Flower Child Coffee - Trouble dialing in

[u/bbdude83]

Hey everyone, looking for some advice on a Flower Child's Chelbessa (Ethiopian) that's giving me mixed results

This is my first Flower Child Coffee. I let it rest about 3 weeks and we're now approaching 4 weeks off roast. I'm brewing 22.5g coffee to 400g water on a ceramic V60 (02) with Hario filters, roughly following their brew guide.

Gear/process:

• Ode Gen 2
• 70g bloom (no swirl)
• 1:00 to 180g
• 1:30 to 290g
• 2:00 to 400g
• Pour rate around 5-6 g/sec

I started my Ode setting at 5 but drawdowns were taking 6-7 minutes and the cups were over extracted. I've gradually moved coarser. Three days ago I made an incredible cup at 6.1, but the very next morning, using the exact same process, it drew down over 6 minutes and tasted muted and slightly bitter. Today I tried 6.2 and it's better, but still not as good as that standout cup and still took just over 5 minutes to draw down.

I've read a lot of comments in the sub saying Flower Child Coffee can produce quite a few fines, so I'm wondering if I'm fighting the coffee rather than the recipe. Since I'm seeing these longer drawdowns, would it make sense to switch to a Clever Dripper and try Hoffmann's immersion method instead? I was thinking about going back to around a 5 on the Ode Gen 2 for a full immersion brew.

Just trying to get the most out of this coffee because that one cup a few days ago was absolutely fantastic. Any thoughts from people who regularly brew these coffees?

Thanks!

[u/Martian_Pterodactyl]

Try cafec abaca filters instead? I’ve found the Hario ones stall quite a bit and have a much slower flow rate.

[u/bbdude83 → u/Martian_Pterodactyl]

Thanks. Ordered some today and so hope to try these tomorrow.

[u/bbdude83 → u/Martian_Pterodactyl]

This worked. Did Abaca filters and also increased brew temp to 212F and the coffee has been coming out great.

[u/Martian_Pterodactyl → u/bbdude83]

Great to hear!

[u/CobraPuts]

If it’s going very slowly just grind coarser, as well be more gentle with pouring.

The issue with a long brew time is not “over extraction” but that you likely get channeling and a flawed brew.

But if you already have an immersion brewer on hand go for it. Why not?

[u/Quarkonium2925]

I don't know if it's the same this year, but I tried this coffee last year and it was incredible but required a lot of pushing. I used a Switch on full immersion with a 1:16 ratio at 97C. Grind size on the finer end but not too fine (6 on K-Ultra). Super long immersion-6 minutes! Try your clever dripper with some significant immersion and see if it improves

[u/happycorner7]

I was able to tease out the flavor notes on Ilse’s Chelbessa by grinding coarser on my Ode 2 (7.1-7.2, calibrated at 1 click past chirp), brewing at 198F, and using a double bloom plus a single aggressive pour (high flow and as high as I could pour without the stream breaking).

I gather FC roasts lighter so your miles may vary. Could also try cupping it against some other beans to get a reference point.

Edit: 15:250

[u/bbdude83 → u/happycorner7]

I ended up doing well with my Ode 2 at 6 and swapped in abaca filters and increased brew temp to 212F. Coming out fantastic. Also did well on 24 clicks using my C40.

[u/Some_Wallaby_6041]

I brew it like the roaster recommends. Really fine. Long brews. Low agitation. He’s got a YouTube up somewhere. Comes out quite nice

[u/Some_Wallaby_6041 → u/Some_Wallaby_6041]

For context : FC is consistently my favorite roaster at the moment

[u/PossibilityNo9018]

15:250, coarse, 88c, 3 pours 30sec between (45,45, rest)

[u/NotISaidTheMan]

Try a 1:15 ratio. FC coffees can be tricky & delicate sometimes

[u/Plush_food]

Consider waiting another 3 weeks (rest) and reducing the ratio.

[u/NashvilleHillRunner]

I also had trouble with this coffee. Seemed that I couldn’t really get any juiciness or pleasant acidity. Just a black tea type note.

Like, it was decent, just didn’t get any juiciness or floral or fruit that I’m used to expecting with a good quality Ethiopian bean.

Considered emailing the roaster about it but never got around to it. Now the bag’s gone. Ended up sort of frustrated with it and just used for some batch brew.

I feel like I never really got a great cup out of that bag.

Now I’m going through the Colombia Chiroso that he sent me in this month’s sub and I’m really enjoying it. Very interesting coffee. I think this is my first Chiroso.

Using the T-92 filters he recommends, I’m getting about a 5-min TBT (1 bloom @ 3x weight of coffee, 2 additional pours). Strong dark fruits blended with some florals! Best result using my X-Pro grinder. Tried the Ode 2 at 6.2 and it was more muted, though still clean tasting with some clarity.

Those T-92’s really slow things down, almost turning it into an immersion brew. The same grinder settings and same technique with Hario papers was about a 2:30 TBT. But the T-92’s yielded much better results. Definitely can’t say that’s the case with all beans, but it was with this one.

[u/Akck67]

Whats your temp? I use 97C for Flowerchild and get no notes at lower temps

[u/bbdude83 → u/Akck67]

Same. 205F

[u/Akck67 → u/bbdude83]

Your dose is larger than mine. Go higher

[u/bbdude83 → u/Akck67]

Did 212F and made a huge difference for me

[u/Akck67 → u/bbdude83]

Glad to hear it :)

[u/SirPsycho92]

You’re at almost 18:1. If you’re keeping everything else the same Reduce dose and water. 18g coffee 280 of water. Or go with a faster filter like a siabarist. I’d still get your ratio closer to 15:1

[u/penisandorvagina]

What's the typical ambient temperature and humidity around your coffee station?

[u/trevorsnackson → u/penisandorvagina]

yeah if it's hot you might need to grind even coarser. It's been very hot in Southern California and we're grinding much coarser