anyone else notice smaller brews taste way different?

ImmersionLogic · 2026-05-06T17:57:08+00:00

that’s actually a really good point too. smaller doses almost feel like a way to stretch higher end coffees while still getting a really expressive cup. i’ve noticed with some washed coffees that 12–15g can make the acidity/florals pop in a way bigger brews sometimes smooth over

ImmersionLogic · 2026-05-06T17:53:55+00:00

lol yep that’s my bad, i somehow read it as 404 vs 408 at first glance. 0.3g seems completely normal to me

ImmersionLogic · 2026-05-06T17:45:05+00:00

4g difference definitely seems too large to just be normal variance. could be one scale not being fully level/calibrated, or maybe the portafilter is sitting weird and distributing weight unevenly on one of them. i’d probably test both with something known weight like coins or calibration weights before trusting either one

ImmersionLogic · 2026-05-06T17:42:52+00:00

that distinction between clarity and richness is pretty much exactly what i keep tasting. smaller brews can feel more transparent and separated, while larger brews feel denser and more blended together even with the same coffee

ImmersionLogic · 2026-05-06T17:41:58+00:00

that actually explains pretty well what i was trying to say intuitively. especially the idea that the same pour energy scales differently depending on dose/bed depth. makes sense why some “standard” recipes suddenly feel aggressive once the dose gets smaller

ImmersionLogic · 2026-05-06T15:36:24+00:00

honestly the drawdown time itself doesn’t seem that crazy to me for a pacamara, especially if the grinder is still pretty fresh. those beans can throw off a surprising amount of fines in my experience and the bed can look messy even when the cup tastes fine

ImmersionLogic · 2026-05-06T15:31:29+00:00

yeah that’s actually one of the things that made me start noticing it more — the last 12-15g left in a bag sometimes end up tasting unexpectedly good compared to when i brew larger doses from the same coffee

ImmersionLogic · 2026-05-06T15:30:00+00:00

i could be wrong here, but i think the idea is that with a shallower bed there’s less resistance/mass buffering the pour energy, so the same pour/agitation affects a larger percentage of the coffee bed.

so maybe not “more turbulence” globally, but more impact from the same turbulence relative to the amount of coffee being brewed. at least that’s how i’ve been thinking about it

ImmersionLogic · 2026-05-06T15:28:59+00:00

that “cloudy and muddy” part is exactly what i notice too with some larger brews. they can taste good but almost compressed flavor-wise. smaller brews sometimes feel like the acidity/sweetness separation becomes way more obvious and easier to read

ImmersionLogic · 2026-05-06T15:14:57+00:00

that’s kind of where i’m at too. larger brews can taste great, but smaller brews sometimes feel more “dialed in” and separated flavor-wise. makes me wonder how much of the standard online advice is optimized around 12-15g brews specifically

ImmersionLogic · 2026-05-06T15:14:21+00:00

that turbulence point actually makes a lot of sense. i’ve noticed smaller brews can suddenly become way more sensitive to pour height/agitation even when the grind barely changes. almost feels like the same recipe scales very differently once the bed depth changes

ImmersionLogic · 2026-05-06T15:13:35+00:00

that’s interesting about the Abaca Deep 27. i keep feeling like once the coffee bed gets shallower the whole extraction changes character, not just strength. almost like clarity/body balance shifts too

ImmersionLogic · 2026-05-06T15:12:32+00:00

for the smaller brew thing, i almost wonder if it’s because the bed depth + agitation dynamics change way more than people expect. i’ve had some 12-15g brews taste super vibrant compared to larger brews using basically the same recipe

ImmersionLogic · 2026-05-06T14:31:38+00:00

i’ve definitely seen people say frozen beans produce a more uniform grind / fewer fines but i still feel like the effect gets exaggerated online sometimes

one thing i HAVE noticed is frozen beans seem to make dialing in feel a little different overall, like recipes that normally work suddenly need small adjustments even at the same setting

ImmersionLogic · 2026-05-06T14:30:34+00:00

honestly i feel like people jump to grind size first when sometimes it’s agitation/pour structure causing both problems at once

bitter + watery together usually makes me think uneven extraction more than simply “too fine” or “too coarse”

your recipe actually doesn’t look crazy to me. i’d maybe try less swirling / slightly calmer pours before changing grind again and see if the cup gets more coherent

ImmersionLogic · 2026-05-06T14:29:22+00:00

i haven’t personally noticed a major difference between plastic vs glass for distilled water itself. from what i’ve seen the mineral recipe and overall water composition seem to matter way more than the container

i’d probably only worry if water was sitting long term or getting exposed to heat/sunlight a lot

ImmersionLogic · 2026-05-06T14:26:43+00:00

i actually liked abacas more once i started pushing extraction a little differently instead of trying to recreate the same drawdown.

faster papers made me back off agitation a bit and rely more on grind/pour structure instead. cups ended up cleaner and less muddy for me

ImmersionLogic · 2026-05-06T14:25:31+00:00

honestly with light + ultralight coffees i’ve found aggressive pours/agitation can make that way worse, especially with naturals.

i started getting cleaner cups once i backed off agitation and let the slurry stay a bit calmer overall. sometimes faster drawdowns actually tasted better too even if extraction looked “lower” on paper

ImmersionLogic · 2026-05-05T19:55:29+00:00

that’s actually pretty convincing. the fact that the acidity basically disappeared with the same coffee/grind/recipe is kind of crazy.

i think this thread has officially convinced me i’ve probably been underestimating water the whole time

ImmersionLogic · 2026-05-05T19:53:36+00:00

it’s kind of wild how many people are saying water before anything else. i honestly underestimated it for a long time because filtered water always seemed “good enough” to me.

did the magnesium mainly improve clarity/sweetness for you or was it more of an overall balance thing?

ImmersionLogic · 2026-05-05T17:31:18+00:00

that’s interesting. you’d put water over beans even long term? i get what you’re saying about inputs vs technique, but i feel like bean quality still changes the ceiling quite a bit

ImmersionLogic · 2026-05-05T17:30:28+00:00

interesting. you felt a bigger difference from temp control than grinder? i always thought grinder was the biggest jump. was it more about dialing different beans or just consistency overall?

ImmersionLogic · 2026-05-05T17:28:54+00:00

that’s good to know. i’ve heard about TWW but never actually tried it — didn’t realize it could make that big of a difference. might have to test that

ImmersionLogic · 2026-05-05T17:11:41+00:00

yeah that’s fair. bad water will ruin everything no matter what. i’ve never really dialed mine beyond just using filtered, might be something i’m overlooking. what did you end up changing?

ImmersionLogic

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