I wouldn’t expect this to be the case because the distribution is pretty wide and parts of it start running into the boundaries when you move it up or down. Say at 800 um median we have a 200 um standard deviation. Assuming the distribution is roughly normal, nearly all of the particles should fall between 200 and 1,400 um which seems close enough for a thought experiment. Now shift the center of that distribution left to 500 um, and something on the lower end has to give because it can’t go below zero. Similar thing at the top where we have a maximum opening of the burr aperture.
That’s a simplified version and I think it’s actually way more complicated than that. The thing you’re saying about different coffee seeds producing different distributions seems true to me also, as do mechanical load effects like popcorning or RPM variation.
Competition blends don’t even taste like coffee to me. I mean they taste great and have the caffeine kick I need but any preconceived notion of how coffee is supposed to taste needs to go out the window. When I hear dorks like Hoffman talk about notes of this and that, I assume that this is what they’re tasting most of the time rather than the pour over stuff I make.
Yeah that’s pretty much what coffee tastes like when it’s not overroasted. If you want to try something that has more of a traditional North American coffee flavor but isn’t charcoal, there are options for that. Most Brazilian coffees I’ve had are generally mild without tons of fruit or acidity even when light roasted. Think of the best “normal” cup of coffee you’ve ever had except with no bitterness, and then usually you can find a clear note or two of chocolate, caramel, baking spices, almond, or maybe a malic fruit like apple. It’s strange because if you try coffee from any of the neighboring countries to Brazil, they are generally much more acidic and fruity. Good Sumatran light / mediums generally fall in this category too.
Haha did you take a look at that paper he linked? It’s referred to in the literature as Killer et al. (2014), which I only picked up on by reading another paper that cites it. Curiosity got the best me and I had to see what this Killer looks like:
Happy Mug doesn’t always have the best selection, but right now they have a few rare ones: a Colombia pink bourbon ($5 / 4oz) and a Yemen mokka ($12 / 12 oz). These are both strange coffees in low supply that usually cost way more from en vogue roasters. I’ve “cupped” both so far as micro-V60s and while the mokka is different and pleasant, the pink bourbon is crazy. Don’t even think my extractions were that great and yet the essence of both varieties was extremely clear, and shocking in the case of the bourbon. Tastes (and smells) like candy flowers.
By comparison, Onyx currently has a pink bourbon for $20 / 4 oz with a green cost of $9/lb from Cofinet. I’ve seen HM’s green source and price and don’t think they are paying way less than that. Maybe the Onyx one cups better, but no way it’s FOUR TIMES better at that price. My point is that $5 / 4 oz seems like a steal for the super hype pink bourbon that appears to be emerging as a contender to gesha. Its profile certainly reminds me of the better geshas I’ve had.
Looks like the pink bourbon is already gone. The Yemen Mokka is still up and well worth the price if you want to try something unusual that normally costs way more than $12. I find it easy to brew and would be a good choice for people who like more traditional-tasting coffees (@d10,@Cactus). The acidity is there but pretty mild, and the main presentation is a malty coffee with some unusual flavors; reminds me of non-fruity Ethiopians I’ve had. Shipping is $3 (or free @ $40 order) which isn’t bad, but not quite as great of a deal if you’re just ordering one 12 oz bag.
I also noticed that B&W has a pink bourbon in stock although I haven’t tried this one. Appears to be a blend of three different pink b’s and is $20 / 12 oz. The tasting notes sound dramatic but I don’t believe they’re an exaggeration based on the one I’m currently having, which also has a strong lemonade aroma and prominent candied lemonade note. Tastes nothing like “coffee” in the traditional sense at all.
NOTES | LEMONADE, MANGO, RASPBERRY CANDY
The whole tasting experience reminds us of a raspberry lemonade slushy
Thanks, I’ll try it out. I’m interested in any unique light roasts, I’m going fully down the rabbit hole. It’s my girlfriend who wants the traditional dark roasts. It would be good to find something we can both tolerate though so I can just brew one carafe. I’ll try the mokka and a couple other bags for myself. I need to start doing more mail order stuff cause my local shop is good but they’re charging $20/12 oz and it’s not that good.
Aaand it’s gone. Dunno if you got an order in or not but 3/4 bags I ordered from there recently are no longer for sale. Two are generally expensive and super rare, the other was a La Minita microlot. People know what’s up and buy the good stuff quickly. This guy’s prices are insanely low, and it’s not like he’s sourcing inferior beans or roasting on inferior equipment. I wish he’d start doing some ultralights.
I got an order confirmation a couple hours ago for a 2 lb bag. Hopefully their online system stays current on actual inventory and I don’t get any follow up emails saying sorry actually we’re sold out.
I’ve never had that happen and been ordering there for years. They’re always my backup just because it’s so cheap and I usually have a bag or three in the freezer in case I run out of coffee. The shipping is generally super fast too. Lately it’s been 2 days max for me and I think you’re closer to them than I am. I’ve even received it next day a few times.
Not gonna lie, B&W has been mostly misses for me in 2022. Not sure what’s going on but I seem to struggle with just about every bag from there now. It’s not that the coffees are bad, I just haven’t been able to get anything remarkable to happen with them. Not sure if it’s just bad luck or something they changed with the roasts. They definitely seem to have switched to a lot of anaerobic and those have certainly given me fits, but even my latest order with a traditional washed and natural wouldn’t do anything spectacular in my hands.
Not sure if anyone else has this problem with pour overs, but my grounds soak the water much quicker than in any of the videos I watch on pour over brewing. I had one type of bean where I could see it bubbling during the bloom, but using a more common brand, it’s like there is no blooming process. The water is soaked into the grounds right away and it seems like I’m just staring at it for 30 seconds for nothing
No, try grinding finer. If it still doesn’t bubble then the CO2 has already escaped. Also, some coffees soak up water like a sponge, whereas others seem to take on almost no water at all. In my experience, it’s the second type that tends to produce incredible V60s with ease. I’m still trying to figure out why.
Interesting. These beans are not old and I store them in a dark place. My brew today came out somewhat different (and better imo). So many variables. I used 20g coffee/300g water. I didn’t make the well this time, but made sure the grounds were even. I poured 50g water for the bloom (and again the grounds soaked it up immediately and no bubbles), but I waited 30 seconds and began the 2nd pour to 150g. Waited until that went down then did the last pour to 300g. The pouring process (including bloom time) took just under 2 minutes. How do these people make it last 3 minutes and longer? Took maybe another 30 seconds for the drip to be done coming in at 2:30 total time
This pour didn’t taste at all acidic and had a nice smooth flavor, which I liked. I’m still looking for another good morning bean/roast. Was disappointed I missed out on that Yeman Mokka. I’ll keep shopping
I don’t worry about total time that much. Generally though, the more you agitate, the longer it takes to drain, but that depends on the coffee and the filter paper. If you pour with a slower flow rate and keep the water level lower, that will increase the drawdown time. I still suspect you may not be grinding fine enough, but ultimately the only thing that matters is taste.
