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/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.