# Picking a brew method for a coffee



## tambu (Sep 7, 2015)

I seem to find that certain brew methods suit certain coffees (i.e. a given bean/roaster combination). I think you can probably get a satisfying cup using any method with enough care and tweaking, but this can be a long process - I might have to vary a lot of params to get the balance right - temperature, grind, speed of pour, dose etc.

James Hoffmann talked a bit about this here:-

http://www.jimseven.com/2012/01/28/discussing-brew-methods/

Having only just started using different roasters (I used HasBean almost exclusively for the last 8 or 9 years, and usually with a Chemex), I'm finding that cupping the coffee before I brew it is helping me to decide what to do with it.

Does anybody else do this before they start brewing a coffee, and how do you decide what the best way of brewing a given coffee will be?


----------



## MWJB (Feb 28, 2012)

I cup at 19:1 for 19mins, no break & covered at a fine grind initially, if a coffee doesn't hit the extraction range I want, I'll perhaps drop time to 4min break, taste after 10min at 15:1 ratio (lower extraction but similar, but often a bit higher TDS) to see what's available over a range of cupping/repeatable immersion extractions.

For those that are stubborn in immersions, or I want a cup quickly, I'll drip brew them, as this is the easiest, most efficient way to extract...as long as you can do it nice & evenly. I tend to stick to the same size cups, drip brew by the cup, so my brew water & beverage amounts will be pretty constant, as will grind (if possible), I'll play with the dose & pour/brew time to steer things. Temp is always as quick a poss off boil (30s to a minute tops), I don't play with this much, other than preheating thick walled/smaller immersion brewers.


----------



## jlarkin (Apr 26, 2015)

That's really interesting question and as usual mwjb has a great answer. I haven't done it but feel like it's something I should move towards. I've been using brewed coffee in the morning with a Behmohr for convenience, whilst feeding my little girl and the cat etc. And think I've not been getting the best out of my brews.

Maxwell Colonna Dashwood said they use the siphon for coffees that are proving more difficult to extract - I'd noticed they'd use aeropress or siphon depending on the coffee ordered


----------



## risky (May 11, 2015)

I tend to v60 everything but if something comes across as 'strong' (terrible description, but where I feel the need to dilute down in order to separate the flavours) I will tend to go for a Chemex in future. I've stopped aeropressing, probably should start again.

There was an interesting discussion I came across online where Scott Rao was decrying Chemex as a flawed brew method with James Hoffman in defense. Was a few years old though.


----------



## insatiableOne (Jul 29, 2015)

Usually, I drink espresso. If my roast is off, or the coffee is not able to meet my taste, it goes in the French press. If the taste is still not pleasing, the grinder chops it up into drip size for work use. Still if the bean is not compromising with me it gets given to an unwary suspect full of glee.


----------



## MWJB (Feb 28, 2012)

risky said:


> There was an interesting discussion I came across online where Scott Rao was decrying Chemex as a flawed brew method with James Hoffman in defense. Was a few years old though.


Lots of brewers have flaws, or perhaps predispositions towards certain faults, but Scott Rao's comments were as much about techniques resulting in uneven extraction & too much heat loss. He advocated stirring the slurry during bloom (2g water per 1g coffee), using almost boiling water, adding brew water in pulses & avoiding high & dry grinds on the filter wall...all of which might be pretty familiar & common advice nowadays.


----------



## YerbaMate170 (Jun 15, 2015)

I've used a Chemex for around a year now and have *slightly* gone off it lately, though not quite sure why... I think, after initially purchasing it because I wanted more "clarity" from coffee, I went through a period where I was craving something with a bit more body to it... I've since, most days, been using a Hario Cafeor; for those who don't know, basically a V60 but with a mesh filter lining. The mesh is quite fine and so you get a much cleaner cup than a french press, but still with more oils than paper filter methods; for me, a pretty decent change to the Chemex.


----------



## tambu (Sep 7, 2015)

Thanks for the interesting replies.

Good to see I'm not the only one cupping a bean first before brewing, I thought I might be mad. Do you favour any particular style of drip brewing @MWJB? I find the results from a chemex and a v60 filter quite different, for example.

I don't own a refractometer, so comparing between methods objectively is tricky - especially when v60 and chemex are both a bit finicky (I've had my best ever and my worst ever cups from them, although I've brewed so many chemexes I must be approaching something like consistency by now). That being said, I imagine different coffees and roasts have different optimal TDS/EY? So to find that maybe you're back to cupping again.

I'll try and keep track of what I find when I cup the coffee, and then make sure I try at least two brews with each of cupping-style FP, AeroPress (a shorter steep, say ~4 min), Chemex and v60. Hopefully I'll find some trends so that I don't have to use so much of a new bag trying to find my favourite method.

I haven't added cloth or syphon to my brew-arsenal yet, maybe next year...!


----------



## MWJB (Feb 28, 2012)

tambu said:


> Thanks for the interesting replies.
> 
> Good to see I'm not the only one cupping a bean first before brewing, I thought I might be mad. Do you favour any particular style of drip brewing @MWJB? I find the results from a chemex and a v60 filter quite different, for example.
> 
> I don't own a refractometer, so comparing between methods objectively is tricky - especially when v60 and chemex are both a bit finicky (I've had my best ever and my worst ever cups from them, although I've brewed so many chemexes I must be approaching something like consistency by now). That being said, I imagine different coffees and roasts have different optimal TDS/EY? So to find that maybe you're back to cupping again.


No, I don't really favour any particular drip brewer, it's more important to stick to one & get the best out of it. Chemex & V60 aren't really any different beyond the filter paper & preheating, you might need to adjust grind & pour to normalise brew time, but I'd expect either to turn round a 30g:500g brew in about the same time. Currently I'm liking the Hario Cafeor paperless, I come back to it every now & then and find it quite forgiving. The only drip brewers I'd avoid are the Melitta style cones with lots of holes (3) all along the bottom, go for one with either a single hole or two close together, seems to make even extractions easier, but ideally I'd use a V cone brewer or Kalitta Wave.

Some coffees are easier to extract to a certain EY, others may exhibit different qualities at low end (naturals?), or high end, but I wouldn't get hung up on the idea that each coffee absolutely needs a different & very specific EY. Same with roasts, darker roasts may mute acidity at lower EYs being less objectionable (but still taste better in a typical range) & allow lower brew ratios/TDS without losing intensity, but I wouldn't necessarily aim for greatly different EYs (a typical desirable range might be +/-1%EY or a little more). EY strikes me as more relevant to grind quality & brew method/technique - the more even the extraction, the higher you can go.


----------



## tambu (Sep 7, 2015)

MWJB said:


> Chemex & V60 aren't really any different beyond the filter paper & preheating, you might need to adjust grind & pour to normalise brew time, but I'd expect either to turn round a 30g:500g brew in about the same time.
> 
> ...
> 
> EY strikes me as more relevant to grind quality & brew method/technique - the more even the extraction, the higher you can go.


I completely agree - I just find that there's a big difference in the filter paper; I regularly use chemex filters in a Hario V02.

This makes sense. Somebody should invent a "good EY" refractometer, maybe then I'd consider investing...


----------



## risky (May 11, 2015)

I'm interested to see what comes of the CupNorth talk from Colin Harmon

__ https://twitter.com/i/web/status/660781016978706432 with possible regard to cupping


----------

