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Less astringency: Grind finer (sh.itjust.works)

submitted 1 year ago* (last edited 1 year ago) by idkwhatimdoing@sh.itjust.works to c/coffee@lemmy.world

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A lot of people already know this, I'm sure, but it's a bit counterintuitive, and here's hoping it helps any beginners scrolling through.

This is particularly the case for pour over and drip coffee. I long assumed that an astringent flavor/feeling, sorta mouth-drying and unpleasantly mouth-watering at the same time, with a biting aftertaste, was a result of over-extraction, since it can feel sorta similar to bitterness. With that, it seemed to make sense to grind coarser, which obviously didn't help.

In the end, going significantly finer brought a much fuller and sweeter extraction, minimizing the astringency without increasing bitterness at all.

A caveat, of course, astringency can indeed come from over-extraction, so this isn't a guarantee. If you're already coarse, try finer. But if you're grinding super fine, the opposite might go for you/those beans.

TL;DR: if you are having issues with astringency, it might be intuitive to go for a lighter extraction with a coarser grind, but try going finer for richer flavor instead.

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[–] idkwhatimdoing@sh.itjust.works 2 points 1 year ago (1 children)

Niche is definitely good enough to get a quality cup, and sounds like you've got a great setup for what you're brewing. If you do ever try a cone, you can still get some great results with a $9 V60 and a classic kettie spout, too, especially if you pulse your pours.

And yeah, like you say, a Brazil is almost always going to be chocolate forward, so that makes sense. They are also often roasted medium to city/dark, so I wouldn't typically recommend easing off the water temp, but a few degrees can make a bigger difference with darker roasts, in case it is one. But it does sound like you'll find what you're looking for more with a higher elevation and lighter roast. I'm personally a huge fan of Dune coffees.

Hope grinding finer is great! And if not, you're one step further along in the process of elimination haha.

[–] anytimesoon@lemmy.ml 2 points 1 year ago (1 children)

Well all I can say is thank you, kind internet stranger. I tried grinding finer, and got a really lovely sweet and balanced cup. Honestly, I wasn't expecting anything, but it was like a completely different bean.

When I first got the bag, I tried grinding in the middle of the "pour over" range on the niche (35), which gave the results I describes initially. Ended up pulling back and settling on 40. It was pleasant there, but nothing special. This morning I tried 30, which felt extreme, but it was super nice!

I learned something new today thanks to your post!

[–] idkwhatimdoing@sh.itjust.works 2 points 1 year ago

Ah that's so great to hear! It was an epiphany for me when I got a better cup this way, so I'm just so glad I got to share it with at least one person!

Thank you for the update, and happy pouring!