Fishing for the Perfect Cup of Coffee

The perfect cup of coffee. For some it’s simply any cup you have while on the water. But for me, great coffee is something I’ve pursued almost as much as I have great places to fish.

I even ran a charitable coffee roasting business about 15 years ago. But recently, there have been big advancements in the world of coffee processing. Things like co-fermentation and Anaerobic processing that create layers of flavor like never before.

Recently I took a deep dive into that, and I figured I’d nerd out on coffee as a change of pace. One of my next steps might be figuring out how to brew a world-class cup of coffee while I’m out fishing. And while this isn’t as expensive as finding the best BFS reels, I have found it just as rewarding.

 Backstory

I’ve been experimenting with Co-ferments and Anaerobic processed beans for the last 2 months. It’s a new experience for me after drinking “traditional” medium to medium light pourovers for the last 12-14 years. I’ve even been known to love a great dark roasted Sumatra on pourover when it’s roasted well.

In an effort to kill some aggressive acidity that walked back and forth between bitter and sour as I dialed in coffees, rarely finding a sweet spot, I bought a Hario Switch. It Didn’t help.

I had reset the zero point on the Fellow Ode Gen 2 grinder. All that did was delay me a couple days as I adjusted my recipes and my brain to the new settings. But now I was closer to what other people reported for the Ode grinder settings. My old 4.1 was now 6 or 6.1 (not sure if it was 5 or 6 clicks because I’m a klutz at times).

I started playing with my water again, eventually landing on my own adaptation of Holy Water with a bit more carbonate hardness. 60 GH with a 50/50 split between Mg & Ca, 40 KH from Potassium Bicarbonate. This was after enjoying what TWW had been doing for my “normal” beans from local roasters.

That water change at least eliminated the “undrinkables” – for the most part.

Throw being new to the Ode 2 Grinder and some CAFEC T-90s in the mix, and there were some beans I felt like I chased for most of the bag. At the very least, I KNEW I wasn’t getting the best out of them.

But not any more!

The “A-ha” Moment

I finally found my go-to starting point with the Hario Switch. And so far it is producing good to great cups with every bean I’ve tried – 17 so far. One after the other. Same recipe, same grind. Basically set it and forget it hybrid pourover.

And these were all kinds of beans – coferments, anaerobic, and more traditional natural or washed process beans. Four of them are brand new but rested – never brewed a single cup of them. I even considered cracking open Onyx Framily and Krampus just a few days off roast just to see – but resisted. 🙂

What got me started with this recipe is I knew I was really close. Some great cups, but many edgy and acidic, borderline undrinkable cups. Then I opened the Brainwave Roasters Edwin Norena Galaxy Hop Coferment, and I LOVED the first cup. As a big IPA fan, the aroma was amazing, and the flavors were great. But it still had the grapefruit pith bitternesss that had plagued every conferment I’ve tried.

I was pretty convinced that co-ferments simply weren’t for me.

With this coffee, it kind of fit, but it was still overpowering. I had brewed it at 95C. Everything else felt so on point in the cup, and I had been chasing water, recipe, and grind, but rarely moved much on temp – other than to come Up and DOWN from 97-98C. Occasionally 92C. Rarely 90C.

I grabbed my bag of Counter Culture Hologram and made a cup. Also had a similar grapefruit bitterness – which is kind of hard to do with that coffee.

So I tried the Norena at 92C. Definitely better. All the other flavors were still there. Amazing aroma. Just less biting acidity. I had tried a few other beans at 90C, and they were still acidic – felt sour and under extracted.

But I figured “WTF, let’s go down to 85C. I’ve got 300 grams left…” Which for someone who has primarily done off-boil brews for over a decade seemed insane.

But, I knew that more processed coffees are easier to extract, and none of my other attempts to remove this one consistent flavor note had worked. So why not? It definitely wasn’t the individual beans. It wasn’t the water. It wasn’t the brewer. It had to be process related. So either something was contaminated (I had cleaned the kettle and the grinder a couple times in this journey), or it was temperature.

Boom! Amazing cup. Maybe the best cup I’ve had in weeks. It helps that the beans and the roast were amazing. But I felt I was on to something. So I decided to try the one coffee I haven’t gotten a truly good cup from yet: B&W Red Fruits.

And it was Sooo much better. Still one of my least favorites, but nothing that felt like a “flawed cup”. Just not my thing.

The Bean Reviews

I decided to try every bean I have in the house. In one week. One cup after another, any time I wanted a coffee. No repeats. No second chances.

Here’s the results of 1 cup, same recipe, same grind. As if I only had one shot at brewing the bean. Even if I thought other settings would be better. Made me happy I had saved small amounts of some of the beans I had worked through:

BrainWave Roasters Hop Coferment: Roasty black IPA flavors, with a Long Island Ice tea chaser. ;). The fruitiness kind of shifts throughout the cup between dark raspberry, peach, and chocolate-covered orange. Great Body. Just 3 weeks off roast, so this will be a mainstay of my morning routine through the end of the year. So damn good.

Dak Milky Cake: Nailed the milky Vanilla cake; best body I’ve gotten, balanced acidity, a little cinnamon spice. It was the last dose of beans I had, so they had lost a bit of the Cardamom spice.

Black & White Red Fruits: Still strong boozy fruits, crisp acidity, a touch of chocolate on the finish. Light body. Sadly, there are still some beans left in the bag. Lol. Maybe they’ll be better at 8 weeks off roast? 🙂

Rogue Wave Granja Paraiso ’92 Anaerobic Decaf: Man! Didn’t know decaf could be this good. Chocolate covered strawberries with a decent body, nice fruity aroma. I have a cup or two of this every week, and this is the best yet.

Black & White Esteban Zamora Anaerobic Cinnamon: Smooth Cinnamon notes, touch of apple and berry. This is 6 weeks off roast now, and will be wrapped up in the next 2 or so most likely. Early January at the latest. Need to save some to have with Christmas Cookies. It was very enjoyable.

Proud Mary Lazy Sunday: Just a darn fine cup of coffee, with notes of almond and dark chocolate with a hint of sweet citrus. One of my coffees for non-coffee-nerd guests.

Brain Wave Ethiopia Guji Wush Wush:  First cup, new bag. 3 weeks off roast. Bright berry, decent acidity, probably will grind a bit finer when dialing in for a bit more extraction and body. Needs more rest for me.

September Coconut Crush – Nailed the tasting notes in that way that makes you grab the bag and read it again… and then go see what else is on their website right now. Great cup. Made me consider stopping my ‘experiment’ and just finishing off this bag.

Dak Coco Bongo: I kind of feel like “OK, I get it now.” Best, most full bodied cup I’ve had of it. Pineapple notes were still pretty strong, but definitely much more coconut sweetness. Last full dose.

Ghost Cordillera de Fuego Anaerobic:  Smooth cinnamon and vanilla aroma. Much sweeter cup. Cinnamon notes are more subdued, berry is more prevalent, with a nice floral note. What was a slightly dry finish is now lingering, sweet, and creamy. Better than 95C and finer grind? Or is it just the extra 2 weeks of rest? Not sure. But it’s really good. Non-coffee nerds would probably just say “Wow, that’s good coffee.” And they’d probably also be shocked there was no sugar in it. It’s another I could be perfectly happy just finishing off the bag and not finishing this experiment. And now I want to go see what else they have in stock… and I really want another cup.

Rogue Wave Ethiopia Nguisse Nare Bombe: I really wanted to grind this one finer and go hotter. It’s a blueberry bomb I’ve been enjoying. But even at these presumed sub-optimal settings, it’s an enjoyable cup. Nice body, more sweetness, but it loses the brightness and berry notes and highlights the apricot-type fruit flavors. Dark chocolate on the finish as it cools.

Counter Culture Hologram: My go-to “oh crap I don’t have any coffee, so what’s at Whole Foods?” coffee. Mostly for guests at this point, or for when I need a recalibration, because I know it well. It’s kind of my “Samuel Adams” of coffee beans. Well, consider me recalibrated! This tastes like a cherry cordial chased by a Dr. Pepper! Without the sugary sweetness, just the fruity and caramel sweet notes. Syrupy and creamy. But it does almost get a little cloying. It never tasted this good.

Rogue Wave Granja Paraiso 92 Sudan Rume: First Cup. Dude, I cannot express how badly I wanted to go finer and hotter. Everything in my being said “Do it! Screw the experiment!” But I’m glad I didn’t. This is a more subtle, harmonious yet complex blend of flavors, but I love the sweetness I get to underpin the fruity and even spicy ginger notes. I may grind finer for the next cup and try a little hotter, but this is still excellent. There’s almost a lactic acid sweetness and creaminess on the finish as the cup cools – like I had a sip of lavender mango milkshake a few minutes before taking a sip of coffee.

Rogue Wave Ethiopia Chelbesa One: Sample Bag, second and last cup. It’s almost like eating apricot preserves with less sweetness. Or drinking apricot iced tea. With some floral notes on the finish. As it cools, a bit more of a Meyer Lemon note creeps in.

Rogue Wave Villa Pastor Pink Bourbon: Sample bag. First Cup. First time I’ve tasted blueberry in a Colombian coffee. More like blueberry syrup than the bright blueberry bomb you get from an Ethiopian. The aroma is very clean. Bunch of mellow orange acidity to balance out the sweetness. Medium body. Orange notes build as it cools. Blueberry shows up again if I wait a long time between sips. 🙂

Rogue Wave Daterra Brazil Full Bloom: Sample bag. First cup. Milk chocolate covered strawberries, complete with plenty of acidity, with a side of hazelnuts. Exactly what I HOPE a bean from Brazil will taste like – but with more acidity to balance the sweetness.

94 Celcius FruitoPop:  Also last cup. A little more stone fruit, less berry than when it was fresh and brewed at higher temps. Kind of like apricot skin. But also more sweetness and body. Sweetness becomes more honeyed as it cools. Really pleasing cup to sip and savor.

Ok, long post. So what’s the recipe?

Brewing The Perfect Cup of Coffee

It’s basically the Coffee Chronicler recipe at 15:1, 85C, 20g beans. But, I’ve been closing the switch at 35 seconds, then doing the second pour at 45 seconds, and opening the switch at 2 minutes. Hario tabbed filters. Virtually no brews have finished before 3 minutes, and none have gone past 3:45 (Ethiopians and Decaf).

0:00 – 150g Circular pour
0:35 – Close Switch
0:45 – Circular Pour to 300g
2:00 – Open Switch, light swirl to settle the bed.

Good to great cups, every time.

I can get more creaminess to the body, tame the acidity, and bump up the sweetness even more by doing a 165g first pour. Not 100% sure why this works yet, as it was an accident when it first happened. Just not awake and fell into my old continuous pour mode… but I’ve tried it on a few beans and it has the same effect.

After 6 weeks of chasing things around, for my overall system of brewer, grinder, filter, water, technique, and taste preferences, cooler water was the ticket. I’m done experimenting with brew methods for a few weeks – just going to enjoy the holidays with a nice assortment of beans.

Don’t be afraid to try brewing cooler. At least once or twice. Cooler than you feel comfortable brewing. Especially if you like sweeter, stronger, full-bodied cups.

This may not work for the higher extraction, tea-like brews, but that’s not what I’m after. It’s why I got the Ode Gen 2 Burrs instead of the SSP. I like full-bodied coffee with mouthfeel. This recipe finally gives me what I’m after – every time. No wasted beans. Even on light roasts. Will it do well with Sey or TW? We’ll find out eventually. 🙂

I’ve read a few comments that essentially say “with a good process, you won’t have to adjust the grind very often for any bean”. And also things like “Grind really shouldn’t matter. The sweet spot should be relatively wide.”

And it made sense. It was what I was after. I was a process engineer by trade. So I have been striving for a repeatable, consistently very good to great cup. Ironically, it was getting the exact same BAD flavor in every cup that alerted me I was REALLY CLOSE to having a great brewing process. I had something repeatable – I just needed to shift the entire process. Temperature was the lever to make that shift.

Sure; I’ll dial in the grind by a click or three on some coffees, and go hotter on some as well. But it’s just nice to know with certainty that this recipe will give me a very good cup and starting point to decide IF anything should change.

I just need the discipline to start here – at the starting point – every time. To not read what others suggest, or think I know what I should do with a new bean. Just do this recipe first. But because I KNOW it produces much better than average cups, that shouldn’t be a problem.

Literally, I can’t recall a better cup of coffee (not counting epsresso) that I’ve had anywhere else. I’ve probably ruined myself on ordering coffee anywhere, unless it’s a specific bean I want to try. Or I’m craving a cappuccino. Even then I’m doubting I’ll do it.

Because for 17 consecutive coffee beans to be truly enjoyable with the exact same recipe? I’m just floored. Honestly. It’s the best week of coffee I’ve ever managed to brew.

It may not be the recipe for you, but I know a lot of us tend to chase beans around. If that’s you, I think there is a great consistent recipe for you somewhere in that chase.

But YOUR perfect recipe is all part of a consistent system that includes every part of your brewing process. The last piece for me was the most surprising: 85C water. That’s ultimately why I wrote this post. Hope it helps someone find their “go to” recipe and process.

Typically I write about fishing; but coffee kind of goes with every day I go fishing. If you want to see more fishing-adjacent posts, be sure to comment below.