I would like to see what others are changing when you start a new bag of coffee. I will preface that I only do pourover.
I keep my ratio the same as well as my brew temp/# of pours. I really only adjust my grind size to aim for similar brew times and then from there adjust grind size based on taste/astringency.
I like Lance Hedrick’s pourover recipe for requiring less dialing in *between *brews due to the fact that you’re adjusting the agitation on the fly *during *the brew.
I will also tweak any or all other variables, depending on what seems like it will help or if I’m just feeling like messing around. Dialing by ratio is very underrated, I think, because it’s a good way of targeting bitter/sour balance. Bypass brewing is also cool and something that I’m trying to make use of more often.
If coffee has bitterness that resists other adjustments, then dropping the temperature by 5+ degrees can really help.
I use a chemex, I’ll usually tighten the grind as I go through a bag, so I’ll back the setting off a little before a new bag and then tighten from there. Coffee is too expensive these days to throw away a bad brew and I prefer my coffee to be a little soupy vs. over-extracted
I brew Chemex every day as well, and use the same strategy. I always brew to ~600g, and start with a 1:18 ratio for a brand new bag, as well as a set grind setting.
Moving forward I only really mess with grind/ratio honestly, and haven’t really been concerned with temp or time. Although I’ve considered setting aside a day to play around and see if I can actually taste differences adjusting more variables….
Totally agree on expense though, I rarely ever throw out a brew so always want to err on the side of caution
Yeah, temp should be 205F for most pour over applications. Shouldn’t need to fool around with that. I don’t let time bother me at all on the chemex, can take a while sometimes. I just mainly focus on keeping a nice even bed while I’m pouring.
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Ratio is a really good variable to target but I confess I don’t use it as often as I should because I just don’t want to do math in the morning
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Oh wow you’re like the opposite of me except I also use the Switch but again with the immersion times and such I’m still pretty static. I actually use a mix of Sprometheus’s and Tetsu’s Devil recipe
When dialling in (I’m new to it), I like to try and maintain the same brew time. So I’ll adjust grind size to try and account for this, although I’ve found that as I go through a bag I end up wanting a finer and finer grind. Does also depend on the roast of the coffee, so if a roast is darker than I expected I’ll grind a little coarser as I believe darker roasts extract more easily.
The thing about grind size, the more stale and dried out the bean the more easily it grinds. Grinding for the same amount of time will result in a different grind.
Also, my damn filters are inconsistent. Sometimes I get a very strong coffee. But that’s not relevant to the post I guess
Are you using a blade grinder? I would highly recommend even a cheap burr grinder over blade. What’s your overall brew setup?
Yeah just a cheap danby electric or something like that. It’s getting old but I tend to use things until they are completely demolished. And a pour over made of that Pyrex knockoff glass stuff with generic paper filters
https://www.hario-usa.com/collections/grinders/products/ceramic-coffee-mill-skerton-pro
^May change your life. Lots of options in the 50ish range for burr hand grinders, especially if you’re just gonna do pour over. Also, consistent filters do make a pretty big difference. If you’re just making for yourself, a hario v60 is also only like 20 bucks for a glass one.
shave coffee beans versus cracking them like blade grinders
Why is that better? The heat thing is nonsense, I’m about to pour boiling water on them.
Even grind size is the most important benefit. Plus there is no guesswork on how long to grind them for like there is with the blade. You set the grind size and that’s the size you get. There’s typically some sort of adjusting wheel that may or may not have stops; stopless are more expensive, and it stays where you set it so your beans are ground to the same size as long as you don’t move the setting.
I see. So dialing in the grind would be easier. Though I don’t think I’ve screwed up a brew bad enough yet with my old grinder. I’ll probably get one when this thing gives out. They don’t seem any more expensive.
What I do is first look at the bean roast profile. I usually buy my coffee from the same roastery, so the profile (for traditional brew) is relatively constant. If I see the profile is darker than the usual, I grind it coarser, and vice versa. Everything else (ratio, brew time, water temp) stay the same.
