The (Almost) Perfect Cup

For most of my adult life, coffee had always been a caffeine delivery vehicle or an excuse to step out of the office. Like cheap beer, the taste was something be tolerated as a means to an end. There was a dorky sense of pride in drinking it without loads of milk and sugar. 

It took a single pour-over from The Java Shack to change all that. Instead of overwhelming bitterness dominating each sip, it had fruity and floral notes, which I didn't even know could exist in coffee. It was a pleasure to drink, well-balanced, no pungent flavors causing facial contortions on the way down. Naively, I decided to start making coffee like that at home. The guy at the shop literally just poured some hot water over a bunch of coffee grinds. How hard could it be?

The first attempts were... not good, but the hive mind at /r/Coffee/ quickly pointed me in the right direction. I learned that the two most important factors are bean quality and grind consistency, and unfortunately those come with a bit of a price tag.

Bean Quality

Coffee beans are like wine grapes: they grow in a handful of renowned regions, each region produces unique varietals with different tastes, and some cost much more than others. After they're picked and processed, they can keep for years if stored properly, and it's in this "green" pre-roasted state that they navigate the global supply chain. The clock on freshness only starts after they're roasted (here's why). They're at their best within a month post-roast, and most quality bags will show that date. 

There are a few companies that will ship good bags nationally (Stumptown, Counter Culture, et al.), but Googling "coffee roasters near me" might give you the opportunity to speak directly with the roasters, on top of saving a few bucks in shipping.

Perfect Daily Grind explores this topic in much greater detail.

Not recommended:

• Bulk whole beans from the grocery store: no way to know how long they've been there
• Pre-ground coffee: peak freshness dissipated a long time ago
• K-cups: pre-ground coffee in a fancy package

Grind Consistency

Roasted coffee has countless volatile flavor compounds that release at different points in the extraction process. If you pull a sample of coffee just as it starts brewing, it will taste unpleasantly sour. On the other hand, the final drops will be very bitter. In a well-balanced cup, these flavors complement each other.

A consistent grind is important because the extraction process affects each particle individually. Consider the case of a bad grind that has barely broken up chunks mixed in with fine powder: the second the hot water hits, the powder will be fully-extracted (bitter), but the chunks will be under-extracted (sour). Both of these strong tastes will overpower the more nuanced flavors in the beans.

A good grinder breaks the beans down to more-or-less the same size. They don't automatically produce a great cup, but they do let you dial-in a setting you love. First try tastes too sour? Adjust the grinder a little finer so that extraction lasts longer. Barista Hustle put together a great guide to fine-tune these adjustments.

The bad news is that good grinders are expensive. The huge ones in coffee shops use start around $1K-$2K. The good news is that there are some universally recommended entry-level options capable of a reasonably consistent grind. 

• Hario Skerton ($40 USD as of publication) - Manual; fair quality grind
• Porlex JP-30 ($60) - Manual; good quality grind
• Baratza Encore ($130) - Electric; good quality grind
• Orphan Espresso Lido 3 ($180) - Manual, but well designed to make the process effortless; very good quality grind
• Not recommended: Anything that says "blade grinder"

Prima coffee also has a great in-depth write up of grinder basics.

Note: I've only personally used the Lido 3. The other recommendations are based on obsessive reading of reviews and forums.

Equipment

• Grinder: Orphan Espresso Lido 3
• Beans: Commonwealth Joe Monticello Sunrise
• Kettle: Chef's Choice Electric Kettle
• This 1.7L kettle has been going strong for about 3 years now, but there are too many recent negative reviews on Amazon for me to recommend it. In addition to quality concerns, it also spouts out the water more haphazardly than ideal. If you're looking for something better, check out the Bonavita BV382510V Electric Kettle, Gooseneck Variable Temperature, 1.0L. I can't vouch for it personally, but it is a near-consensus recommendation on many forums.
• Coffee Maker: Chemex 6-Cup Classic Series Glass Coffee Maker
• I love my Chemex, but there are also many other good systems like the Hario V60 or Kalita Wave. Each has its own well-documented nuances. The good news is that they're relatively inexpensive, and it's hard to go wrong.
• Filters: Chemex Pre Folded Circle Coffee Filter (100 Filters)
• Scale: American Weigh Scales AMW-SC-2KG Digital Pocket Scale
• Water: Filtered if possible

Technique

Because of the huge number of variables, there is no magic recipe that will work universally well for everyone; though, barista champ Matt Perger's pour-over technique video is a great place to start. A scientific approach is essential, holding as many variables as constant as possible, taking good notes, and adjusting a single variable at a time.

Select list of variables:

• Amount of water
• Temperature of water
• Amount of coffee
• Type of coffee
• Grind coarseness
• Bloom amount
• Bloom duration
• Bloom agitation

A good kitchen scale enables precise measurement of coffee and water. There's some debate over the "perfect" ratio, but I prefer 1:16. For a standard ~8-9oz cup, that means 16g of coffee beans and 256g of water.

First, start boiling more than double the water you'll need, in this case more than 512mL (which is the same as 512g). Then measure out 16g of coffee beans.

Next, grind the beans on a medium-fine setting. The Lido 3 grinder makes quick work of them, taking about 15 seconds when set somewhere between the 9th and 10th notch. I lightly smack the base of it to release some of the grinds that statically cling to the burrs.

Once the water is done boiling, use a little less than half of it to rinse out a filter placed in the Chemex. This step will remove the papery taste, as well as pre-heat the Chemex. Next pour out that water into a mug, so that it will be heated too. Now, you can pour in your coffee grinds. With everything assembled on top of the scale, hit the Tare button to rest to 0g.

Step 1 in the actual brewing process is also the one most debated. Freshly ground coffee will release sour-tasting carbon dioxide when it first comes into contact with hot water. The general recommendation is to use a small amount of water - about 2 to 3 times the weight of your coffee beans - to let this "blooming" process happen for about 30-60 seconds before you start brewing in earnest. The unsettled debate is whether or not to stir the bloom during this phase. 

With lots of trial and error, I'm strongly on the side of stirring the mix vigorously and immediately after adding in the water (exactly 2.5 times bean weight, or 40g in this case). The water shouldn't be boiling any more, but still very hot and not too long off-boil. 200-205 degrees F is ideal if you have a thermometer. Use the spoon to pull the grinds at the bottom back up to the top and stir. The grind should be entirely saturated, with no dry pockets. The entire process should take 5-10 seconds. Only small amount of brewed coffee should find its way to the bottom of the Chemex.

Because of the aggressive stir, there's less need to wait out the 30-60 seconds you might see in other instructions. I typically just leave it for the amount of time it takes to rinse off the stirring spoon. From there, begin the rest of the brewing process. The key from here on out is to extract as evenly as possible, meaning that all the grinds should have equal exposure to hot water. Pour a ring of water around the outside to knock in any grinds that might be clinging to the edge of the filter. Then, quickly cover the rest with water.

Continue to pour in water so that you don't see any dry grounds, until the scale hits 256g (or whatever your target water weight is). A couple times in the process, pick up the Chemex and tap the bottom to help the grinds settle into a flat bed.

If all goes well, the water should drain out across all the grinds at the same time, with only a few bits clinging to the sides.

From there, no rush to start sipping. It will taste best a few minutes removed from piping hot.

It takes a lot of experimentation, and lot of notes, and a lot of caffeine to zero in on the perfect cup. The coffee compass definitely help to fine-tune things, but ultimately the best method is the one that produces the cup you love.

Disclaimer: I haven't received any compensation, discounts, or free products in exchange for this article. I do have an affiliate account attached to all Amazon links, but am otherwise not incentivized for the any of the other links on this page.