio 5y ago
  Different coffee types and roasts differ in volume. Darker roasts tend to be lighter which translate to more volume in the beans and less in the actual grinded coffee. If you buy only one type of coffee and it's consistently the same roast level, then there shouldn't be a huge difference if you measure accurately. But for me, I buy a different coffee bag every time and one scoop of a light roasted Ethiopian coffee will definitely not be equivalent of some darker Guatemalan coffee for example. You don't need to measure it thrice though. Just measure the beans before grinding them and then calculate how much water you'll need. I also use the 60 grams of coffee per liter of water, ie 16:1 water/coffee ratio as a starting point. Then just measure the water with a scale or by volume.
  - Phenomenit 5y ago
    > If you buy only one type of coffee and it's consistently the same roast level, then there shouldn't be a huge difference if you measure accurately. It’s basically what I do, and also sometimes it isn’t perfect but I don’t expect it to always be either .
httpsterio 5y ago
As a coffee enthusiast, I can wholeheartedly vouch each and every one of the points raised in the article, except maybe the tap water and temperature. The biggest upgrade you can do on your setup is getting a proper coffee grinder with burrs and not blades. There's little sense in buying any fancier beans if you're grinding them in store and drinking it over a period of several weeks. In a matter of hours after grinding, the coffee will be almost as stale as it'll be in two weeks' time. Hand grinders like Hario Skerton go for like 50 USD and something like Wilfa Svart Aroma for around 100. If you don't need espresso-level fine, then it's more than great. Great coffee doesn't have to be expensive. If you have a local roaster and they offer single origin coffee at a sane price point, you'll make your money back in a few months time if you're an avid fan of take out coffee. An Aeropress and electric mill will cost about 140 dollars and for example approx 20 cups of Intelligentsia coffee will cost roughly a dollar per cup. That's top shelf coffee, compared with mediocre Starbucks black coffee which will cost you double that. I'd much rather pay for some 15 year old single malt whiskey and pay less per portion than buying Jack Daniel's from the local drinkhole. Source: I'm a hobbyist reviewer of coffee, done some roasting and working on the judgment panel selecting Findland's best coffees.
- httpsterio 5y ago
  Why I don't necessarily agree about tap water: many countries have excellent tap water and it's perfectly fine to use. If you have an automatic machine you might have to descale it a few times a year but it's perfectly fine for brewing coffee. Bottled water can often have more impurities than Finnish tap water. Why I don't necessarily agree about temperature: coffee beans are already roasted at temperatures far hotter than 100 celcius. Any oils that would get lost due to temperature, have already evaporated at that point. If the water is too cold (like 90C or less), you risk under extracting the coffee. I think boiling is a perfectly acceptable temperature and don't notice any difference between that and 96C.
  - fanf2 5y ago
    In Britain the quality of tap water varies a lot from place to place. I live in Cambridge where the water comes from a chalk aquifer; it is very hard and has a distinctly unpleasant flavour. We got a water softener installed, including a separate filter for drinking water, and that made it a lot more palatable. Last weekend we were visiting family in Sheffield, which is on the edge of the Peak District, and their water comes from hard sandstone hills, beautifully soft.
mikesabbagh 5y ago
my experience with coffee: Filter your tap water for coffee or tea, you will definitely feel the difference. Dont use a paper filter, I noticed my coffee tastes burned when I do. Buy a roast that you enjoy, I got several bags and tested at same time to determine which I enjoyed more. I keep getting the same since. But I did not see any difference if I grind the beans for 10 seconds or 2 min. So not sure I can feel the difference in grind in my palate!
6510 5y ago
The more beans you put in the spinning grinder the wider the size distribution.
- httpsterio 5y ago
  That's not entirely true. Blade grinders are simply breaking the beans unevenly. There's even scientific studies on how bean temperature affects how much fines they produce when grinding.
  - 6510 5y ago
    I mean, it gets worse the more you fill it.
occz 5y ago
All good advice, but the delivery could maybe have been a bit nicer. I imagine that this article might be a bit off-putting to people who are not into coffee as a hobby, so to speak.
- bch 5y ago
  Fine enough advice, except for the tap water comment, which I would think might lead some to distilled water (so it’s not “saturated with impurities”) - that’s not the way water and coffee work, and indeed, in a water-sensing machine (which likely depends on minerals in the water), not the way equipment works either. If one takes that comment to its logical conclusion, you’re going to have a (poorly flavoured) bad time.
  - occz 5y ago
    Agreed. I don't bother filtering my water, the tap water where I live is pretty great though. I imagine that might not be true everywhere. Some mention about the mineral content of the water would have been appropriate, ad you mentioned.
albertopv 5y ago
Or buy a Bialetti moka and that's it.
- httpsterio 5y ago
  Normal filter grinded store bought coffee is too coarse so you'll need a grinder for that anyways.
- xcambar 5y ago
  I have never understood the love for these. They're small, hot as hell, you don't prepare much coffee out of it, the coffee is burning hot, it's easy to fail your coffee, and the taste is most of the time very (too?) bitter. But at least... digestion will indeed be facilitated ^^ Source: my family in Italy became Bialetti cultists, I have to bear it to avoid boring comments on "real" coffee.
  - fanf2 5y ago
    I usually make coffee in a cafetière (french press), but in hot weather i like an iced latte. At home I make them with a moka pot; I have a small pot which can make a double espresso, which I needed to run twice to get my daily fix. So I bought a “12 cup” Bialetti, which makes about a pint each time, which is enough to keep me going for a day or two. And yes it took me a while to get the hang of getting it to siphon all the water through the coffee properly without over-cooking.
    - xcambar 5y ago
      I like the idea of using it to make an iced latte. I might reuse mine with that goal, good tip!
  - bjowen 5y ago
    The cast-aluminium little guys are devilish to get right, and they only make 3 shots of coffee. Once you get the knack they’re fine, and as they get bigger I find it’s much easier to get a consistent brew. Better still, get a steel one which will go in the dishwasher too!
alkonaut 5y ago
I buy good beans and have good equipment to make good coffee. Because a good cup of coffee is good. And then I let it go cold and drink a cup cold too. Because even cold coffee is coffee and coffee has caffeine. And then I microwave the third cup, usually for too long, so it largely evaporates and develops an interesting aftertaste (and also becomes an excellent laxative). Because the headache doesn’t care how it tastes and who can be bothered to make fancy new coffee several times per day.
fouc 5y ago
I'm surprised the article doesn't go as far as to mention about avoiding dark roast, and only going for light/medium roast. It's my understanding the real coffee snobs avoid dark roast because it burns off a lot of the flavor and natural sweetness of coffee.
cosmotic 5y ago
The post says don't use tap water, but what are the alternatives? Brita or Pur filter? Bottled water (that is most likely just tap water itself)? spring water? Distilled water? I suspect the only one without solutes would be distilled, but distilled makes for awful drinking water.
- anotherevan 5y ago
  I think the rule of thumb regarding water is to not use water you wouldn't enjoy drinking straight. If you drink your water straight from the tap then go ahead and use it for brewing. I have an under the sink in-line water filter and that's what I use to fill up the kettle.

46 points by voldemort1968 5y ago

The article says this about Baratza grinders: > I prefer the Baratza line of grinders which can be easily maintained over time. An entry level model will set you back about $150 and you may be able to find it cheaper used. Which I think undersells the best part of Baratza, as a part relevant to HN: the company actively supports maintenance, sells all parts and refurbished models, and has very helpful customer support. I love that they don't need to be forced into right-to-repair. I'm a very happy customer.

anotherevan 5y ago
I have a Baratza Sette 270 which I'm also quite happy with. I like this because the beans drop straight through, not shunted out a chute to the side. Amount of remains left in the grinder are quite minimal.
hippari 5y ago
I'm very happy that this seems to applied to the majority of coffee equipment manufacturer ( or at least for manual brewing equipment ) . Even big brand like Hario will happily sell you a set of replacement burr at a reasonable price if yours ever get damaged. I hope the coffee community keep it this way for eternity.

faizshah 5y ago

Does tap water really make that much of a difference? Anyone tried side by side?

majormajor 5y ago
Also curious to know the answer to this. That's one I hadn't seen before. I'm guessing the author would recommend distilled?
- chriswrites 5y ago
  Definitely not distilled. Most of the best coffee cities around the world have tap water with dissolved solids around 150ppm. If you’re in a place like mine in Phoenix, the tap water is like 500+ppm, so we use RO and demineralize with something like Third Wave Water (or you can make your own for cheap). It’s super fussy, but the taste difference is real.
- nvilcins 5y ago
  I'm a novice coffee enthusiast, and I was blown away by the difference appropriate water made to the coffee. I am now "making" my own water by adding optimal mineral mixture to distilled water. The results are superior to those with tap water ("raw" and filtered) or pretty much any bottled water brand that I've tested.
whitepoplar 5y ago
Maybe it does, but personally, I get the most enjoyment out of coffee (or anything else) if I don't try to over-optimize. Good coffee in a french press with good enough water? Delicious!
- tartoran 5y ago
  And lets add delicious is very subjective and different folks have different standards and that is ok. But sometimes it’s good to try a different taste as we might like it more, one never knows... I personally am not interested into being a coffee purist because I cannot make much difference anyway, maybe its my taste buds, I don’t know but and find no reason to bother improving something I like good enough..
ErikVandeWater 5y ago
Probably highly depends on where you are. Tap water could also improve the taste the way NY tap water supposedly makes the pizza taste good.
- verdverm 5y ago
  It's key in Long Island bagels too
- simtel20 5y ago
  The ny tap water story is just a story. You can get a water report on the tap water, and then distill water and add the minerals that will match. Beer brewers are more familiar with this, but it's not a super secret dark art.
_s 5y ago
That’s the only comment there I’m unsure about - bottled water is pretty much filtered tap water in most places. There’s direct spring water and rain water you can use - but they have varying minerals again, and then are you distilling water for pure H2O? I actually don’t know what the author means here. I do concur with consistency and then changing only one variable at a time - beans, temps, ground amount & size, water type(?), extraction time / length / size. It’s probably something I haven’t paid any attention to and have my favourite spots to get coffee from.
maloney 5y ago
Yes! Water is the main ingredient, with that said tap water might be fine if you like the taste of your tap water. If the tap water tastes bad your coffee will not be as good as it could be.
ravenstine 5y ago
Really depends on the tap water and might be mostly due to chlorine. As someone who drinks distilled water almost exclusively, it's surprising how apparent the chlorine is when I occasionally have to the drink tap water in my area. Chlorine is basic while coffee is acidic, and chlorine is just pretty reactive in general, so it would be surprising if chlorine didn't affect the flavor of and in a negative way.
- BrandoElFollito 5y ago
  I thought that distilled water is bad because there are no more micro elements?
  - mixmastamyk 5y ago
    Yes, we need minerals. Also, Chlorine will dissipate in a few hours or so. Put in a pitcher in the fridge for a cool drink any time.
  - ravenstine 5y ago
    You should already be getting your minerals from your diet, and food is an all around better way to get micronutrients in general. The mineral that's in the highest abundance in tap water is calcium, but there's better calcium to be found in broccoli. Same with things like magnesium... if one's health hinges on what's in their ingested water, their diet is terrible. There's nothing in water you can't get in greater quality and abundance in food. There's this urban myth that distilled water pulls minerals out of your bones. Go find some high quality studies that demonstrate this incredibly flawed idea and get back to me. ;) Things like calcium in your bones aren't in a form that distilled water could dissolve away even if it wanted to (that's just not how things are working in the body though). The other theory is that the body would cannibalize calcium from the bones if there's no other calcium available; if you're getting even a modest amount of calcium from diet, which is easy to do with even the most unhealthy diets, this is never going to happen. If you are osteoporotic or are at risk of it, no amount of water is going to save you, and the evidence that mineral-free water would make it worse is nonexistent. If it was dangerous to be consuming water devoid of minerals, the FDA would pull things like reverse-osmosis and ZeroWater filters off the shelves. But people keep repeating the evils of distilled water as if it's concluded fact when it's anything but. Meanwhile, distillation and reverse-osmosis guarantee that heavy metals, microplastics, and many pharmaceuticals never make it into your drinking water in any meaningful amount. For some people it improves the flavor, as in my case, but others don't like it. But to anyone reading this, try drinking distilled exclusively for a few weeks and then drink tap water again. For me there's an obvious difference in smell and flavor that is tolerable but still off-putting.
cultofmetatron 5y ago
That really varies. Tap water in new york. yea I'd prolly go with that. Down in central Florida, the tap water tastes like a donkey's butthole (high sulfer content). I have to use bottled water down here to make a coffee thats remotely drinkable.
admn2 5y ago
They sell something called (no joke) third wave water, which are packets you add to distilled water
- robocat 5y ago
  https://thirdwavewater.com/ https://thirdwavewater.com/ "Profiles" product menu: Classic | Dark | Espresso Here's some of their copy: «Life is Too Short to Ruin Your Coffee with Bad Water» • Bad water destroys great coffee • Don't drink boring, flat coffee anymore • Starting your day right shouldn't be this difficult «Protect Your Coffee Maker» • Stop ruining your coffee maker by causing lime scale buildup! • Do you have an espresso machine? • Third Wave Water has a water profile just for your needs «Find Full Flavor» • Achieve Optimum Extraction and taste your coffee like the Roaster intended • Reduce Bitterness with all natural minerals • Balanced Water Chemistry to compliment your coffee (pH and kH) «Brew Consistently» • Stop Chasing the Perfect Cup • Brew the same amazing cup of coffee every morning Over 3 million gallons of coffee brewed. "This coffee tasted 10X better with Third Wave Water! This stuff is the real deal! If you love coffee you'll love Third Wave Water!"
rasmusfabbe 5y ago
Perhaps the author lives in a place with bad tap water, like where you don’t drink it if you can avoid it. I’ve visited a few places like that. If the tap water is good to drink it will be good to make coffee with. Period.

fredley 5y ago

As a counter (and I watch James Hoffmann's output religiously, which is potentially up a notch even from this): If you enjoy your coffee the way it is, don't get pressured into making it 'better'.

canjobear 5y ago

I've studiously avoided gaining the ability to discriminate good from bad coffee. I don't see any upsides, and the coffee snobs are insufferable.

CarelessExpert 5y ago
Eh, I just see them as "different" coffee. I have a decent burr grinder, buy fresh roasted beans, and brew with a Moka pot. I also have a drip machine when I plan to drink a lot of coffee over a period of time, i.e. a lazy morning reading. I've got an aeropress when I'm feeling like something a little different (or when I'm making coffee at the office). And I keep good ol' freeze dried coffee in the cupboard when I'm feeling lazy or want a quick caffeine buzz. They're all different and I love em all for different reasons. Though I will say I absolutely refuse to drink Keurig coffee. It's an environmental disaster and it has the strength and flavour of coffee brewed with used beans...
OnlineGladiator 5y ago
Why is being a coffee snob worse than being any other type of snob?
- canjobear 5y ago
  It's not, it's just that I encounter the coffee snobs more than I'd like
okareaman 5y ago
As someone who drank Navy coffee for 6 years, who cares what it tastes like? The question is, does it wake you up?
- jeffbee 5y ago
  Is that where if the pot gets cold they pour the coffee back into the tank and brew it over? Because I can tell you they do that in the US Coast Guard.

creamytaco 5y ago

Or, drink the cheapest, quickest coffee you can make/get for caffeine and tea for taste. No equipment needed, less of your life wasted.

Tistron 5y ago
Yeah. I skip coffee altogether most of the time, and drink large amounts of black tea from yunnan instead. I get awake, but don't get an elevated pulse and tense stomach like I get from coffee. Chinese tea is, imo, much better than Indian. So much less bitter and more fragrant. There's quite a large difference between different teas, also from the same region, so try a few different ones. I live in Copenhagen but go to a specific tea store in malmö for my tea.
eps 5y ago
If you are just after the caffeine, you can get it in tablets in a drugstore. They kick in almost instantly and way more forcefully than a comparable amount in a coffee drink.

dexwiz 5y ago

Most higher end grocery stores in the US now carry locally roasted beans. As long as you check the roast date you will be fine. But to expand on that point, pay attention to origin and roast style. Mass produced coffee is like any other fungible commodity, but craft coffee is much more varied. Coffee may not be as diverse as teas but it’s definitely more than dark roast arabica beans.

plorkyeran 5y ago
Supermarkets generally refuse to stock coffee with a listed roast date. If you live near one which does allow that, that's the exception.

darkmagnus 5y ago

My best advice, put just a small pinch of kosher salt in the carafe before brewing. It will help tamp down some of the bitterness, if you don't like that

deleted 5y ago
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jeffbee 5y ago

Pretty sensible, but it kinda implies there’s exactly one way to enjoy coffee, which I think might not be true. Starting with that ratio, I’ve found that as time goes on from the date is roasting I need to up the dose to get a good cup. Then eventually I switch over to a French press because it becomes impossible to get a good pour-over, maybe 7-10 days after roasting. At that point you’re making a different thing. Also the French press is pretty indifferent to ratio; you’re just deciding how wired you want to get.

rland 5y ago

Grinding the beans before brewing instead of buying pre-ground gets you 80% of the way there. If you're lazy and/or don't want to become a coffee snob, just get a grinder, grind whole beans, and call it a day.

toxik 5y ago

I pour about 1500 ml water over about 50 grams of coffee. It’s fine. It tastes good for some time. What makes coffee taste especially bad is just sitting out. It gets sour and real bitter.

httpsterio 5y ago
That's really strong coffee unless your steep time is very slow or the grind is coarse. I think your guests will most likely not go for a second serving :p
- toxik 5y ago
  That’s a ratio of near twice what the article recommends, it’s really weak. And I don’t make it like this for guests because it’s too weak. Well, maybe okay for Americans.
  - httpsterio 5y ago
    oops I misread that as 500ml of water, not 1500ml.

xupybd 5y ago

I've tried fresh beans. Roasted and fast couriered to door to be consumed within the week. I'm not sure I care that much about the difference in taste. If you enjoy this sort of thing great, but I'm pretty happy with my stale beans and cheap espresso machine.

arduinomancer 5y ago

IMO beans make the biggest difference If you just get some fresh locally roasted beans and make French press you’re already mostly there It’s diminishing returns after that point Highly doubt anyone’s going to notice a difference with tap water

gregd 5y ago

Drink the coffee the way you like it. If you like to experiment, try different methods of brewing - French Press or pour over are easiest. You can try single origin beans, or blends, ground or whole bean that you grind with a propeller grinder gasp. I consider myself a coffee snob and even I buy pre ground beans sometimes because I'm a lazy old codger. Frankly I sometimes don't want to go through my coffee ritual in the morning and just want a simple, quiet, pour over to get me going. Absolutely nobody should be knocking the way you take your coffee.

httpsterio 5y ago
Author didn't say that everyone needs to fix their habits or anything. It wasn't pretentious at all. It gave some solid tips on where it most often goes wrong if you want to go from mediocre coffee to great. I don't measure my own coffee on a scale from "terrible" to "enjoyable" because they're all for a different purpose and mindset. The main point is that people enjoy their coffee. If they're often finding the experience lacking, then they should try to fix the process.

Phenomenit 5y ago

I don’t know, weighing my coffee three times a day doesn’t seem too appealing. Using scoopes is fine as long you tune in your taste with the scoop, but you have to try to scoop consistently.

httpsterio 5y ago
Different coffee types and roasts differ in volume. Darker roasts tend to be lighter which translate to more volume in the beans and less in the actual grinded coffee. If you buy only one type of coffee and it's consistently the same roast level, then there shouldn't be a huge difference if you measure accurately. But for me, I buy a different coffee bag every time and one scoop of a light roasted Ethiopian coffee will definitely not be equivalent of some darker Guatemalan coffee for example. You don't need to measure it thrice though. Just measure the beans before grinding them and then calculate how much water you'll need. I also use the 60 grams of coffee per liter of water, ie 16:1 water/coffee ratio as a starting point. Then just measure the water with a scale or by volume.
- Phenomenit 5y ago
  > If you buy only one type of coffee and it's consistently the same roast level, then there shouldn't be a huge difference if you measure accurately. It’s basically what I do, and also sometimes it isn’t perfect but I don’t expect it to always be either .

httpsterio 5y ago

As a coffee enthusiast, I can wholeheartedly vouch each and every one of the points raised in the article, except maybe the tap water and temperature. The biggest upgrade you can do on your setup is getting a proper coffee grinder with burrs and not blades. There's little sense in buying any fancier beans if you're grinding them in store and drinking it over a period of several weeks. In a matter of hours after grinding, the coffee will be almost as stale as it'll be in two weeks' time. Hand grinders like Hario Skerton go for like 50 USD and something like Wilfa Svart Aroma for around 100. If you don't need espresso-level fine, then it's more than great. Great coffee doesn't have to be expensive. If you have a local roaster and they offer single origin coffee at a sane price point, you'll make your money back in a few months time if you're an avid fan of take out coffee. An Aeropress and electric mill will cost about 140 dollars and for example approx 20 cups of Intelligentsia coffee will cost roughly a dollar per cup. That's top shelf coffee, compared with mediocre Starbucks black coffee which will cost you double that. I'd much rather pay for some 15 year old single malt whiskey and pay less per portion than buying Jack Daniel's from the local drinkhole. Source: I'm a hobbyist reviewer of coffee, done some roasting and working on the judgment panel selecting Findland's best coffees.

httpsterio 5y ago
Why I don't necessarily agree about tap water: many countries have excellent tap water and it's perfectly fine to use. If you have an automatic machine you might have to descale it a few times a year but it's perfectly fine for brewing coffee. Bottled water can often have more impurities than Finnish tap water. Why I don't necessarily agree about temperature: coffee beans are already roasted at temperatures far hotter than 100 celcius. Any oils that would get lost due to temperature, have already evaporated at that point. If the water is too cold (like 90C or less), you risk under extracting the coffee. I think boiling is a perfectly acceptable temperature and don't notice any difference between that and 96C.
- fanf2 5y ago
  In Britain the quality of tap water varies a lot from place to place. I live in Cambridge where the water comes from a chalk aquifer; it is very hard and has a distinctly unpleasant flavour. We got a water softener installed, including a separate filter for drinking water, and that made it a lot more palatable. Last weekend we were visiting family in Sheffield, which is on the edge of the Peak District, and their water comes from hard sandstone hills, beautifully soft.

mikesabbagh 5y ago

my experience with coffee: Filter your tap water for coffee or tea, you will definitely feel the difference. Dont use a paper filter, I noticed my coffee tastes burned when I do. Buy a roast that you enjoy, I got several bags and tested at same time to determine which I enjoyed more. I keep getting the same since. But I did not see any difference if I grind the beans for 10 seconds or 2 min. So not sure I can feel the difference in grind in my palate!

6510 5y ago

The more beans you put in the spinning grinder the wider the size distribution.

httpsterio 5y ago
That's not entirely true. Blade grinders are simply breaking the beans unevenly. There's even scientific studies on how bean temperature affects how much fines they produce when grinding.
- 6510 5y ago
  I mean, it gets worse the more you fill it.

occz 5y ago

All good advice, but the delivery could maybe have been a bit nicer. I imagine that this article might be a bit off-putting to people who are not into coffee as a hobby, so to speak.

bch 5y ago
Fine enough advice, except for the tap water comment, which I would think might lead some to distilled water (so it’s not “saturated with impurities”) - that’s not the way water and coffee work, and indeed, in a water-sensing machine (which likely depends on minerals in the water), not the way equipment works either. If one takes that comment to its logical conclusion, you’re going to have a (poorly flavoured) bad time.
- occz 5y ago
  Agreed. I don't bother filtering my water, the tap water where I live is pretty great though. I imagine that might not be true everywhere. Some mention about the mineral content of the water would have been appropriate, ad you mentioned.

albertopv 5y ago

Or buy a Bialetti moka and that's it.

httpsterio 5y ago
Normal filter grinded store bought coffee is too coarse so you'll need a grinder for that anyways.
xcambar 5y ago
I have never understood the love for these. They're small, hot as hell, you don't prepare much coffee out of it, the coffee is burning hot, it's easy to fail your coffee, and the taste is most of the time very (too?) bitter. But at least... digestion will indeed be facilitated ^^ Source: my family in Italy became Bialetti cultists, I have to bear it to avoid boring comments on "real" coffee.
- fanf2 5y ago
  I usually make coffee in a cafetière (french press), but in hot weather i like an iced latte. At home I make them with a moka pot; I have a small pot which can make a double espresso, which I needed to run twice to get my daily fix. So I bought a “12 cup” Bialetti, which makes about a pint each time, which is enough to keep me going for a day or two. And yes it took me a while to get the hang of getting it to siphon all the water through the coffee properly without over-cooking.
  - xcambar 5y ago
    I like the idea of using it to make an iced latte. I might reuse mine with that goal, good tip!
- bjowen 5y ago
  The cast-aluminium little guys are devilish to get right, and they only make 3 shots of coffee. Once you get the knack they’re fine, and as they get bigger I find it’s much easier to get a consistent brew. Better still, get a steel one which will go in the dishwasher too!

alkonaut 5y ago

I buy good beans and have good equipment to make good coffee. Because a good cup of coffee is good. And then I let it go cold and drink a cup cold too. Because even cold coffee is coffee and coffee has caffeine. And then I microwave the third cup, usually for too long, so it largely evaporates and develops an interesting aftertaste (and also becomes an excellent laxative). Because the headache doesn’t care how it tastes and who can be bothered to make fancy new coffee several times per day.

fouc 5y ago

I'm surprised the article doesn't go as far as to mention about avoiding dark roast, and only going for light/medium roast. It's my understanding the real coffee snobs avoid dark roast because it burns off a lot of the flavor and natural sweetness of coffee.

cosmotic 5y ago

The post says don't use tap water, but what are the alternatives? Brita or Pur filter? Bottled water (that is most likely just tap water itself)? spring water? Distilled water? I suspect the only one without solutes would be distilled, but distilled makes for awful drinking water.

anotherevan 5y ago
I think the rule of thumb regarding water is to not use water you wouldn't enjoy drinking straight. If you drink your water straight from the tap then go ahead and use it for brewing. I have an under the sink in-line water filter and that's what I use to fill up the kettle.