Re-Evaluating My Brewing Methods & Making Changes




  • I admit, I am not one for changing my baseline brewing ratios for each brewing method not because I am lazy, but for the reason that if the coffee tastes good why go and change it? I am starting to see that something can taste good, but it can also be better too. There’s always room for improvement, especially when referring to coffee.

    I used to think that if a coffee didn’t taste right then it was the brewing method to blame, or so I thought. Sure, not all coffees taste good in every brewing method, but that doesn’t mean that the brewing method should take first blame. Its quite possible that the bean to water ratio used was not suitable or even adjusted to fit the coffee. Maybe the grind size wasn’t right, or maybe you brewed too long… Now, I’m not saying that blame should be placed anywhere here either because the right bean to water ratio, grind size, or time won’t happen on the first try or even the second. This is why you need to experiment with every single coffee you come across. To be honest, if you were able to get that perfect coffee on the first try then it would take a lot of the fun out of the process of brewing coffee.

    The idea to start re-evaluating my brewing ratios and to start experimenting more with different ratios for each coffee didn’t come to me overnight. It has been something I’ve been pondering over for awhile now. I haven’t pushed myself to start this journey for reasons I can’t give, but after reading How Do You Brew? Magnus Hoem Iversen, 2011 Norwegian Brewers Cup Champion. in which a paragraph stuck out at me, almost as if slapping me right across the face, I realized this was a good sign to start making changes.

    All baristas have their methods when it comes to brewing, but I think it is very important to put these methods away in the first stage, which I consider a more experimental phase. The reason I feel this is important is because I think we sometimes get too hung up in certain brew recipes, methods or theories, and apply them to all the new coffees that come to our table. If you are using good coffee and good methods, this will generally result in good cups of coffee, but it will almost never result in truly outstanding cups of coffee. ~ Magnus Hoem Iversen, 2011 Norwegian Brewers Cup Champion

    The greatest part about the coffee industry is that you are always learning, growing, and evolving. This is why coffee can’t be just a hobby, or a fascination. You’re either in it fully, or not at all. There is no middle ground.

    I’m hoping that this post doesn’t serve as just a realization to myself, but to help anyone else out there that might be doing the same thing that I’ve been doing. Don’t stop experimenting just because something tastes good to you. Experiment every day as you never what you might be missing out on.



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    May 8th, 2012 | Jamie | 7 Comments | Tags: , , ,

About The Author

Jamie Ferguson

From sunny Sarasota Florida, Jamie Ferguson has been drinking coffee since a very young age. Jamie is just your average jane who has a serious addiction to coffee, but more so has a bigger love for the heart, and the dedication that is put into growing, processing and roasting coffee. Come and join the adventures...

  • http://www.velvetsunrise.ca/ Mark

    Hi Jamie,

    This is a very interesting post. I kinda felt like you started taking us on a journey, then abandoned ship without taking us to our destination. I would love this post contined to hear more about specific strategies you used to hone in on great cups of coffee, what coffee you used and which brewing methods and ratios worked best. It is always useful for others wanting to wade in, to have a starting point.

    I love brewing coffee too. On a Sunday morning I will always head for the Aeropress, clever dripper or the french press before the espresso machine. I find it interesting that we all have our little prejudices on brewing method (‘I hate french press’), and coffee as well. Sometimes these are based on our experience, and sometimes they have a way of sneaking into our consciousness through what we have heard others write or say (‘Stinky dirty natural coffees’ comes to mind).

    This past Sunday I brewed a french press of Colombia. I used a 1 L press, 45g of coffee ground to coarse (#28 on a Virtuoso), and eyeballed (sorry) 3/4L of water, well off the boil. I was amazed when I smelled vibrant lime on the break. I pushed the floating grinds down after 6 min, without any stirring or undue agitation, and skimmed off most of the foam and remaining ginds with a table spoon, much like you would for a cupping. This made the plunging super easy! I poured the coffee into a thermos bottle very slowly, stopping when I could see the sediment rising toward the spout. I let the coffee sit for a while to settle, then again pouring slowly into my 8oz diner mug. That was a super clean cup of coffee! Light in body, with marmite and citrus in the taste. So different from the normal french press expectation. I have to say that week before I similarly brewed a Kenyan coffee in a press, and had a bright, sweet and clean cup of coffee (2.5 cups actually). So I now have an inkling to give a chance to the lightly roasted, brightest coffees in a press pot, since I see how tasty and well balanced it can be.

    Happy Brewing!

    • http://thecoffeeadventures.com Jamie Ferguson

      Mark, what do you mean by this: “I kinda felt like you started taking us on a journey, then abandoned ship without taking us to our destination.”

      I am definitely not done with this post. I will be posting back on this topic later on once I find the direction I want to go with it.

      • http://www.velvetsunrise.ca/ Mark

        Was it that poor a metaphor? My bad. I meant that I would love to hear more detail on the topic. On how you brew, what ratios you start with, and what do you taste, and how does what you taste lead you to adjust the method, dose, grind, temperature, time and so on. I seems that a strategy of having an idea what to change based on what you taste would be a great goal to have. Also not to change too many or even more than one parameter at a time. I am just anxious to hear more. I’ll have to wait and stay tuned.

        • http://thecoffeeadventures.com Jamie Ferguson

          No worries, Mark! I just took it as the post wasn’t good or something. I’ll take your suggestions and get working on a new post as I begin to experiment each day. Thanks!

  • Pingback: Web Picks Wednesday | Coffee Krave Coffee Blog

  • http://www.coffeekrave.com/ Daniel Foster

    Very good points, Jamie. I’m always looking for new ways to brew coffee, but the Aeropress is nonetheless hard to beat for its convenience and consistently excellent results. I posted a link to this on Coffee Krave so my readers could see this.
    http://www.coffeekrave.com/web-picks-wednesday-2/

    • http://thecoffeeadventures.com Jamie Ferguson

      Totally agree! For any level of experience, you cannot beat the Aeropress. Thanks so much for linking me in your post. Just bookmarked your site for future reading.