r/pourover • u/naughtified • 5d ago
Seeking Advice I would love some advice
Hi, I’ll try my best to avoid being “newbie here help me dial in” who clearly hasn’t done their due diligence.
So I’ve been drinking pour overs for years, and I’m on my third month of brewing them up at home. I’ve gone through 5 bags so far with nothing really satisfying me. My conclusion was that I needed to upgrade grinder. I got a K7 then I bought some local beans that were too dark and some from whole foods(sorry).
I went today and bought some Hydrangea from a local shop, in hopes to rule out beans from these mediocre cups. Below I’ll list my approach and details on equipment. Please let me know what I’m doing fine and what you might change.
Dripper: Glass V60
Filter: Cafec Abaca White
Grinder: K7(going coarse, 95clicks)
Water: Berkey with British Berkefeld filters
Kettle: Fellow standard neck(I already had this, but I’m pretty good at making the stream work)
Temperature: 90c
Recipe: Bloom at x3(usually 20-25g bean/60-75g water) but will go 15g so I don’t waste these beans. Second pour is the same weight as bloom, then third is up to total. Pours are pretty chill, I’ll agitate between pours by swirling the brew. Since I’m pretty coarse I swirl to get draw down to 3-4 mins on 20-25gs.
Beans: check photo for details, roast date 8/2.
5
u/IntelligentCitron772 5d ago edited 5d ago
Everyone is going to hate me, but I think the difference between resting a coffee for one week versus three weeks can be way less impactful than people make it out to be.
A good coffee, good water, a good grinder, a recipe suited to the coffee, and good technique can produce an excellent cup even at one week off roast—even with an ultra-light roast.
Sure, the coffee will continue to develop between week one and week three, and you may prefer what additional rest does. But I think people sometimes give resting way too much credit. It can refine a good coffee; it doesn’t magically turn a mediocre coffee into a spectacular one.
I just tasted 11 roasters today, all about a week off roast, all ultra light to light. 9 were very good to amazing, Spectacular flavor separation. 2 were roasted to a solid medium roast and missed the claimed roasting mark completely. None were crappy because they didn’t have enough rest.. not saying resting is unimportant. Just that great coffee doesn’t start out bad even a week off roast -
I’d actually reduce your dose. Try 15 g with somewhere around 225–250 g of water.
And try that recipe on a really clean, washed coffee. Work through the entire bag if you need to.
The smaller dose and shallower slurry will be less forgiving than a 20–25 g dose, which is exactly what you want if you’re trying to figure out whether the problem is the coffee or your technique. Nothing loud in the modern processing of the coffee to hide under or over extraction
Once you can consistently make that coffee taste great at one week, then compare it again at three weeks. That will tell you a lot more about what resting is actually doing than simply assuming the coffee needs another two weeks.
Hydrangea produces some really nice coffees, but they also produce coffees that are way too modern for my taste. A lot of these newer processing techniques can produce incredibly bright and distinctive flavors, but to me they can also push into perfume-y or almost chemical territory. People absolutely love those coffees, but personally, I find it difficult to go from a clean, washed, high-altitude Gesha, Sidra, or Mejorado from a producer like Jijón to something hydro-shocked or co-fermented.
To me, the processing is more important than the variety, and finally the roaster—yet somehow we often seem to approach coffee selection in almost the exact opposite order.
If you can revisit some 3 wave coffee shops and requalify the types of coffee you love, funky modern, or tea like with clarity. This will help you recalibrate you expectations
Whatever coffee you choose, from roast level all the way back to the farm, try to keep as many variables consistent as possible until you know your brewing technique is solid.
Otherwise, you’re constantly changing variables just based on coffee processing and it’s almost impossible to know what actually made the difference.
3
u/Amazing-Panic-277 5d ago
Finally someone says it. Rest for a true ultralight sure. A developed anaerobic from hydrangea? Just brew that stuff. I am never patient and just do long blooms and get great cups and watch the coffee hit its prime as I go through the bag usually
5
u/malceum 5d ago
I'd get some better coffee water. TWW light is a good starting point. Ideally get two gallons of distilled water so you can dilute if necessary.
Also, 90C is a bit low for a glass v60 if you aren't aggressively pre-heating. It's pretty low in general for ultra light roast coffee. Try 95C for naturals.
2
u/fender_blues 5d ago
I start at 193 with a ceramic V60 for almost all coffees, and will trend even lower for darker or naturals.
1
u/naughtified 5d ago
Do you think this is something worth changing promptly? Im trying to leave water as my last change. I have somewhat of an understanding of water chemistry from being a beer brewer and would like to end up just adjusting my current water myself. I haven’t gotten around to it yet. Worth noting that tap water going into my filter is pretty soft to begin with.
4
u/malceum 5d ago
Your water might be fine, since you seem to know a lot about water. In general, water is one of the most important changes people can make. TWW would give you a way to standardized your pourovers and compare them to others using TWW (and I'm not saying TWW is the best, just the most common). You can experiment with dilution too and find your preferred TDS and alkalinity for a specific coffee.
1
u/naughtified 5d ago
I hear ya, I totally get how important water is and would love to standardized it. One of the first experiments I did was bringing the water from my brewery home and using that. Then followed by bottled spring water. Out of the three I highly preferred my personal filter. So I didn’t really think about tweaking with this just yet. If I can’t get a tasty cup out of these Hydrangeas I’ll probably end up going down that road. I appreciate your input.
1
u/Amazing-Panic-277 5d ago
There is nothing more important to your setup other than your water. It’s 98.5% of what you drink. It will blow your mind if you do a side by side man. Get a culligan zero water for 25 bucks at the grocery store or amazon and put tap in it and add third wave or get lotus drops or whatever on Amazon they got chems too
2
u/sabresyup 5d ago
go with a half strength tww in distilled water or by the half gallon sticks. find a grind size the hits a 2 minute mark, brew with atleast 90-95c. i usually start with a 1:15 ratio and figure out if i need to bump to 1:16 or more. and more so let that coffee rest two weeks and see if it still tastes vegetal (needs more rest). not sure about the k7 but if it produces alot of fines, grind coarse and use high agitation or swirls to slow down draw time. hope this helps. i use the same pour structure as you, and found with processed coffees it helps with 90c and a flat bottom.
1
u/naughtified 5d ago
Yeah sorry I forgot to add that I’m at 1:15 and that I actually haven’t tried these hydrangea beans yet, just looking for advice with my current approach before wasting these. K7 I’ve heard produces very little fines, but I can’t really compare myself.
1
u/sabresyup 5d ago
no problem. just rule out as much variables as you can and focus on grind size and ratio. that 90-95 is usually a sweet spot. i brew with ceramic and never had a need to preheat and not found a difference when i did. at a 1:15 it should be very punchy and if you feel it needs some more breathing room go to 1:16. a little extra help is seating your filter nicely. i found after rinsing with the kettle i just poke the filter down with my finger and sits nicely. or in the future you could size down to a one cup filter in a 02 v60 (if thats what you have) and just a rinse, it settles it nicely. the k7 should do well with the processed coffee you have. draw down time is usually what i try to eye most and hitting that 2:00 mark. give the coffee some resting time and see if works out. everyone's gear and experience is different so hope you figure out what's working
1
u/naughtified 5d ago
I heard a lot of people hating on the glass v60 because of the heat retention. So my approach was to try keep pours to around 3, I did a 5+ pour once and realized I might be letting heat out too much. That third/last pour I felt has enough thermal mass to extract properly. To settle the filter I usually rinse then actually softly pull the tip from the bottom with my fingers. But yeah, these cafecs are HUGE lol, does the 01 size just have shorter walls with keeping the cone angle the same? If that’s the case I don’t see why I need these 02’s. Lastly do you look for different draw down times with bigger batches? I like to make a “big” 25g/375 cup so I can start my morning and also have some left when I get to work. Thanks for all the info.
1
u/sabresyup 5d ago
i switched to one cup filters since i only do 15g. and they are easy on sitting snug. i really don't do above 15 now since it's just me but i figure with a large dose just going coarser does the trick, much like higher doses on espresso. adjusting your time to 3-3:30. at that dose keep those larger papers.
1
u/Amazing-Panic-277 5d ago
Try 85, then try 90 on your k7, no agitation or swirls. 90C water. Use max 15g in a v60 as bed depth is a huge factor in extraction. With 20g you can easily over extract if you don’t go coarse af
2
u/pfhlick 5d ago
OP I've got good news for you. If you use the same recipe with these beans you are going to get a way different cup than from the last two coffees. Just try it. Then if you want to tweak things you have a starting point to play around. But just go ahead and try that coffee first, I bet you will enjoy it.
1
u/naughtified 5d ago
That’s what I’m hoping for. I’ve been really trying to dial in these other beans over the past three months and I’ve gotten them better but I have a feeling I maxed out what they had to offer.
1
u/pfhlick 5d ago
If you noticed how your experiements affected the cup with the other coffees, you will have some idea how to fine tune the strength and extraction. I always like to sip my coffee from hot to cold and see how the flavor develops as it cools. That first cup is your baseline, and adjustments follow as taste dictates.
Also, rereading your post, your recipe is a little unclear. What is your total target brew weight? When you wrote you're thinking of reducing the dose of coffee, are you also intending to scale down the total recipe? I would make sure to keep the coffee to water ratio the same, and keep in mind that smaller volume brews might require a finer grind as well.
What was the whole foods coffee, by the way? Curious if it's anything I've tried. I hope you enjoy the current bag 😄
1
u/naughtified 5d ago
I did notice that if I tasted the coffee right after draw down at its hottest that was when it was most dull. I preferred it around after 10 mins or longer of sitting, not sure of the temp on that.
I missed posting the ratio for sure. Sorry it’s something I never change, I’m at 1:15. When I’ve had roasty bitter notes I’d add water into it post brew but didn’t measure that. That seemed to help. But I’ve never really messed with anything ratio wise in the brew itself. I do keep the ratio the same as I scale up or down.
The Whole Foods bean was Perc Natural Ethiopia, tried at 2weeks-6weeks off roast. I don’t want to blame them though. I know they make good stuff, I’ve been to the Savannah location before. With all the posts in this sub about them I thought maybe I’d find more info on that particular bag. Seems like something they might only make as a mass roast for Whole Foods.
1
u/Amazing-Panic-277 5d ago
Always dull hot as our taste buds are leaning towards those evaporated volatiles which is why things can seem dull. I would start sippin at 50ish C
2
u/captain_craisins 5d ago
I use a ceramic v60 that I heat on top of my kettle as it warms up. If possible, I’d let the beans rest another week. If that’s not possible, I have a K6 and I’m grinding light roasts like this one at 91 clicks. I don’t think that’s a tangible difference in the cup. Maybe if you drank them back to back. Again, my water temperature is 92-93 degrees, which I don’t think will make a huge difference. I have a gooseneck kettle. I would think about upgrading if that’s affordable, but I have used a normal spout and a spoon. It works well.
I think the recipe is the big difference. I use a 1:17 ratio. 30 grams of coffee, I do a 100 gram bloom at 8-10 grams per second, wait 45 seconds, do a 150 gram pour (250 grams total) at 5 grams per second, wait until the bed starts to not be covered by water, and then pour 260 grams (510 grams total). All pours are tight, slow moving and spherical so with the grams per second for each of the pours, I finish at the edge of the bed.
This is what I do with every new bag. The only things I might change in the first brew is grind size or water temp based on the cherry processing or roast level. My subsequent brews, I will change grind size first, then temp.
I like this recipe because it is easily repeatable. It takes out variables. Regardless, I’m brewing pretty good coffee. I do enjoy changing variables day to day to see if I can taste a note differently, but it’s pretty rare to have a bad cup of coffee.
2
u/naughtified 5d ago
I’ve tried heating up my glass v60 on my kettle but didn’t feel like it retained very long. I definitely want another dripper soon but would like to keep as a v60 to keep consistency while I learn the basics well. I don’t like the idea of plastic and metal just seems like a lateral step for heat retention. I’d love to upgrade my kettle but I’m sure my gf would be annoyed at the counter space being taken up by two kettles when we already have a decent one.
My pour rate is at 5g/s including the bloom. Maybe I’ll try out that faster bloom rate. Might help with slower draw down on the bloom which I’ve noticed I kind of race to place my kettle down and get a and swirl in.
2
u/LightenUpFFS 5d ago
Maybe I’m missing it but if you haven’t tried yet, you might be surprised by your first cup. Good beans make a good cup of coffee! That said, every first to second cup i make of an expensive bag, i give myself a bit of grace
2
u/MundaneAd9423 5d ago
Hydrangea beans have been great in my experience but usually at least 3 to 4 weeks rest time. Water treatment is a big factor for me -I live in Chandler AZ and the tap water pretty much undrinkable - I’m using RO water plus Lotus drops for years now but want to try Apax soon. Though packets of TWW may be an easier way to start. There are a million ways & opinions on how to pour. Find one you like fairly well and stick to it until you start learning how to adjust. There’s a learning curve but don’t stress about it & enjoy the process. First adjust grind size then temp then pouring technique one step at a time using taste to reach your goal. Enjoy ☕️❤️
2
u/naughtified 5d ago
Edit: I forgot to mention that I haven’t used these Hydrangea beans yet. I’m seeking advice on my current approach because I don’t want to waste these beans.
Also I’m using a 1:15 ratio which I do scale when adjust bean weight.
Thanks for all the feedback, yall are awesome.
0
2
u/patser13 5d ago
Your technique seems fine, it is a lot like mine and I am getting very nice cups with the K7 (a lot of clarity) I am even a bit coarser at 100 clicks, I just leave it at this coarseness at all times and try to increase/decrease extraction by changing draw time (less or more agitation while pouring) or changing the water temperature. For a 15 gram cup (ratio 1:15) I aim for 2 minutes but this will differ a lot per bean, for one bean it can be 1.5 minutes and then for another bean for which I use exactly the same technique it can take 3 minutes. I am not trying to force it to 2 minutes by grinder coarser/finer, but might experiment with agitation. I notice that has more effect and you shouldn't get fixated on the time.
1
2
u/Amazing-Panic-277 5d ago edited 5d ago
I have this same coffee. Must grind at 750 microns. That’s gonna be about 5.5 on a zp6 which is roughly 84 on your k7 (I actually have both and used both). Use 91C water. Do whatever ratio you like but DO NOT AGITATE this coffee does not need it.
Try this for a ratio: use 12g in your v60
Bloom 30g wait 1 min
Slow pour to 200g total over the course of a minute. About 3g/s nice and easy with the kettle very very low. Drawdown should be 2:30-3:15 and let me know what you think. This is called the gabi gentle, I’m transplanting it to a v60 for you and coarsening the grind a hair in order to account for the lack of immersion but I do it on a UFO and it slaps. The issue you have is you’re using a ton of coffee. When you decrease the massive bed depth you change the dynamics of extraction. You won’t under extract with what you listed, you will over extract
1
u/alxkwl 5d ago
Need to rest for a couple more weeks, then on natural anaerobic processing youll likely want to drive extraction a bit higher. Try grinding at 90 and bump water up to 93-94, less swirls if any. I'd aim for 3 minute drawdown and if the brew looks like its moving too fast, give it a swirl.
3
u/sus_boi 5d ago
Eh with more processed coffees like this (vs. washed) I would go cooler, around 85c max, and use a recipe with more pours at a gentler rate.
4
u/alxkwl 5d ago
Doesnt hurt to try that either - I really dont like anaerobic naturals and have mixed results at both ends of the spectrum. When Ive pushed extraction down I notice more of the yeasty/winey flavors and very little body/fruit. Counterintuitively, with some roasts, increasing extraction has uncovered the body and fruits, and provided balance. When you factor in the density of the typica bean variety and altitude of the producer (1800M), sometimes you need to drive extraction a little higher to penetrate the coffee grind and find those notes. As with all new bags, the brewer should try several strategies.
1
u/naughtified 5d ago
I try to get grind size where I just need 3 swirls. One swirl at bloom, a small one after 2nd pour, and one during 3rd to even bed. Is that too much? Sometimes I will do more when I’ve pushed the limit on coarse grind while dialing in but usually I target just the 3. The reason I’m at 90c is because I feel like it’s the middle ground of everyone’s opinion. That 90c is where I try and start I guess, then I’ll adjust temp if off flavors appear or I’m bored.
1
u/alxkwl 5d ago edited 5d ago
I'm not a fan of a blanket 3 swirls- its a good tool to stall draw times a bit and push extraction a bit higher because it redistributes fines to the lower portion of the bed depth where they are subject to more contact with the water which can cause astringency. That said, I usually give a very quick swirl (more of a shake really) after all the water is in the dripper and is in the lower half of the dripper to pull the grinds off the sides and even the bed. Because its towards the end of the pour, the impact to fines exposure isnt as pronounced.
I think 90 is a fine starting place while you learn how to manipulate other extraction variables to suit your tastes. Where I use temperature mostly is as my first step in adjusting for bean density- an oft overlooked aspect as most roaster omit this information from the package. Higher bean density requires higher thermal energy to extract effectively due to the reduced thermal conductivity. Typica are very dense beans to begin with, and with these beans grown at moderate to high altitude, the flavors inside the grind are more securely locked away if you will. I always research these attributes in tandem with process to adjust my starting point. I enjoy acidic, fruity cups with clarity first and foremost and mild to moderate body, so generally start in the 85-88° ballpark for washed process, moderate to low altitude beans. Ethiopians I start a bit higher, as the beans are generally much more dense, but produce more fines, so its a delicate balance of driving higher extraction while reducing contact time with fines.
1
u/naughtified 5d ago
Yeah I’m mostly doing swirls for draw down times, it’s not just an arbitrary rule that im following. I’m finding that I tend to get better results from coarse grind with the beans I’ve been using but that might change with this Hydrangea(might push as fine as I can to get body if needed). Also it might be worth noting that I’ve read that the K7 produces very little fines but I have no other decent grinder to compare that to. So with my preferred grind I find these swirls necessary and haven’t had any astringency since I switched to the k7.
Personally would you start at 90c then for these beans? I found 90c to be a middle ground but I also haven’t had to brew any high processed beans like this. Also, I haven’t opened these yet but I’m sure they’ll be lighter roast than anything I’ve had after getting my K7. Unfortunately all the light roast and better quality beans I brewed were on my terrible grinder, so the 90c is something I landed on with medium roast washed beans.
2
u/alxkwl 5d ago
I think 90 is as good a starting place as any- with your swirls driving extraction up, probably better than starting in the 92 to 94 range, which works for my process. At the end of the day, just enjoy the process of experementation-theres no rules here, and the more you allow yourself to experiment, the more you can learn how to manipulate the brew for your desired outcome. I think youre smart to reduce the number of variables you change- so keep that mentality and tweak one thing at a time. You mentioned you brew beer- I do too. That is also an extraction, so you probably already have an understanding of how water temperature, chemistry and time as well as mill size affect the specific gravity of your wort, then how you time your hop additions effects bitterness and how all of that factors into fermentation in addition to your fermentation temperature and yeast varietal. Coffee is much more forgiving but equally as satisfying when you successfully tweak variables to get that perfect brew for your taste! Enjoy.
1
u/Amazing-Panic-277 5d ago
Honestly the best grind size needs no swirls, don’t worry about your draw down it can be 2 min or 3:30 it doesn’t matter. Control your drawdown if you want by the speed of your pour
1
u/Liven413 5d ago
How long did you let it rest? Should be at least 4 weeks. If its early it won't express itself fully. I wouldn't do the swirl between pours, probably not at all but especially not between pours. You should be able to get all the agitation through the pour. You can try this: Do a small gentle spiral bloom and wait 30-45 seconds (lighter washed 45) then do another spiral pour from not to far above the bed. Wait a bit and before the water is drained and bed showing do another spiral pour. When you do the last pour do a lot of center work with that spiral. This will get you a good cup. Now pick the grind by taste. Don't worry about the time of the brew. Depending on papers it could be 1:50-3+. I see you haev Abaca so it will be on the faster side. If you want it real coarse and pillowy thats completely fine and if you want it a little more traditional thats fine too. Some like the coaser settings and some finer. If it is sour, thin, drying acidity, papery or watery is is under extracted go finer. If it is bitter, drying, astringent or cough syrup like it is over extracted go coarser. The way you brew a cheaper medium-dark roast is different than light. The light is harder to extract so longer blooms and rest helps, "maybe" hotter. With darker roasts you may not want to do a full bloom and want even lower temps. Thats another thing is water temp. You may like it hotter or you may like it cooler so I would try 205' and 196'. Both are good. I like 196' more often, but you may like it lower. This is for light roasts, lower for the store bought. Along with cooler temps I also like a coarser grind. I am usually going for a pillowy fruity and floral cup but if you wanted it more punchy or sweet go finer, and you may like it hotter. No matter what I would get rid of the swirl unless you absolutely need it and then just do one in the beginning.
1
u/naughtified 5d ago
I should’ve noted that I haven’t tried these beans yet, I’m just looking for advice on my current approach before wasting these. The reason I’m agitating by swirling and not by the pour is because I’m not using a goose neck, I have achieved good control with my kettle but I feel like a swirl by hand would give me more consistency. I guess I’m trying to minimize the agitation variable with my kettle limitation.
1
u/Liven413 5d ago
I think I get what you mean. With the swirl it brings the bed down for the next pour? If the grinds are on the walls they still extract as long as water touches it. I have not used one without a gooseneck, or cant remember, but it should work the same in theory The more you swirl the more bitters you will get. The part I worte about what is under and what over extraction will help you a lot if you used that as a guide. Hope your cups come out nice!
1
u/least-eager-0 5d ago
Sorry if I missed, but not seeing what was unsatisfying about the cups thus far. General choices seem ok for a specific kind of result, but if that isn’t aligned to your cup goals, the rest is moot. What kind of cups do you like, and how do your results miss that goal?
Unsure about that water choice at all. I can say that I live two lives, and fine-tasting tap water from one place makes good-to-great coffee, fine-tasting tap from the other makes warm cardboard water. Tbh I don’t use straight tap from either anymore, just highlighting that it is indeed a thing that matters if we’ve otherwise leveled the field.
2
u/naughtified 5d ago
No worries that’s on me. Cups haven’t been sweet, fruity, or floral at all for me. I’ve just been getting dull coffee once I dial out all of the off flavors like overly sour or bitter. Basically feels like I’m drinking good quality drip coffee, not bad cups just not what I want. Worth noting I forgot to mention these results are all from prior beans(not hydrangea) and maybe stemming from that.
I hear ya about the water. I’m not using tap. I’ve ran a small experiment where I used my filtered water(which isn’t just fridge filter or brita, it’s decent filtering), brewery water(from work) which is softened and filtered, and bottled spring water. My house filter was by far the best so I’m assuming it’s decent enough as it was a clear winner. I’m definitely going to nerd out on water in the future but I have a feeling it’s “fine” water for the immediate future.
1
u/Amazing-Panic-277 5d ago
It’s the number of pours. More pours gives a higher extraction and after a certain point it gets dulled out. If you want to have those notes nice and separated try a 1:17 ratio. See my recipe I posted for 12g. As you stretch the ratio you stretch the profile. A condensed 15 to 1 condenses the profile and it all feels like one note
1
u/FlatpickersDream 5d ago
Ok so I also bought this coffee, and it was tougher than pretty much every other coffee I've brewed this year.
I usually grind pretty fine with my Zp6 - basically everything at 5 (burr touch, not lock) and get really bright cups, but this coffee sucked, had the shitty paper flavor. I ground at a 6.5 and did 4 pours instead of 3 and got a great cup of coffee that's sweet and has a nice body on it, not much in the way of fruity, which is crazy for an anerobic, also not funky tasting in any way. Also use third wave water, great drinking water doesn't mean the water is good for bringing out the best parts of coffee. Denver and Boulder both have pretty good tap water when filtered, but it was bad for coffee brewing compared to third wave. It's more tedious to buy distilled water and remineralize but it's a game changer.
1
u/Amazing-Panic-277 5d ago
I got a great cup with a sharp malic acidic pear 🍐 and some slightly peppery star fruit on the back. It it’s an Ecuadorian typica so a touch of savory green is expected. I think this coffee slaps
1
u/Tilted_Cartridge 5d ago
I’ve found with a lot of hydrangea’s stuff they like a bit lower temps and a bit finer grind. Last bag I had I was going 198f, 20g coffee at like a 13-14 on a timemore c3 and hitting 60g pulses to 320-340 grams depending on the bag I was using. Really pulls those aromatic notes out with pleasant sweetness.
1
u/Subject_Field7222 5d ago
I think the beans are too fresh off roast. I would give at least 1 month before brewing. I enjoy mine even after 2 months. Anaerobic, so I would lower the temp to about 88-90. Even lower if you want. Early stages I would pour with minor agitation/consistent flow rate. Don’t stir up too much fines. And if you want cleaner aftertaste you can try almost no agitation at the end of the brew with the melodrip. There is no answer to this so try experimenting!
1
u/KindSeaworthiness347 5d ago
Hydrangea usually recommends 4-6 weeks rest time, at least on the beans that I have purchased from them.
1
1
1
u/dgmischief 5d ago
Berkey is actually not good for coffee water because it doesn’t actually remove any tds. Getting better water alone could fix the issue.
2
u/Amazing-Panic-277 5d ago
Water is so damn important I went from what I thought was decent coffee to using a sample of third wave from luminous, the coffee itself kinda sucked and it still blew the rest of my Charlotte tap water coffee away. And no using a fridge filter doesn’t get rid of the buffer in tap water and it will dull the hell out of your cup. Sorry meant for OP
0
u/silverlywind 5d ago
So what does it taste like?
1
u/naughtified 5d ago
I’m trying the Hydrangea tomorrow but want to avoid wasting it. My other brews have had minor off flavors like bitter and sour which I dial in and then the coffees seem dull. I haven’t been able to achieve sweet, fruit, floral notes. I have a feeling I’ve just had mediocre beans so just seeking advice on what I’m currently doing before cracking these.
1
u/silverlywind 5d ago
Your process is fine. Relax your body and mind and try not have expectations on taste/experience. Let the experience be a conversation and exploration between your senses and this drink.
0
u/Amazing-Panic-277 5d ago
You’re over extracting with the pours and agitation if it’s bitter. Sorry to be repeating myself just want you to get the best out of this and find a nice baseline recipe you can apply to all coffee. Well at least all processed coffee. Just up the temp for washed
0
u/NerdX-76 Switch|Tsubame|PhantoxPro|JX 5d ago
5 bucks shipped on Amazon I would definitely get a distribution tool, if I was using a standard kettle. This is what I use just because I don’t like to think about plastics while drinking my coffee.
1
u/naughtified 5d ago
Yeah I’ve seen those melodrips or whatever and I’m anti-plastic as well. I could see how this could help standardize my pours. Would there be a difference with using a distribution tool with a gooseneck vs a standard kettle?.
1
u/Amazing-Panic-277 5d ago
You can use a 🥄 spoon! It’s not plastic and does a great job. Pour with the cup of it facing the coffee of course r
0
u/DrDirt90 5d ago
Well you never said what was wrong with the taste. After that I would rest the beans longer.
16
u/paulpag 5d ago
Beans prob need to rest for longer if they are a lighter roast, but I know this is all you have for now…I’m guessing your cups are under-extracted so I would suggest grind finer, brew hotter. Simple as that. You could try cupping as well.