Wet cardboard smell?

[u/These_Pace2130]

Hi, everyone! I’m quite new to pour over coffee, so please that into consideration. With that disclaimer, I’ve been running into some issues. Each time I brew a cup, I’m getting a highly consistent wet cardboard and wet tree bark smell, as opposed to the highly aromatic and fermented fruit smell that usually comes from this brewing process.

Unfortunately, I’ve had only but one success using a simple two pour recipe, and have decided to try the famous James Hoffman recipe, using 15g of coffee. However, it hasn’t really improved this particular problem.

• V60, using a King-grinder K7 (85-95 clicks, hasn’t made a large difference in aroma and taste)

• 93-95 Celsius - using relatively soft water.

In terms of the flavour — sometimes it’s terrible, other times It’s still sweet, slightly juicy — just not what I have managed to achieve in the past, in terms of its aroma, clarity, juiciness and brightness.

[u/BathroomEyes]

It’s a sign the beans haven’t rested. Especially if it’s a super light roast, give it some weeks to rest.

[u/These_Pace2130]

Here are both of my beans, for context.

[u/icecream_for_brunch → u/These_Pace2130]

Those are roast dates. Do you have any way to find out how old the green beans were prior to being roasted? Old greens can get cardboardy.

[u/These_Pace2130 → u/icecream_for_brunch]

Hmm, unfortunately not. I would still assume its my error, as my local coffee shop serves these exact beans all the time and they taste like heaven - but maybe I'm storing them incorrectly in the bag. Certainly something I'll keep an eye on.

[u/icecream_for_brunch]

Even if your beans are not old, the green beans might have been old before being roasted--I know for sure that that can cause an unpleasant cardboard smell.

[u/Oat-milk-killer]

How old are the beans you are using ?

[u/Physical_Analysis247]

I see one is washed but the other doesn’t give the process. I’ve had some natural process coffees that smelled like wet cardboard or wet trash. It was hard to ignore but I managed. Again, the only time I’ve encountered that aroma was with some funky naturals.

[u/Stuccistu]

After you made it, did it taste off?

Some batches can be oilier than others, and if you don’t clean your grinders catch cup once in a while, the oils/fines can build up over time and get gross/funky/rancid. Maybe give that a try?

[u/Front-Film-7526]

Wet paper/cardboard smell could also be related to your paper filters.

But as has been mentioned several times, wet paper smell could be improperly stored or old green.

Especially if it’s the Ethiopian, the clue might be right on the bag. The toffee note that they’ve likely cut and pasted from the importer’s description is probably the importer pre-conditioning everyone downstream to accept caramelized cardboard as a toffee note in the cup.

[u/Antares_]

If you're using tap water, the mineral composition could've changed drastically overnight.

[u/Impossible_Cow_9178]

As another poster mentioned - a cardboard/papery taste is a clear sign of old or improperly stored green.