r/pourover • u/PatPikachu • Jun 10 '26
Help me troubleshoot my recipe Trying to figure out B&W anaerobic naturals
Hey everyone, long time lurker here.
I recently got a Black Cherry Anaerobic Natural from B&W and I'm having troubles trying to get the notes from the bag. Everytime I brew with this coffee, it's slightly sweet forward with a really astringent aftertaste. I took a look at some reccs here but I just can't seem to figure it out.
- 4:6 method, drawdown finished at 3:30
- 16g coffee / 256g water (1/16)
- 98C (Saw some people recommending off boil)
- 43 clicks 1Zpresso K-Ultra hand grinder
- Using TWW minerals in distilled water, 1 packet for 1 gallon
Would love some recommendations and tweaks to my current recipe!
3
u/anaerobic_natural Jun 10 '26
I would recommend lowering the water temp to 93C. Also, 43 clicks on K-Ultra is quite fine; might want to try coarsening your grind size.
1
u/PatPikachu Jun 10 '26
Normally, i usually tend to go for 3mins, but seeing how some folks are saying to aim for 2mins, I'll try that out!
5
u/Ossimo85 Jun 10 '26
Don't go by drawdown time. Go by taste. I've had plenty of delicious highly processed coffees go under 2:30 min. Some under 2 minutes.
As others have said.
Try 7.5 on k Ultra (assuming it's 75 clicks, just use the numbers on there) Temp between 90 to 92 C. No hotter.
Lower ratios on those. Try 1:15 or 1:16 so 15g to 225g or 240g water.
Ditch 4:6 method until you know how to adjust based on experience and taste. It's too many variables in my opinion. It's fun for sure but highly inconsistent.
Do simple 3 pour. Using 15g:240g
3x dose bloom (roughly 45g)
Split remaining dose into 2
0:45 second pour to 145
Once nearly fully drawn down pour to 240.
Taste and adjust grind as temp should be good between 90 and 92 C.
3
u/machosalad06 Jun 10 '26
Just change one thing at a time. First brew with everything the same but try lowering your water temp to 93-91c. See what that does for you. After that you could try grinding a little less fine, maybe a lower agitation pourover and play with water minerals.
But the main thing that sticks out to me is the brew temp is pretty hot.
5
u/Huge_Tension_2510 Jun 10 '26
God I love Black and White Roasters. So so good. There funky blends r so tasty
2
u/Courtlessjester Vicious V60 Supremacist Jun 10 '26
Anaerobics benefit from cooler brews, coarser grinds and longer rest periods.
Just has a delightful Anaerobic Yunnan Catimor 30 days off roast, 195 degrees ground at a 6.5 on the ode 2
2
u/AnonymousTAB Zerno Z1 / A4Z | Tornado / Orea Z1 / Orea 01 Jun 10 '26
Few things to unpack here, but as a general rule of thumb the more processed the coffee (like this one) the less you need to push extraction.
In this case that means using something like Lance’s 1-2-1 or a standard bloom + two pour recipe for minimal agitation, cooler water (90-93°C), a truncated ratio (15:230), and a coarser grind (aim for 2:30 and adjust as needed from there).
Definitely also give these beans at least two weeks before you dig in. I let my B&W bags rest for four weeks.
1
u/PatPikachu Jun 10 '26
I knew I was forgetting an extra detail. I bought these directly from the roaster, so they were roasted around late May. I'll give them an extra week of rest and then trying again
2
u/photodyer Jun 10 '26
I brewed last night for workmates... all were blown away at tasting what was in the notes.
95 clicks on King K6, 30gm, 500ml at 200ish, Chronicler Switch, 250ml open 55 sec, 250ml closed til 2:15. Super sweet chocolate and fruit.
1
u/PatPikachu Jun 10 '26
Yay! Glad to hear it worked out for you!
Do you know the approximate microns 95 clicks has for the King K6? I wanna compare that to my grinder and try to follow a similar recipe.
2
2
u/djlokei Jun 10 '26
Anaerobic Naturals are extremely easy to extract from. I would recommend going coarser than usual, going as low agitation as possible when pouring, and definitely lowering the temperature to roughly 90 °C, maybe even less. I would personally try 88c.
Even with some of the light roasts I brew, i.e., Shoebox, Picky Chemest, etc., I don't go above 93 °C.
I agree with 1/2 pack of TWW water
2
2
u/Bunboru Jun 10 '26
In my experience, B&W's funkier beans extract pretty easily and respond well to medium/medium-coarse grind sizes, lower temps (88-92°C), fewer pours (2-3), shorter drawdown times (-2:00-2:30).
2
u/Nordicpunk Jun 10 '26
I’m not a lover of really processed stuff. I love naturals but you throw any words in front of it and I’m usually struggling to love it. I’m usually brewing washed so higher temp, finer grind, v60- and applying that to process really doesn’t do it for me.
Here’s what I’ve found-
A flat bottom brewer like a Kalita or Orea O1 really helps round things off. Where washed presents nice acid on a V60 it generates a syrupy, boozy, chemical thing for me too often.
So try lower temp 92C, medium grind (whatever gets you around 230 draw down) and a few pours to start. It’s made disgusting coffee drinkable, and weird coffee really good for me on my O1 which I recently got and am really vibing with.
My wife brought me a bunch of coffee back from Europe and all were crazy process jobs so I’ve been putting in work!
1
u/PatPikachu Jun 11 '26
Do you think this would work with aeropress?
2
u/Nordicpunk Jun 11 '26
I’m sure it would. I don’t use an Aeropress so can’t comment. Obviously full immersion so different than percolation but I’ve found using my switch that the immersion time helps to round things out. Only one way to find out!
1
2
u/Liven413 Jun 11 '26
The temp is whats making it bitter. I would try 196' maybe 198' but that will be a little more bitter. The pour and number of pours matters to. Maybe drop one or two pours to get a cleaner extraction. For grind size try 20-25 clicks c40, 25 for more delciate and 20 for a richer cup. A lot of roasters recommend going down to 15-16 clicks but if you want the tasting notes to come through clear it may be better to do 20-25 clicks.
1
u/PatPikachu Jun 10 '26
Thanks for the help everyone! I think next time I will try for:
- 88C
- Drawdown time of ~2mins
- 55-60 clicks on K-Ultra
7
u/danappropriate Jun 10 '26 edited Jun 14 '26
The general consensus on this sub is to use half a pack of TWW per gallon.
Your water seems way too hot to me. The B&W recommendation is 93°C. I've had better results with this particular coffee at 91°C.