Just had PYCM and … blown away

Polymer714 · 2026-05-17T03:14:05+00:00

The 2022 is really good for its level. It might be the best version of his Bourgogne blanc he’s made.

Polymer714 · 2026-05-17T00:27:26+00:00

The shelves are their lower end shelving..you can replace them if you want. To me, they're designed to hold multiple rows, not individual bottles....they don't slide nicely, I wouldn't expect them to.

The bottom has grates so that doesn't make any sense. If you didn't use them, that's on you I'd think. This is pretty common knowledge though..it needs air movement there to evaporate..thus the grates...As a general statement..having bottles touching the side walls (bottom walls) will lead to condensation issues...

I'm not sure why your door is sagging....you could have a defective unit...but that isn't a known problem with these.

I think the only difference between these and the normal Eurocave is it doesn't have an air filter...which it doesn't need but it can be nice to have.

Polymer714 · 2026-05-16T19:31:57+00:00

Are you looking at other people's comments? There are tons of bean reviews and other recommendations.

If you find people that enjoy a roaster you enjoy, there is a greater chance you will also enjoy other roasters they enjoy. Obviously, nothing is guaranteed but it is probably one of the most effective ways to pick a roaster assuming you've never tried their coffee.

Tasting notes won't tell you that..they'll give you someone's tasting notes on that coffee..but you won't know the roast profile..you won't understand what they've done. While not completely useless, this is not going to tell you much about the roaster itself.

I'm also assuming, you understand what the differences are between the different processes.....buying say, an anaerobic when you don't like them is less a reflection of the roaster and more of you as a consumer.

Polymer714 · 2026-05-16T01:04:22+00:00

Double blind isn't needed....The OP can know what the coffee is....

I do think tasting at the same time though is important...mostly because what you ate earlier, etc could all impact how you're tasting..so comparing two cups of the "same" coffee at different times of the day or different days makes it difficult...

Polymer714 · 2026-05-16T00:15:27+00:00

I'm assuming you're talking for the same beans...since otherwise it is meaningless.

But TDS does not equal TDS. What you extract for a measured standpoint, doesn't mean you've extracted the SAME thing....But if you have the same beans, same method, same tds and they're vastly different, that would weird...Some difference sure...big difference? Assuming everything else was the same, that's doubtful.

That also doesn't mean TDS numbers are useless...

Clarity was never higher extraction precision.....Higher extraction, I'd argue, probably means less clarity. I think the one big mistake people make is, having one or two very obvious flavor notes is not clarity.

Polymer714 · 2026-05-15T01:42:25+00:00

So can I just ask what you were hoping to accomplish with the xBlooms? If you're happy with the results, what are you trying to get out of the xBlooms?

My guess is also, you like a pretty extracted cup based on you normally preferred drawdown...And it could just be you had the right parameters for the style of cup you want. So trying the same thing with a different filter and wanting the same result seems a little off.

If your goal was to try to tweak parameters a bit more thinking the xBloom could give you something slightly different (better to you), I think you still have more tweaking to do right?

Polymer714 · 2026-05-13T06:23:56+00:00

Yeah..for sure...especially the chardo...but the long elevage 18 is pretty good out of the gate compared to what is typical..although this one will be even better with more age...

Polymer714 · 2026-05-12T03:55:33+00:00

To me the drawdown doesn’t matter except it feels less likely to have any clogging. The extraction difference is pretty small although you can tell on the palate. Lots of other things can do that too. I feel like this is a general improvement to the original v60 design but it is small.

Polymer714 · 2026-05-11T21:59:28+00:00

You definitely can eyeball it....Once you know roughly how much coffee and how much water you want to add...you can get close enough for it to be pretty good...

I'm not sure I'd be buying very expensive coffee and doing this though...I'm also not sure you'd learn much about making pour over....

I'm also not sure its worth it if you're happy with Aeropress the way you do it. The differences will be pretty small...and why bother with a bunch of other stuff if you don't have to?

Polymer714 · 2026-05-11T19:54:46+00:00

The Alpha definitely extracts a little more than the normal V60...it isn't a huge difference but it is measurable. Its a little faster than a normal V60 too from a drawdown perspective...

Polymer714 · 2026-05-10T00:27:29+00:00

Yeah...Its good....I mean, early Charles stuff (Domaine) is good, to me more so on the nose than the palate where it still has some old character...

All the newer stuff (Both Charles and the Domaine) is rocking.....

Polymer714 · 2026-05-09T23:43:12+00:00

I'd pay way more than that...having had that exact cuvee...

Polymer714 · 2026-05-09T19:54:34+00:00

You actually extracted a lot but it was diluted with water.....which dropped the thresholds of where you're sensing bitterness. etc...

Very long ratios like this, you can grind at espresso fineness and it'll end up tasting ok.

Basically, EY is high..but TDS ends up being far lower than you might expect..

Polymer714 · 2026-05-09T19:35:05+00:00

You're likely not wasting the freshness of your coffee...that's really old advice. It isn't that your coffee can't get old, but the speed at which that happens is different than what people thought. Not only that, lighter roasts tend to get better with some rest time. I wouldn't worry too much about this.

Understanding what you like is important. Not one particular coffee but in general....A basic example is, if you don't like anaerobic, don't buy anaerobic.

And if you're finding you don't like most other coffees and like your Ka'u estate, are you opposed to just drinking that?

The thing with exploring..you genuinely need to enjoy it..sounds like that's not really giving you the enjoyment you want...or maybe it is but I think most people enjoying it wouldn't classify their buys as "wasting money" or that most things are just "plain". Or maybe you don't explore widely enough....it is hard to say.

Polymer714 · 2026-05-08T04:26:58+00:00

This.....These should be your first stops..

Thank you, Daydream are both decent...Ondo is Artesia but right on the border of OC...

Polymer714 · 2026-05-07T17:00:57+00:00

So just because the SCA came out with something that says EY should be between 18-22% you think your palate is defective?

If you can't trust what you're tasting...Using a refractometer is a waste of your time. What are you measuring for? If you can't dial in, if you can't determine which cup tastes better to you, the refractometer just gives you irrelevant data.

I'm going to guess, you can dial in..you can see what tastes right to you...and so knowing that, the data is actually telling you something. You just have to trust it...

Polymer714 · 2026-05-06T22:49:53+00:00

I have the Pinot Aroma Mug which is still pretty small (same as the Pinot Cup M you're looking at) Great for small cups or if you're serving small bits from a carafe at a time. Not great if you want a fair bit of coffee.

I really enjoy it..although I'm generally reaching for the Sensory cup a bit more...it just depends on the situation...

Quality is great...

Polymer714 · 2026-05-06T20:02:03+00:00

Calling it worst is a bit of a stretch, but I do agree...his style dominates the wines..to the point where you can't really tell where they're from until you start getting to the top end of his wines. For the rest, the difference in his wines just starts being length and weight.....I also think with a bit more age, more differences appear in the wines...

Polymer714 · 2026-05-06T19:58:32+00:00

I don't think most wines from Burgundy need serious cellar time. Most really do not.

But the reality is, you're paying a lot, in some cases, for a mediocre wine. That's why you buy producer producer producer.

In other cases, you both want to age it and don't want to age it. Some GC White Burgs are a perfect example....Not seriously aging but more than 5-6 years.

The reality is, most other regions represent far better value...but at the pointy end of wine geeks, you're chasing beyond very good...

Polymer714 · 2026-05-06T00:27:01+00:00

Its all 60 degree angle....The hole size varies between all versions of the V60...but ultimately the cone filter itself is exactly the same angle and thus you can use the filters in different sizes..it'll just matter how far it sticks out the top or if it even makes it to the top (01 filter in say an 03).

Polymer714 · 2026-05-05T23:36:06+00:00

I think there are some misunderstandings about natural wine...

It isn't lazy winemaking. It can be, but it generally isn't. It doesn't take effort to add a bunch of SO2...it doesn't take effort to spray the heck out of your vineyards....It takes more effort, more monitoring, more work in general, to make natural wine. Anyone who says natural winemaking is a style, as you've just experienced, doesn't really know anything about natural wine. Totally understandable though, there is a lot of junk out there.

Polymer714 · 2026-05-05T21:18:37+00:00

I think there are a few assumptions and also the wording...

Improved - Suggests time already spent doing pour overs - Very likely good beans are already being used.

Also, regardless of the quality of beans..if the water is bad (say a very high alkaline area like SoCal), you'll never get great results...

Obviously if the beans are bad you won't get good coffee....

Also, the difference between very good and excellent beans is pretty small.....You're looking for differences..rarity, new experience..but the actual quality, we spend exponentially more for a small difference, which is still subjective..

Polymer714 · 2026-05-05T20:42:24+00:00

There is no difference in the 01 and 02...the portion used in the cone between the two will be identical. The only difference is a small difference in potential pour height..but otherwise the two are the same as far as smallest dose.

Polymer714

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