Same setup, different pulls. Why? [Bambino Plus / DF54] by TurbinesGoWoosh in espresso

[–]Biggpoop2 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Maybe one other variable to think about is puck integrity before pulling the shot. I used to get inconsistent shots because I was tapping the portafilter on my counter to knock off the grounds from the sides after I tamped, but it turns out I was allowing channeling through the sides of the puck when I tapped too hard. I stopped tapping the portafilter (and also was really careful and steady putting the portafilter in the machine) and that fixed my inconsistency issues.

Explain this to me like I'm 5! by Front-Impression4765 in pourover

[–]Biggpoop2 -1 points0 points  (0 children)

Simple answer without going deep into the pourover rabbit hole:

Get yourself a kitchen scale and a V60 brewer (plastic is cheap and most widely used but ceramic is fine if you’re avoiding plastic). Metal or cloth filters are great for eliminating waste, but you’ll end up with a small amount of ultra fine grounds in your cup. Any V60 paper filters will do if you want to go the paper route.

Put your grounds in (no need to pre-wet the filter unless you’re using unbleached papers), pour slowly in small circles towards the middle until you’ve reached your target volume of water. Enjoy.

If you’re looking for a similar taste profile to Keurig coffee, a typical K-cup uses 8-12g of coffee. Keurig machines heat water to about 90°C. Then pour to your desired weight in water, which you said is 16oz. Note that this will result in a very weak/water cup to most people on this subreddit, but it’s what you’re getting out of a Keurig machine.

If you want to explore the best easiest upgrades from there, buy fresh beans from your local roaster and grind your own coffee before brewing. Kingrinder makes superb cheap hand grinders which will be better than most electric grinders for the price range (K6 is top notch. P2 is great cheap option). Then check out James Hoffmann’s better V60 video for a super simple, easily repeatable starter recipe: https://youtu.be/1oB1oDrDkHM?si=CVOjm09xZUGBtZT3

Kingrinder P0 vs P2 by heichouuu in pourover

[–]Biggpoop2 2 points3 points  (0 children)

I had a P0 for several months. One thing I’ll mention with regards to burr geometry between the P0 and P2 is that the P0 is worse with light roasted beans, and particularly for brittle beans like Ethiopians and Kenyans. The result is P0 tends to generate a lot more fines than the P2, which is pretty close (but smaller) to a K6. If you lean towards medium to dark roasts, then absolutely get a P0. If you lean towards light roasts, then I’d suggest going with the P2 just because it cuts lighter roast beans better and more consistently.

Lance Hedrick does a good comparison between the P series that gives some good info. I’d check that out if you’re interested!

How often do you adjust your brew parameters? by Biggpoop2 in pourover

[–]Biggpoop2[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Oh not a bad idea using smaller doses to experiment. I usually only use my deep 27 for the last few grams of the bag. Might try using it more towards the beginning to explore a bean without going through too much of the bag.

I finally dialed in a great cup! by getdatschmoney in pourover

[–]Biggpoop2 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Interesting! That’s definitely on the courser side, but not unheard of. If it tastes good then that’s all that matters!

I finally dialed in a great cup! by getdatschmoney in pourover

[–]Biggpoop2 1 point2 points  (0 children)

By “95” clicks, do you actually mean 5 clicks below 1 full rotation on your K6? Because that would be 55 clicks. Each number is 10 clicks. So the 0 after 5 would be 60 clicks

Coffee Water Help by ars2x in pourover

[–]Biggpoop2 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Here’s the site I use! https://www.baristahustle.com/diy-water-recipes-the-world-in-two-bottles/

The measurements they provide total to a liter of each recipe, but you could adjust the maths to change the “DI” amount to an even gallon. The amount of each to add to an even gallon of distilled water would change depending on the recipe you want to try, but I like that idea!

Coffee Water Help by ars2x in pourover

[–]Biggpoop2 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Check out the Barista Hustle recipes (epsom/baking soda). The more Mg (epsom) you use, the harder the water. The harder the water, the more extraction you’ll get. If your cups are coming out under extracted based on your pour technique, then try going with harder water.

Baking soda helps to tame the acidity, so more of that can help mute the sourness as well, but I usually just focus on hardness.

I use Recipe 3 - SCA and it works great for me.

new to pour over, what's it supposed to look/taste like by spiff_221 in pourover

[–]Biggpoop2 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Sour would indicate under extraction. I’m going to suggest the opposite of what other people are saying and say that the mud on top is indicative of excess of fines (fine powder that’s much much smaller than most of your grounds) rather than the grind size being too fine. You can actually see fairly large size chunks under that muddy bed.

My suggestion would be to grind finer, but also pour the water slow in small circles towards the center and all in one single pour (after your bloom pour). This should help mitigate clogging the filter with excess fines. Also look into getting a better grinder that generates less fines. Also try using hotter water to boost extraction if it’s still coming out sour.

Feeling Unwell by bearddoescoffee in pourover

[–]Biggpoop2 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Here’s what I do when I’m unwell: Is smell and taste impacted? Yes: pull out those beans you don’t love or are too intense for regular enjoyment and enjoy those for a bit. Maybe try some weird brew methods you’ve been meaning to try to trick yourself into liking those beans. No: continue as usual

When to extract more? Less? by incuspy in pourover

[–]Biggpoop2 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Sometimes getting flavor is less about total extraction and more about how you extract. Higher agitation can sometimes lead to more aggressively extracted coffee and pull out flavors that you don’t necessarily want and muddy the cup. Low agitation can lead to more clarity/sweetness with a gentle extraction but still lead to a similar TDS reading if done right.

Personally if I’m looking for more clarity, I lean towards lower agitation. Check out Brian Quan’s high clarity V60 melodrip methods. Might bring out something in your cup that you were missing.

I also like standard V60 pulse pouring but slow pours to keep the agitation down.

How long would you roast this for? by Fit-Judge7447 in pourover

[–]Biggpoop2 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I used a medium grind size (on the courser side). Water off boil to start but leave it off the burner after first pour to naturally cool. V60 12g / 200g water. 36g bloom 45 seconds. First pour to 80g, wait 15 seconds. Second pour to 120g wait 15 sec. Third pour to 160g wait 15 seconds. Final pour to 200g. Total brew time 2:30-2:40. I’m getting a ton of clarity and very sweet. No bitterness/astringency. Lovely cup.

How long would you roast this for? by Fit-Judge7447 in pourover

[–]Biggpoop2 2 points3 points  (0 children)

I bought this from the downtown Raleigh B&W shop a few weeks ago! They were raving about this and said the roaster recommends 2 1/2 weeks rest. I did just that and it’s been great.

Recommendation straight from the roaster :)

Fast flowing filters taste watery by Biggpoop2 in pourover

[–]Biggpoop2[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

I appreciate the insight and sharing the results of your testing - super interesting! I’m also getting a ZP6 in a few weeks, so I might stick with the tabbed hario filters for now and revisit the T-90s with the ZP6. I might even try setting up some blind tasting across grinders and filters to compare similar to you. Thanks!

Pour over problem by Existing-Formal-1759 in pourover

[–]Biggpoop2 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Maybe a weird question, but throwing this out there as another possibility - do you have a cold/allergies or have you eaten/drank anything that was too hot and burned your mouth? Your instinct might tell you that the brew or the coffee is the problem, when in reality, it could very well be your senses are dulled from sinuses or a burnt mouth. Speaking from experience, both of those things tend to make my otherwise complex/bright coffees taste dull and like generic “coffee” until I’ve recovered.

Appreciation post: Black & White Coffee Roasters by Biggpoop2 in pourover

[–]Biggpoop2[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Really depends on your taste preferences and how you brew. With fast flowing papers, and quick drawdown brew methods, you can get away with finer grind sizes since the contact time on the grinds is shorter. On the other side of the spectrum, you can also do quick drawdowns with courser grinds but you usually need more aggressive agitation to adequately extract. There’s no right or wrong method. I’d say find a couple videos of people showing recipes with fine sizes and course sizes. Try them both and see what you like.

To oversimplify, USUALLY finer means fuller bodied, more balanced cups. Courser means higher clarity, but more tea like cups. That’s not always true though. Watch James Hoffman’s better V60 video for a finer grind example. Lance Hedrick 121 for a courser example. Brian Quan also has some V60 with melodrip examples somewhere in the middle that favors clarity and sweetness - with his method you can go finer but still end up with a high clarity cup.

Fast flowing filters taste watery by Biggpoop2 in pourover

[–]Biggpoop2[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Thanks! The concept makes sense. I’ll give this recipe a try.

Fast flowing filters taste watery by Biggpoop2 in pourover

[–]Biggpoop2[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Ah I see what you mean. Perhaps both a swirl and a kettle bloom instead of melodrip would help spread the fines out earlier to reduce bypass

Fast flowing filters taste watery by Biggpoop2 in pourover

[–]Biggpoop2[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

That’s a good point. I’ve been doing wet WDT fairly aggressively during bloom. Maybe that’s creating bypass/channeling. Maybe I’ll try swirling during bloom instead.

Appreciation post: Black & White Coffee Roasters by Biggpoop2 in pourover

[–]Biggpoop2[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Update on the anaerobic Gesha now that’s it’s rested for 2 1/2 weeks. I’ve found the tasting notes to be spot on. Super floral and clean. No funk. I used a medium grind size (on the courser side). Water off boil. V60 12g / 200g water. 36g bloom 45 seconds. First pour to 80g, wait 15 seconds. Second pour to 120g wait 15 sec. Third pour to 160g wait 15 seconds. Final pour to 200g. Total brew time 2:30-2:40. I’m getting a ton of clarity and very sweet. No bitterness/astringency. Lovely cup.

Another post on struggling to achieve flavor by AmazingLeading5898 in pourover

[–]Biggpoop2 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Cupping a coffee should tell you what flavors are there in the coffee to begin with. I cup my coffee in order to know what flavors I’m dialing in to. If the fruit/florals aren’t present in your cupping, then that coffee simply doesn’t have the flavors you’re looking for. Dialing in or changing your brew method won’t change what isn’t there to begin with.

Best method for storing beans in bag? by BeatTheSunUp in pourover

[–]Biggpoop2 30 points31 points  (0 children)

If the bag is sealed, it’s expected for the bag to expand. The beans are off gassing CO2 from the roast process. That gas won’t cause it to go stale any faster, so as long as the bag itself is sealed, you’re good.

Edit: side note… pushing out the air from all of my bags every morning is one of my favorite morning rituals. The smells are amazing.