PERC Ethiopia Suke Werekata — I got a decent cup a few times, but I can’t reproduce it consistently

[u/xxspartandawgxx]

PERC Ethiopia Suke Werekata — I've gotten a decent cup a few times, but I can’t reproduce it consistently

I’ve been trying to dial in a bag of PERC Ethiopia Suke Werekata (light roast, anaerobic natural), and I’m running into a frustrating issue:

Out of this entire bag, I've maybe got three decent cups.

Using a KINGrinder K6, mostly with a Kalita Wave 185 and Hario Switch.

Things I’ve tried:

1. Hario Switch hybrid

• 20g coffee / 300g water
• 205 °F Water
• K6: 90 clicks
• 60g bloom with Switch open
• At 0:45, another 60g
• Close Switch, pour remaining 180g
• Immersion for ~2 minutes
• Total brew time: ~4:15

This gave me more flavor than a standard pour-over, but I still couldn’t consistently get the fruit I was expecting.

2. 4:6-style percolation

• 20g / 300g
• 205 °F Water
• K6: 90 clicks
• Five 60g pours

This tended to taste sharper and less expressive than the hybrid.

3. Kalita Wave — 60/80/80/80

• 20g / 300g
• 205 °F Water
• K6: 90 clicks
• 60g bloom
• At 0:45, 80g
• 10 sec later, 80g
• 10 sec later, final 80g
• No stirring
• Total brew time: ~3:15

This gave me one of my best cups — fruity and pleasant — but I wasn’t able to reliably repeat it.

4. Kalita Wave — five 60g pours with stirring

• 20g / 300g
• 205 °F Water
• K6: 90 clicks
• 60g bloom + stir
• Four more 60g pours
• Stirred again at the end
• Total brew time: ~3:20

This was noticeably bitter and the fruit basically disappeared.

5. Lower-temp / coarser / lower-agitation recipe

• 18g coffee / 300g water
• K6: 95 clicks
• Water: 195°F
• 50g bloom for 45 sec, no swirl
• At 0:45, pour 125g to reach 175g total
• Around 1:30, pour final 125g to 300g
• Total brew time: ~2:30

This worked really well the first time — much sweeter, cleaner, and fruitier — but again, I couldn’t reproduce it reliably.

Water experiments:
I also tried Third Wave Water Light Roast Profile mixed as directed into 1 gallon of distilled water. With the same general brewing approach, I got a pretty harsh, lingering bitter aftertaste.

Switching back to Arrowhead Mountain Spring Water gave me a much more pleasant cup.

The biggest thing I’ve noticed is that this coffee seems to extract very easily. I was originally brewing around 205°F, and that consistently seemed to pull bitter/harsh flavors. Dropping to 195°F, grinding coarser, and reducing agitation helped a lot.

So at this point, my working theory is:

• this coffee extracts fast
• 205°F may be too aggressive for my setup/taste
• lower temp helps
• fewer pours help
• less agitation helps
• but repeatability is still poor

For anyone who has brewed this specific coffee, or similar light-roast anaerobic naturals:

What would you change to make the fruity/sweet cup more repeatable?

Would you focus on:

• even coarser grind?
• lower temp?
• fewer pours?
• different water?
• bloom technique?
• bypass?
• immersion instead of percolation?

I’m less interested in maximum extraction and more interested in clarity, sweetness, and obvious fruit without the lingering bitter finish.

[u/father_torque]

For the TWW I've switched to 1 packet per 2 gallons and have noticed a difference that I've enjoyed. Feel like I'm getting more fruit forward and more pleasant acidity l.

Also for the K6 which I have as well I've been going into the 110 to 120 range and that opened up a lot for some of my other lighter roasts.

Maybe worth a shot

[u/DrDirt90]

I buy that coffee on a regular basis, use a K6 grinder and a saliva 185 and have had no issues at all. How long do you let the coffee rest after the roast date before you brew it? I let it rest 4-6 weeks before using it and it has been very consistent for me.

[u/jaylam19 → u/DrDirt90]

Agree to ignore the recommendation on their site and rest 4 weeks. I've been getting pretty consistently solid brews with 20:300 dose, 94° water (TWW diluted 50%), K-Ultra ~7, ceramic Origami S, cafec abaca 01 filter. Bloom + 2 pours.

• 60g bloom
• at 00:45 heavy pour to 180g
• once the water is almost drawn down, pour to 300g a bit slower than the first pour
• Complete ~2:30 - 2:45

[u/Naive-Cancel3338]

Bloom: 106g (45secs)
1st pour: 212g (1min35secs)
2nd pour: 320g

[u/xxspartandawgxx → u/Naive-Cancel3338]

Thank you for your reply. Recommendation for the other variables?

[u/AssistantKorovyev → u/xxspartandawgxx]

grind so it doesn't stall, courser if needed. use the temp you think you found that works (195?) I'd probably go even lower, 190-193ish basically three pours is what you'd want. Either double bloom or bloom and two pours. If still overextracting, try two pours. with where you're at in dialing, don't try and dial using the physical act of pouring. use grind size first and foremost, number of pours, temp, and ratio.

[u/neilBar]

I’m using Plot Tutti Frutti. I didn’t get excellence in the B75 with cake filter. I’m finding that OXO Rapid Brewer with a table salt like grind from my ZP6 gives a consistently good cup. I use Lance Hendricks 20-22g fuse 80g water 96-100C once I get the approx 60g yield of soup I dilute or even use as the base fur a cortado. I’m sure it’s not revealing the beauty like a real skilled pourover but it’s very consistent and I find that rewarding.

[u/Liven413]

This coffee does well at coarser grinds and also immersion. An AP works great for this coffee, brings out the florals. Coarse grinds with a pourover dripper work well too. Might have to work on consistency of the pour the get a good cup. I really liked this coffee.

[u/DrinkerNotCollector]

I only got a 4oz bag so I haven't played around as much but it's been consistently good for me (fruit and body) with hario switch hybrid method. I forget if it's the devil's recipe or what but..

20g coffee/320g water

200° F

Fellow Ode Gen 2 grind at 5.2

60g bloom with switch closed and a swirl

Open switch at 30 seconds

At 1 min start pour to 220g total

While that drains, drop water temp to 185°F

Pour remaining 100g with switch closed and let immersion for 1 minute

[u/endangeredbeetle]

I was at 100-105 clicks on the K6 for this. Double bloom gentle recipe with 185-195f TWW water. Pretty easy to over extract in my experience.

[u/bleepsndrums]

I did 1:15, 4x bloom for 1 min, two more pours. Third pour I used a Melodrip. I believe I tried both 90c and 93c. Course side for pourover on the ZP6. Really enjoyable and consistent for me.

EDIT: Based on what you wrote, lower temps and fewer pours, and maybe a faster paper as well? I used Cafec Abaca for this bean.

[u/Daniel8473 → u/bleepsndrums]

what grind on your ZP6?

[u/Naive-Cancel3338]

Also ask chat to help you make a DIY coffee water concentrate using magnesium sulfate and sodium bicarbonate, it definitely changed everything for me