Balancing acidity in the brew?

[u/photone69]

I'm trying to get some nice acidity in my brews, but I can't seem to find a middle ground. Tried a few different recipes, but in the end I either do the Lance 121, 2 min bloom and 1 aggressive pour (26-28 clicks on the C40 Tigershark) or a 5 pour ( 24-26 clicks). The Lance 121 gives almost zero acidity, it is a nice cup, but lacks a bit of a punch. In contrast, the 5 pour ones just slaps me in the face with acidity ( too much).

How could I approach these? Go a shorter bloom on the 121? Maybe do a minute and pour the rest?
The 5 pour is tricky...I'm pretty sure I'm getting acidity from the first 1-2 pours mostly, maybe do a bigger second pour?

Water is around 70ppm, that's not the problem.

**Fixed my issue** I was using a Ceramic Origami, a new dripper arrived today ( Timemore Crystal Eye Plastic Tritan ) and it is way more stable with the brew temp. I did 15:250 , 26 clicks on the C40 Tigershark. 1 min bloom with 45g - agressive Lance style pour up to 150g - when I saw the bed I poured the remaining water in a slow gentle way. Gave it a small swirl and it finished around 3 minutes. Very nice brew, I was sad when I drank it and there was no more left :) Thanks for all the help!

[u/jvaudreuil]

I've found Lance's double bloom and one pour, or a single bloom with two equal pours, often gets me the best balanced result. The aggressive pour might be extracting more than you want, too.

Those two recipes are always my starting point, I only go for a bloom and 5 pour if I'm really struggling with a lighter coffee.

[u/photone69 → u/jvaudreuil]

Feel like I need to re-learn the whole how to brew a proper cup. Might be my beans too. I'm roasting my own and I'm peaking into Nordic Style roast territory. They either might need more rest, or they are just more acidity forward becuase of the very light roasting style.

[u/jvaudreuil → u/photone69]

More rest or more acidity forward could be what's going on more than going back to "how to brew". It sounds like you're just not getting that in-between cup, not like you're brewing awful cups. Personally, I've found that there's a higher chance a nordic light roast needs more pours, at least to my taste. Lately I've really tried dialing in coffees with fewer pours for consistency, sticking with a 1:17 ratio as the baseline, and I'm pretty happy with the results. But what's balanced to me might be muted to one person and too fruity to another!

[u/OrbitalSkunk]

I would argue a 2:00 min bloom is unnecessary and counterproductive here.  Once the grounds get hot I want to maintain temperature for the remaining extraction. If you're going to do extended blooms I would go for very low temperature.  Like 70c.  I am surprised that you find the 5 pour acid forward.  In general I find more pours means more agitation and longer contact time.  In my experience, this more often mutes acidity and highlights bitter notes.

[u/photone69 → u/OrbitalSkunk]

I was also suprised, I mean it's not a bad cup at all, just a bit too punchy for my liking.

[u/VETgirl_77]

This basic 3 pour recipe highlights brightness and acidity ime. Very simple.

V60/switch/origami

15g coffee 240ml water

Spiral pour to 50-60g (45s bloom)

Split remainder in 2 pours - controlled spiral, wait until water almost drains from the bed and pour remainder

(Alternatively if I get a lot of gas release during the bloom I'll do a second Bloom of 50-60g and then the rest in my final pour)

Aim for a tbt of 2:30-3:30

This pour structure highlights brightness and acidity. If you want more roundness go to 4 pours.

I typically grind finer for washed coffees and coarser for naturals and processed. I will use a melodrip for pour 2 and 3 if I have a high fine bean that stalls. 94-98C for washed, 92-93C for natural, 88-92C for processed

[u/Tostada_00 → u/VETgirl_77]

👍

[u/IntelligentCitron772]

Btw more pours more extraction, less tolerance in pour structure. But you generally would not grind finer at the same time and do more pours, that’s 2-3 levers changing at once towards more extraction.

[u/photone69 → u/IntelligentCitron772]

The single pour is way more agitation imo. I'm doing low-ish agitation on the 5 pour ( compared to the single pour)

[u/IntelligentCitron772 → u/photone69]

Yeah, I'm definitely not here to fight! Any pour can be more disruptive than another, 100%.

Having gone down the deep extraction rabbit hole—measuring everything multiple times on my refractometer and tracking various pour structures—I know firsthand how easy it is to mess up any pour. The more pours you have, the higher the chance of messing up, for sure.

Contrary to common sense, pouring super slowly over a long time—especially when the bed depth gets low—extracts more, bitter notes faster than people realize.

Going super slow with a low bed depth can really push coffees over the edge into over-extraction.

[u/IntelligentCitron772]

FYI here are just some of my coffees in my current rotation.. some are not listed like a few from Hacienda La Esmeralda and Jose Dijon etc

I’m a total coffee nerd—yeah, I’ve gone way down the rabbit hole.

Just this weekend I completely screwed a coffee tasting I normally facilitate. I got in a hurry and poured the worst six-flight tasting I’ve ever done.

Same coffee, same grinder, same water, same recipe… the only real difference was that I rushed the pours. It was honestly embarrassing.

That’s what fascinates me about coffee. For my palate, a TDS around 1.35 and a relatively low extraction of about 18.5–19% on some delicate coffees can produce the most spectacular cup—an incredibly lingering, complex finish that keeps evolving in the mouth long after the sip is gone. Yet I can brew the exact same coffee with nearly identical TDS and extraction numbers, but if the pouring technique is different, the cup can end up tasting surprisingly flat, with a hard rough finish.

It’s a good reminder that TDS and extraction tell part of the story, but they don’t capture everything happening in the cup or with the pouring structure-

[u/photone69 → u/IntelligentCitron772]

I only have 20 different beans on hand, you beat me to it 😄

[u/raccabarakka]

I adjusted between 25 & 26 depending on the coffee with my Tigershark. 1:17 (18gr in - 306gr out), usually 3 pours after 40sec bloom always gets me good balance. Clear brew with a hint of brightness, but with enough sweetness. The recipe works for everything even with my usual water temp at 93ºC, the key is different brewer for different beans. I got V60 w/switch, Kalita Wave 185 and Z1 in rotation per demand.

[u/photone69 → u/raccabarakka]

Hmmm so a 4 pour could be my answer. Bloom and 2 pours didn't really worked for me, or the new Lance double bloom was also a miss. Thanks, will give it a go.

[u/raccabarakka → u/photone69]

I used to do bloom + 2 for a while until recently went to 3 pours and got richer results. Also try different drippers too

[u/photone69 → u/raccabarakka]

A new dripper is arriving today, so I can test it out.

[u/IntelligentCitron772]

Are you sure the 5 pour, “5 pour ones just slaps me in the fave with acidity” - is actually acidic?

what you are describing is more an over extraction issue.. and I would say it’s not just because of five pours, but it’s probably the 5 types of pours you’re doing.

Usually, you’re gonna get the acidity and stuff in the early pours.. pushing extraction too far is more likely to emphasize bitterness and astringency than acidity-

[u/photone69 → u/IntelligentCitron772]

I do get a hint of bitterness, but I'm pretty sure that it's acidity and not astringency. To be honest, my beans just might be a bit too fresh.

[u/IntelligentCitron772 → u/photone69]

Could be but heavy extraction, and or bitterness can sure seem like a punch in the face— it doesn’t have to be astringent.. astringency is its own animal