# Square Mile Genesis... Am I missing something here?



## GreyGuitar (Oct 17, 2013)

Hey everyone,

I'm pretty new to making any kind of serious attempt to brew "decent' coffee at home. I'm a long time lover of quality coffee if I'm out, but only recently made efforts to enjoy similar when I'm home.

So, I'm using a drip machine, paper filters and a burr grinder. Up until this point, I've been trying a number of "readily available in the store" beans and settled on Illy Espresso beans as a definite favourite. I've since learned that espresso beans are actually a thing and different to roasts designed for filter machines. Nevertheless, I enjoy the Illy cup over anything else I've tried. As a point of reference, my least favourite thus far is Lavazza, which I found tasted not unlike wet cigarettes.

Last week, I purchased some Genesis Filter from Square Mile. Excitedly dosed the grinder and ground out on the finest setting. Brewed it through my normal machine and awaited what I had been told would be a great cup of coffee. What actually resulted however, was an amber, flavoured water which smelled and tasted like a coffee flavoured herbal tea... clearly far too weak.

So, I'm thinking I've gotten something drastically wrong here. But I used the exact same methods as I did with the Illy beans so I'm throwing the question over to the experts to see what could've caused the problem.

I use the Bodum thermal glasses (.3L) which is about 3 cups worth on my machine. So, with the Illy beans I would use about 3 to 3.5 tbsp's of beans. The same amount with the Square Mile results in the translucent flavoured water.

Here's the problem, I tried adding another scoop of Square Mile, so 4.5 tbsps, to 3 cups water, and it was only marginally better. Surely the solution isn't to just add more beans? 5 scoops for 1 mug of coffee doesn't seem right.

So, what exactly am I doing wrong here?


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## Glenn (Jun 14, 2008)

Welcome to Coffee Forums UK

Do you have a set of scales?

Could you weigh each 'scoop' and also advise the volume of water so that we can understand the brewing ratio?


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## GreyGuitar (Oct 17, 2013)

Thanks, Glenn.

I don't have any scales, but I've been considering some as I thought weighing might be a good thing to start doing.

I'm using 3-4 normal tablespoons of beans, and about 325ml of water.


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## Glenn (Jun 14, 2008)

Further advice that may help is shown in red

So, I'm using a drip machine, paper filters and a burr grinder.

Rinse the paper filter before use

What grinder are you using?

Up until this point, I've been trying a number of "readily available in the store" beans and settled on Illy Espresso beans as a definite favourite. I've since learned that espresso beans are actually a thing and different to roasts designed for filter machines. Nevertheless, I enjoy the Illy cup over anything else I've tried. As a point of reference, my least favourite thus far is Lavazza, which I found tasted not unlike wet cigarettes.

Last week, I purchased some Genesis Filter from Square Mile. Excitedly dosed the grinder and ground out on the finest setting

Try a coarser setting - this will help with the infusion process

. Brewed it through my normal machine

What model?

What water temperature?

How long is the water in contact with the coffee?

and awaited what I had been told would be a great cup of coffee. What actually resulted however, was an amber, flavoured water which smelled and tasted like a coffee flavoured herbal tea... clearly far too weak.

So, I'm thinking I've gotten something drastically wrong here. But I used the exact same methods as I did with the Illy beans so I'm throwing the question over to the experts to see what could've caused the problem.

I use the Bodum thermal glasses (.3L) which is about 3 cups worth on my machine. So, with the Illy beans I would use about 3 to 3.5 tbsp's of beans. The same amount with the Square Mile results in the translucent flavoured water.

Here's the problem, I tried adding another scoop of Square Mile, so 4.5 tbsps, to 3 cups water, and it was only marginally better. Surely the solution isn't to just add more beans? 5 scoops for 1 mug of coffee doesn't seem right.

Try and use 60g coffee / Litre of water as a starting value

With brewed coffee, less is more

So, what exactly am I doing wrong here?


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## GreyGuitar (Oct 17, 2013)

Ok, I'm using some pretty basic stuff, hopefully that isn't the issue!

Machine: DeLonghi ICM15210

Grinder: DeLonghi KG79

As for the water temperature, I'm afraid I have no idea, the machine has one button, and one button only!

So I should try a coarser grind? For some reason I was under the impression that finer is better for drip machines.


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## garydyke1 (Mar 9, 2011)

,dont expect a lighter roast specialty coffee to have anywhere near the body/mouthfeel of pre-packaged mass-produced charcoal.

Some of the best brewed coffee I have ever had could be classed as amber, transparent, coffee-flavoured-fruit tea : )

Start with 60g per litre and play with grind until youre happy.

Also try cupping to see what the coffee has to offer


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## GreyGuitar (Oct 17, 2013)

Thanks Gary.

Cupping looks worthwhile, not something I was familiar with before.


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## garydyke1 (Mar 9, 2011)

If you dont like the taste of the coffee when cupping you probably wont like it brewed via your machine .

Do a side-by-side with the Lavazza


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## jeebsy (May 5, 2013)

Saw this when I was out earlier - thought it sounded really nice from the notes on the pack.

Sent from my HTC One S using Tapatalk


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## GreyGuitar (Oct 17, 2013)

Yeah I've heard good things about Square Mile across the board. A local coffee house brews it as their go to... albeit with far better results than I, and I don't think it's only because of the La Marzocco they have on the counter top.

It does smell fantastic, I'm just very eager to prepare it properly so I can actually enjoy it.


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## MWJB (Feb 28, 2012)

GreyGuitar said:


> Ok, I'm using some pretty basic stuff, hopefully that isn't the issue!
> 
> Machine: DeLonghi ICM15210
> 
> ...


I'm not familiar with your machine, but a couple of things spring to mind:

De Longhi say this machine has a 10 cup capacity, you say that there is just one button and you are using 3 cup's worth of brew water. I suspect the machine doesn't have any way of knowing your proportions or compensating for the shallower bed of grinds in the filter (more complex drip brewers sometimes have a flow rate adjustment for half capacity brews). This may result in the machine delivering brew water & draining at too fast a rate to extract the SQM coffee satisfactorily? You may have been getting away with it previously, because of Illy's darker roast and longer period since roasting, both can make the coffee extract quicker.

Grind size will depend on whether the machine just drips at a constant rate, or prewets & pulses the brew water. If it just heats and delivers the water, in one hit, at a constant rate, you may need to go finer.

I'd be inclined to brew at half capacity or a little higher as the minimum, at maybe a shade over 60g/l just to get enough coffee in the bed to provide enough resistance to control flow.

You mention "tablespoon" & "scoop"? A kitchen typical measure for a tablespoon is 15ml, 2 of these should see you around 10g of ground coffee, nominally (scales would really take out the guess work and you may see significant variation on that "10g" based on bean density).

There aren't many drip machines that get the brew water up to ideal temp (94-96C), if yours isn't doing this then you are going to have to grind finer to compensate, but be careful of clogging the filter & overflowing the basket. (Avoid putting any really dusty, powdery grinds in the machine). You might find unbleached papers (like Melitta that can be found in the supermarket) more resistant to clogging, but these often have a negative effect on the taste....you may need to experiment a bit, to get the best out of what you have.

You may have to concede the limitations of the machine may not make it ideal for lighter roasted & fresh roasted coffee. As Gary says, these may be easier to get to grips with in cuppings, or even cafetiere/French press.


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## GreyGuitar (Oct 17, 2013)

Thanks MWJB.

Ok, I think the machine 'pulses' as you say. It certainly sounds like it does.

I'm definitely going to pick up some scales later, I think that's going to be the best first step.

I do have a french press, which I haven't tried with the Square Mile, but I must admit it was the cleaning it that inspired my switch to the drip machine.


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## MWJB (Feb 28, 2012)

When I have finished with French press (I don't plunge the plunger down when pouring out, I keep above the liquid & pour through it, holding it place so it doesn't fall out). Then when empty, I plunge down firmly & turn the press upside down over the sink to get the last bit of water out...leave it a while, then it's usually fairly easy to scrape the bulk of the grinds out & into the bin with a wooden spoon/spatula.

Apologies if this was obvious to you, whatever way you do it, I agree it's not the cleanest option. The Australians have some paper filter bag, type, unit, things that you can line the press with & catch all the grounds.


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## GreyGuitar (Oct 17, 2013)

Ok thanks for the tips.

The biggest problem I had was all the stray grinds that got stuck between the plunger layers. I'm sure they didn't really have an effect on the coffee but after they built up a bit I felt like I wanted to clean them out, which meant disassembling the plunger. Which led to my laziness and buying the drip machine.


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## Glenn (Jun 14, 2008)

Personally I'd sell the Delonghi machine and buy a Chemex, or an Aeropress

You will be able to explore flavours in coffee so much more and with more control, even with the existing grinder.


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## Neill (Jun 26, 2013)

Glenn said:


> Personally I'd sell the Delonghi machine and buy a Chemex, or an Aeropress
> 
> You will be able to explore flavours in coffee so much more and with more control, even with the existing grinder.


Good call on the chemex. If I was starting again I would buy a grinder and a chemex first then worry about the espresso machine later. Plus it looks fantastic.


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## GreyGuitar (Oct 17, 2013)

Uh oh, I knew it was going to be an expensive endeavour signing up here... I've only been here five minutes and I'm already wanting to spend money.

I won't sell the DeLonghi because it wasn't expensive and it's been a good workhorse for the quick and simple. I'm definitely into the idea of going with an Aeropress or Chemex for the times when I want to actually experience the coffee, though.

Question is, which to go for. I've heard good things about both, but know next to nothing about either other than what they look like. A third option would be something like a Bonmac cone, or would I be better off with one of the Aeropress/Chemex?

Finally, would it be worth investing in a stovetop kettle or will my plain old electric Bosch be adequate?


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## garydyke1 (Mar 9, 2011)

Ive become a real fan of the Clever Coffee Dripper of late, very forgiving.

Ive learned that long steep times are good!


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## GreyGuitar (Oct 17, 2013)

Ok, just been to Sainsbury's and bought some scales.

So, 1ml of water is about 1g right? So if I'm brewing 300ml of water, I need about 18g of beans?

And to clarify again, I should try a coarser grind? Is it not finer for more intensity on a drip machine or have I got that wrong?


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## MWJB (Feb 28, 2012)

Finer grind to slow the flow and raise extraction (strength).


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## GreyGuitar (Oct 17, 2013)

Ok, I'm pretty much on the finest setting I think so I may not have much room for improvement there.

I'll give it a shot, hopefully by weighing things out it'll be better.


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## GreyGuitar (Oct 17, 2013)

Ok, things went a lot better this morning. Scales were a good investment. Thanks for the tips.

Turns out the 300ml or so of water I thought I was using was actually about 450ml!

So, I used 350ml water and 21 grams of beans and rinsed the filter.

However, I'm not convinced I'm at the quite right strength yet. I took a pic for illustrative purposes. I think the glass is possibly making it look a little worse than it is, but it tasted a touch too weak. Is the solution simply a little more coffee?


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## garydyke1 (Mar 9, 2011)

Do a coffee cupping and see


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## MWJB (Feb 28, 2012)

As others have stated, a manual drip brewer may allow you more flexibility regarding dose & beverage size. But I appreciate that you have a device that you want to get use out of...there seems to be no harm in pursuing that goal as long as you understand that you may take a long time (or never) to hit a representative cup of a particular coffee (+1 Gary's cupping suggestion), so I'd just ask that you be circumspect about possibly declaring what precisely is at fault here.

What do your instructions say about brewing smaller beverages? I'd be inclined to brew more coffee (dose & beverage) than you currently are. "10" cups might be 1.2l to 1.5l (if you can weigh the water required that might be helpful, it's not always easy to know whether manufacturers are talking about the water you add, or the coffee you get out the other end, which will always be less), you're trying to brew 25%-33% of that...I think a lot of home drip machines will struggle with that?


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## GreyGuitar (Oct 17, 2013)

Thanks, guys.

I'll try cupping and see if I can get a representation of what it should really be like.

I'll try brewing a little more too, I guess I was just being frugal on the beans as they seem to disappear a little quickly.


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## GreyGuitar (Oct 17, 2013)

Ok to follow this up, I think I've nailed it.

Tried a cupping, exquisite.

I'm pretty sure 350ml water with 23 grams of coffee is absolutely perfect. I admittedly haven't tried adding more coffee, but 21 is a touch too weak, at least to my taste.

Ok I'm totally convinced now, so I'm coming back to a) say thanks for the prior help, and b) ask for a little further advice.

If I wanted to upgrade the machine, what kinda thing would be recommended? I'm happy to spend a bit more (maybe £150 or so) as I'm now sure this is something I enjoy, but I really don't even know what to look for in 'quality' filter machines, let alone espresso machines.

Are espresso machines regarded as different entirely, or are they generally seen as producing a superior tasting cup over filter?

Finally, roasting. Is it worth it? I've heard people say they'd never go back to buying roasted beans, but I've also heard people say that by the time they're invested in all the equipment and acutally roasting, it's not quite worth the effort over just buying roasted beans. If it's something you'd recommend, can I really get decent enough results in a popcorn popper, or am I better just splashing for a dedicated roaster. Either way, which one would be friendly for a beginner.

As for the Aeropress, I'm going to experiment for sure but I do want a machine too.


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