# Adjustments



## DNA (Jan 17, 2013)

Hi guys ive been experimenting with my Aeropress, v60 and French press but i feel like its a bit chaotic.

I dont really know what im doing and how to adjust to get different results.

For example im getting quite a sour Aeropress latly and i dont know what i need to adjust to get rid of that taste.

What i was wondering is if some one can explain what change each adjustment makes.

What does changing the grind do, fine vs coarse?

Do i need to use more coffee if its coarse? different temperature? Longer steeping?

what difference does a short steeping vs long steep do?

Do i need to use different temperature water for different coarseness?

What adjustment do i need to make for fresh roast vs older coffee?

etc etc

If i can understand what every single adjustment does i can be able to become better at making my coffee taste better.

Hope some one can help?


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## MWJB (Feb 28, 2012)

In all cases a finer grind will push on extraction (flavour development), so if you're getting sour brews grind finer.

If it's too coarse the coffee will be a shade weaker than target because it hasn't developed properly, adding more coffee isn't going to fix this, you're just going to get stronger sour coffee.

A long steep allows further extraction over short steep at the same grind & temp. Cooler temp needs more steep time. Coarser grind needs more steep time.

I wouldn't worry about temp specifically too much until you're getting better results, say stick to 93/94C for now...add a few degrees if you like for V60 as this will eat up the heat in the water quicker.

Start point for the V60, water at 95-97C at time of pouring:

14g grinds, 225g water, bloom 30s with 25g, the brew from start to finish should take 2:45 minimum. I don't know what grind/grinder you are using, so I can't suggest how many pours you need. If you're pouring all the water in one go after bloom and the brew ends to soon break up the pour in to 2 halves after bloom (e.g. up to 125g at 30s, up to 225g at 1:15), if still to fast, break into 3 pours (e.g. up to 90g at 30s, 160g at 1:05, 225g at 1:40) keeping the additions even in size & spacing.

Aeropress non inverted, do much the same as the V60 inc. grind, cooler water (94C?) add all the water after bloom, plunger in & leave for 1-2min, light stir at top, then plunge slowly, adjust steep time based on results.

French press & Aeropress inverted, preheat unless using a very large press, no bloom, get everything wet with the brew water straight away, after 4mins scoop/pour off the surface & taste, if it's sour - cover & leave it some more, taste again in few mins...if it's still sour by the time it is too cold to enjoy, grind finer & make sure that the water is over 90C when coffee & water are combined.

For now, until you get past this sourness, keep to the same brew ratio (62-63g/l, maybe scale up doses for the French press if it's a large press), you can fine tune when getting better results. You could even try parallel brews and see what times/grinds suit AP & FP best.

Keep notes as to what you are doing & results. Report back with your findings so we can make suggestions if you're still not getting good results.


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## Step21 (Oct 2, 2014)

Have in mind what kind of taste you like, select a bean that should deliver that taste and experiment! Keep note of what you find.

I'm not qualified to answer your question in detail. I would select one variable e.g. grind and keep it constant while varying the others i.e. temp, time, coffee/water ratio. See what you like. Adjust the grind and try again. You won't have any problem using up the beans while fresh!

Generally a finer grind exposes more surface area of the coffee to the water making extraction in theory quicker - so generally shorter brew times are used (but not always!)

Coffee ratio depends on your taste preferences and how "strong" you like it. Follow general giudelines e.g. 75g/litre for immersion, aeropress can be similar but is extremely variable in the way it is used. Pourover, i think is more like 65g/litre as a starting point.

To give you an idea of the differences i find between pourover and immersion with the same brew ratio, same grind. Different temps, different time/steep.

Long steep (adding coffee to water - another variable!) - accentuates the sweetness, lowers acidity and gives a silky mouthfeel.

Pourover - brings out sweetness/acidity in equal measure (tends to hit more of the tasting notes for me), different mouthfeel

I find the aeropress tricky to get consistent results with and haven't really found a foolproof method. At the moment i like to use it for short and strong brews where i use an espresso grind and the aeropress the right way up - fairly cool water temp 90C or below and brew ratio 100 - 150g/litre. Here, i will add a little water to vet the grounds wait 30s, add rest of water, stir, wait 30sec and plunge.

Follow the above sage advice and ignore mine! Good luck...


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