How to approach brewing different coffees
Each week at Prodigal we get a few messages along the lines of “how should I brew x coffee?” These messages imply some confusion about coffee brewing. I receive many messages about roasting with a similar implication.
If you have several non-defective coffees, all roasted to similar degrees, there is no need to change anything other than the grind setting when brewing each coffee. If you spend time on internet forums, you’ll read countless posts by people who believe they need a wildly different approach to optimize different coffees.
In the days before the coffee refractometer, it was common to see baristas require 40-60 minutes to dial in a coffee each morning. For reasons I don’t understand, many baristas felt compelled to adjust dose, temperature, ratio, and shot time each day, despite always using coffee of a similar roast level, and sometimes the exact same coffee, each day. The coffee refractometer was instrumental in teaching baristas how various brewing parameters affected extraction level, and that in turn helped baristas narrow down what ranges they preferred for each parameter. (Side note: choices that increase extraction levels often tend to be better, but that doesn’t mean higher extraction levels are always better.)
With time, baristas realized one could find a reasonable temperature, dose, and ratio, set those parameters as constants, and adjust only the grind when switching coffees. Working with only one variable is infinitely easier than attempting to juggle several variables. Did such a system guarantee an endless succession of God Shots? No. But limiting the number of variables one adjusted when brewing a variety of coffees made it far easier to deliver consistently good results.
Taste and judgement always play a critical role in producing great coffee, but without a system to deliver somewhat predictable and consistent results, it is simply too difficult to dial in a coffee efficiently.
I recommend finding a sensible, successful foundational recipe and sticking with it for all coffees of a given roast level, adjusting only the grind when changing coffees. This applies to espresso and various types of filter brewing. Possible exceptions include Ethiopian coffees and decafs that produce exceptional amounts of fines; these may require down-dosing if you cannot grind coarse enough to prevent choked brews.
As in roasting, there are no points awarded for difficulty. Coffee is complex; choosing reasonable, fixed values for most parameters and limiting the number of variables one must adjust is the key to simplifying the process in order to yield consistently good, predictable results.
Going back to the messages we receive at Prodigal, there is no special way to brew Prodigal coffee. Our coffees brew just as other lightly roasted, non-defective coffees do. If a roaster recommends a wide variety of approaches for its menu of light roasts, they either haven’t found fundamentally sound brewing recipes, or they are trying to mitigate unpleasant flavors. For example, one may want to grind coarser, use lower-temperature water, or target lower extraction levels to minimize certain defective flavors.
When asked, we offer some best practices for brewing.
Good general filter brewing practices include:
Try to find filtered or bottled water with alkalinity (KH, or bicarbonate) of 30-50 ppm, or add minerals to distilled water to make your own. General hardness (GH) is less important, and anywhere in the range of 30-100ppm should be fine. For reference, our roastery water has 45ppm GH and 45ppm KH, but my personal preference is 30KH with modest levels of both Calcium and Magnesium.
Use the finest grind setting that does not produce astringency with your brewer and recipe.
Target a TDS of 1.3—1.4%. Weaker coffee tends to lack flavor intensity, and stronger coffee tends to decrease flavor clarity and “flavor separation.” Preferences will vary; these are simply my recommendations.
If your grinder is new, please season it with 6kg/13lbs of coffee using a grind setting finer than pourover, but much coarser than espresso. Season with smaller amounts of coffee at a time (usually 500g is okay) to prevent overheating of the motor. We sell cheap, junky grinder-seasoning beans at $3.00/lb for your convenience.
Espresso recommendations include:
Use the dose for which your basket is rated (eg 18g in an 18-g basket)
Use a 2:1 brewing ratio
If you are a very experienced barista or use the BH AutoComb, you may enjoy longer ratios, such as 2.5:1 or 3:1
For very light roasts, try higher flow rates, such as pulling up to a 5:1 ratio in 30 seconds. No matter the shot size or use, we recommend avoiding shot times longer than 35 seconds.
Experiment. Espresso is finicky, and the range of grind qualities, pressure/flow paradigms and other factors is wide.
Please note that no one other than Lance has used >90% of the grinders currently on the market, and it is impossible to guess at the correct setting for a unique combination of coffee + brewer + ratio + recipe. The best setting depends on burr sharpness, geometry, and alignment. Even if two people use the same model of grinder, the optimal settings may differ due to those factors. It is better to target brew times (eg 4:00 for a NextLevel Pulsar made using a 17:1 ratio and 22g of coffee) than a particular setting or micron rating.
Going forward, I recommend:
Find a brewer and recipe that works well for you on a regular basis. I recommend the NextLevel Pulsar, as it does a great job of promoting even extractions, and makes it difficult to ruin a brew.
When brewing a new coffee, begin with your foundational recipe, and adjust the grind until the brew time is in your target range.
If you taste anything defective, and you are confident the extraction quality was good, try a lower water temperature.
When in doubt about what initial grind setting to use, always begin too coarse rather than too fine. If the grind is too fine and a brew clogs, it is difficult to know how much coarser the grind should be. If the grind is too coarse and the brew is too fast, it is easier to predict how much finer to grind.
