Nothing beats experimenting and keeping a journal!
this post was submitted on 28 Aug 2024
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Coffee
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Seconding this. The difference between science and fooling around is just keeping a journal, writing things down.
When I'm trying to hone in on my optimal experience with a particular bag of coffee, I'll keep journal entries in this fashion: coffee name, date/time, grind setting on my burr grinder, coffee:water weight ratio in grams, starting water temperature, and time of pour; I'll jot down a quick sentence after my first sip of how I feel about the taste, if I have time after finishing the cup I'll jot down how I felt about the cup.
I keep the journal (A6 size, spiral bound) and pen with my coffee making materials so it's just part of the process, I think it may be adds 2 minutes tops, and being able to accurately repeat what I've done on a previous day without having to try to remember is totally worth it to me.
Use brew timer app if you want some ideas and a digital journal. It's great
- put roasted coffee beans in water
- wait time
- drink water
YouTube for the win. I'd also take a look at Aramse videos. I think they are very thoughtful and well done.
In addition to what everyone else has already mentioned, I would like to point out that tasting is a skill you can develop. It’s possible to taste the difference between two methods or recipes, but if you haven’t developed that skill, it’s very hard to tell if a particular change or consistency even matters. Without this skill, you won’t really appreciate the time and effort you put into making coffee in a particular way.
I concur with @Broken_Monitor's and @mipadaitu's recommendations, but I might add, don't overthink it, or wait to overthink it, anyway. I have been doing pourovers since before there was a YouTube circus about it; longer than Hoffmann has been publishing videos about it, anyway. In my early days I didn't have a scale (I did have a gooseneck kettle and a terrible, cheap grinder). I brewed everything pretty much the same, in a way that is now generally understood to be wrong by the way. It was always good coffee.
Go get some pointers from Hoffmann and Hedrick by all means, but the main thing is, score some good coffee and don't be overwhelmed.
The only thing that really matters here is to find a bean you like the taste of. When you have that, you can't really make a bad cup from it.
I think most of the techniques we read about in forums are for when you have a bean that is either OK or bad for you. At that point, you'll appreciate the techniques to help elevate the coffee to something you find palatable