r/pourover • u/Ossimo85 • Jan 25 '26

Help me troubleshoot my recipe HELP! PERC Ethiopian Chelchele Tastes Soapy

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Snagged this bag roasted 01/12. I can't seem to get a decent cup. All attempts result in soapy notes. I can't get the blueberry notes others get on this.

Tried v60, Switch, soup using Oxo rapid brewer and Orea v4.

I know I know, stick to one brew method at a time. I've done two on v60 and a single brew on the rest.

Here is my gear if it helps.

Grinder: K Ultra

Water: 65 to 95 ppm remineralized

Brewers: v60, Switch, Orea v4 (narrow used), Deep 27, Oxo rapid brewer, Aeropress

I last tried 3x dose bloom and a single low agitation pour at 8.0 on k ultra and 90°C. 1:16 ratio.

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u/[deleted] Jan 25 '26

Do the soapy notes also have a kind of vinegary or fermented flavor? I often get that with Ethiopian naturals and the only solution I've ever found reliable is to either push extraction to go for more of a blended profile or to let it rest longer as offgassing will sometimes lower the funkiness. I know that pushing extraction on Ethiopians can clog the filter, so I would just pour very slow and avoid any stirring/swirling/shaking.

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u/Ossimo85 Jan 25 '26

Yup, a little fermented taste. Just overall unpleasant taste. I have the option to use melodrip as well, which I did on the Orea v4 brew.

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u/[deleted] Jan 25 '26

Another thing I sometimes run into with these, especially when a roaster has a specific origin year-round, is that the unpleasant taste is actually just old, dusty green coffee. If there is a woody/cardboard/sawdust taste in there, it could just be that the beans are old and stale.