Brew Analysis by Grace Newcomb
The first brew of this double-washed gem from a single lot in Gedeo, Ethiopia extracted nicely at 18.46%, with a TDS of 1.38, however, it was quite dense in body and richness. During the process, I used the Kalita Wave for my brew device, a medium to coarse grind set at 9, 19 grams of coffee, and a low brew temp of 201. The brew time for this cup was 3:30, and the end result was a lot of natural sweetness, and nice acidity, yet the tobacco and bitter notes seemed to be more prominent and overshadowing, leaving a seemingly unbalanced profile. Some common notes found in this coffee were candied lemon, peach, black tea, tobacco, and soil.
The second time around I used the same device and dose but decided to go coarser, setting the grind at 10. Although slightly under-extracted, with a percentage of 17.77%, this cup was quite nice! Brewing in just under 4 minutes, with a TDS of 1.33, we were provided with a buttery profile, with hints of citrus and earthy sweetness. Some common notes shared were mango, butterscotch, peaches, orange, and maple.
Feeling like my grind setting is where it needs to be, I decided to lower the dose to 18g and switch my brew device to the Hario V60 in hopes this will improve the extraction, whilst maintaining the silky body and fruity profile. With a brew time of 4:38, a TDS, of 1.40, and an extraction percentage of 19.97%, this cup was lovely, and had a smooth & fuller body, however, much more spiced and lacking the punchy citrus noted in the first two brews. Some common notes found were blackberry, almond butter, stone fruit, and vanilla.
I feel like 18 grams is a great dose for this coffee, but I’d still like to experiment with a slightly coarser grind setting, so I decided to take it up to 10.5. Sticking with the Hario V60, this cup brewed in 3:30, with a TDS of 1.26, and an extraction percentage of 18.12%. Although the TDS was low, this brew was full of flavor and had a light and airy body, and its zesty citrus, fruity and floral notes made it almost tea like. Some common notes tasted in this cup were earl grey, lemon/lime zest, toasted rice, and apricot.
So far, I feel like I’ve found my preferred dose and grind setting, however, two things I haven’t experimented with thus far are bloom time and the Bee House. So far, all cups leading up to this 5th were giving a standard 40 second bloom, but I wanted to see what kind of profile an extended bloom time of 60 seconds would provide. Brewing in 3:45, with a TDS of 1.33, and an extraction percentage at 19.01%, this brew maintained the subtleties of black tea but was met with a fuller body, richer earthy sweetness and savory herbs, and much more spice. I’d say the time of year I imagined while sipping this last brew was much like the time this lot was harvested, during the fall through December. Some common notes here were citrus, savory herbs, stone fruit, cinnamon, and vanilla.
This was a fun coffee to experiment with, although it didn’t take long at all to find a good dial. One thing that I noted was shared amongst all 5 brews were their discerning notes of stone fruit and citrus, and I believe one would be able to produce a cup with these qualities no matter what way they prefer to brew. That being said, as far as choosing a favorite dial goes, it was quite hard to choose between cups 4 & 5. They were both so lovely, yet so very different. I'd say that the feeling of “cozy” the last brew gave me always wins, so for that I’d suggest starting with a coarse grind, dosing at 18 grams while using a Bee House, but really any single-serve brew device will do just fine at providing a well balanced, and memorable cup of coffee at home.
