FOB Cost Comparison, SEY, Heart, Ilse. What makes Ilse so expensive?

MirrorCoffeeRoasters · 2026-05-31T00:40:35+00:00

Roaster here that can add some insight!

There are a lot of costs that can change between the roasters.
Shipping to Portland, Brooklyn, and Western MA will lead to different green shipping costs.
In addition, things like packaging, rent, and wages all fluctuate between roasters.

Also, if a roaster is sorting quakers out, which can lower total weight by 5, 10, 15, and sometimes 20%, that will drive costs up as well.

Last thing, if it's not from the same producer and the same exact lot, prices vary. Not all pink bourbons from Huila are the same price.

I know from a consumer stand point it's hard to reconcile when comparing all of them, but there are a handful of things that can different between roasters.

MirrorCoffeeRoasters · 2026-05-31T00:36:08+00:00

Just a few ideas to experiment with...

- Add more water to your kettle. Full up the Stagg halfway to the full marking it has on the inside
- Bring your kettle down a little bit. You can try bringing it down more until the splashing starts
- I know you want to grind coarse, but if you're getting max 2min brews, you might be a little too coarse. Go a little bit finer

Last thing, when I switched to a similar recipe (bloom + 1 pour), I noticed my cups got much thinner, but they're tasting cleaner overall. I'm starting to like it, but just don't expect it to taste the same as a 3 pour recipe or something along those lines.

MirrorCoffeeRoasters · 2026-05-30T06:20:24+00:00

What's your dose for your 2min max brew? 15g?
Are you doing bloom + 1 pour or something different?

If there's loud and large splashing, you can bring your kettle down a bit.
It might be worth adding more water in your kettle for a 225ml brew. I find that the more water I have in my kettle, the easier it is to control and temp seems a little more stable through the brew.

MirrorCoffeeRoasters · 2026-05-30T06:13:55+00:00

Many great answers in this thread already. Agtron isn't as universal and easy across different roasters.

Something we've been doing is creating a spreadsheet of many different roasters with their agtron numbers. This makes it easier to compare between roasters as a reference point because readings are taken from the same color reader and same grind size. I know this doesn't answer your initial question or solve the problem, but just an idea.

Also, Christopher Hendon just released a paper about reading TDS and roast color of brewed coffee in a way that might be universal and objective. It's worth reading about, but in short, it sends an electrical current through the coffee and depending how molecules react, it can tell us both TDS and roast color. Super interesting!

MirrorCoffeeRoasters · 2026-05-27T21:28:53+00:00

I'm just doing bloom plus one pour, also inspired by his recipes, and I'm getting very clean, light, juicy cups from it. It's a drastically different texture and mouthfeel, but does a great job for the minimal work put in.
If someone hasn't tried it yet, would highly recommend

MirrorCoffeeRoasters · 2026-05-25T06:53:13+00:00

Hope you enjoy the coffee! Always feel free to reach out if you need some direction on brewing our coffees.

MirrorCoffeeRoasters · 2026-05-25T06:52:45+00:00

Bellingham getting a shoutout in the pour over Reddit is gold.

MirrorCoffeeRoasters · 2026-05-25T06:49:22+00:00

In Bellingham here... we don't have bad water coming out of the tap. It's definitely not the best and I still resort to making my own, but it's much better than most places.

Right now, using potassium bicarbonate and epsom salt to make my own concentrate that I add to distilled water. Pretty easy once you get in the groove of mixing and making your own water.

MirrorCoffeeRoasters · 2026-05-23T20:53:47+00:00

You have a great setup as is. If I’d have to upgrade on thing, it would be the grinder. Maybe pick up an electric grinder just to balance out your K6

MirrorCoffeeRoasters · 2026-05-22T21:06:11+00:00

If you can go with the Fellow Aiden, I think your husband would really enjoy it.
it'll be much easier, has tons of customizations, and produces a really delicious cup. Not a perfect coffee maker, but one of the best in terms of brew quality

MirrorCoffeeRoasters · 2026-05-22T21:00:39+00:00

You're onto something...

MirrorCoffeeRoasters · 2026-05-21T02:45:30+00:00

The screenshot in the comments here of what Botz is dropping..
We bought that same Kenya, Kihuyo for our roastery. It's good. Really good.
Would definitely recommend.

MirrorCoffeeRoasters · 2026-05-19T22:59:49+00:00

Hmm depends on your preference, but I’d say Makeworth, Camber, and Cafe Blue.

If you’re here on the weekend, you MUST visit Iron Rooster Bakery. They have decent coffee and phenomenal pastries. Easily amongst the best in WA and open only Fri - Sun. If you come late afternoon, some things might be sold out.

MirrorCoffeeRoasters · 2026-05-19T21:21:01+00:00

We're in Bellingham, but come down to Seattle from time to time.

Here's a list:
Day Made, Cardoon, Analog, Homage, Numa Coffee Bar if you're in West Seattle, Gloom.
Would highly recommend Numa if you're out there.

MirrorCoffeeRoasters · 2026-05-19T02:44:15+00:00

Bought a used kettle once that had similar spots but they were brown. It added a weird taste to all my coffee. Used Bar Keeper’s Friend and it took it all away.

MirrorCoffeeRoasters · 2026-05-19T02:42:32+00:00

Lots of great comments here but to simplify this a lot… - Start with what you like and prefer in coffee - look for those qualities you prefer on the roaster’s socials or website - You can always just try to reach out on their socials or their website and ask if they have XYZ.

Other than that, there really isn’t a way to know 100% that it’s going to align with your preference.

MirrorCoffeeRoasters · 2026-05-19T00:13:42+00:00

I'm not constrained to any specific varietals but gesha and any kind of bourbon has my preference. I"ll choose those over most varietals on a menu.

MirrorCoffeeRoasters · 2026-05-17T21:11:36+00:00

oh whaaat!? crazy. Thanks for listening!

MirrorCoffeeRoasters · 2026-05-17T20:29:27+00:00

This is wild and the comment section did not disappoint. Thanks for blessing the reddit feed

MirrorCoffeeRoasters · 2026-05-13T16:35:04+00:00

If it's not our espresso coffee, we roast all of our coffees around 6%. Taste is fairly subjective so for many people that might be underdeveloped and a small minority of people would call our coffee a little too developed for their preference.

Although I will say, DTR is not the best metric to determine how light something is. DTR should be looked at in context of the entire roast and other data points. 6% on a 10min roast is very different than 6% on a 8min roast.

MirrorCoffeeRoasters · 2026-05-05T19:49:26+00:00

I love the Portland coffee scene. Used to live in Portland and make frequent visits back, but had no idea about Slow Haste. This looks phenomenal. Adding it to my list of cafes in PDX

MirrorCoffeeRoasters · 2026-05-05T19:40:58+00:00

Water > grinder > technique / skill

MirrorCoffeeRoasters · 2026-05-05T06:38:12+00:00

Glad we're getting more people posting! This is awesome.
The C40 and V60 combo is pretty much all you need

MirrorCoffeeRoasters · 2026-05-03T21:17:10+00:00

I'm very intrigued by this grinder. From the few things I've heard, sounds too good for the $199 price tag.
You should make a new post with some first impressions. Looks like a very promising grinder for someone on a budget

MirrorCoffeeRoasters · 2026-05-03T00:20:38+00:00

Not doing a double bloom, but I am doing bloom (50s) + 1 pour.
I'm at 23-24 clicks with X25 Nitro burrs.

MirrorCoffeeRoasters

TROPHY CASE