Published: Tue 28 January 2025
By Andrew Mshar
In coffee .
tags: coffee
I've been a big fan of coffee for many years, but it's only in the last few that I've really started diving deeper on coffee and its preparation. I don't have an espresso machine, so most of my consumption at home is prepared as a pour over.
I've almost always stuck to two cups per day: one in the morning, and one just after lunch. To make my coffee, I've used a wide range of coffee devices, from a Keurig, to a Chemex, to a Moka Pot, to a standard drip brewing machine (and more). For the past couple of years, though, I've used a Hario V60 for most of my coffee brewing. I made and bought some cold brew in the summer, but most days I use my V60 to make both of my cups. I also have an Orea V3 , which highlights slightly different flavors than the v60.
Now, when I get a new bag of beans I tend to try it with the V60 for a cup or two, then the Orea for a cup or two (or vice versa, the order is random). It has been fun to try new coffees in both brewers and see which I prefer. Then I'll change my grind size or temperature a bit to dial it in (if I think it's necessary). This has really given me a better appreciation of coffee!
Coffee flavor preferences
My favorite cups are light roasted, washed coffees with some sweetness and fruit flavor. One of my recent favorites was from grower Jose Salazer roasted by Passenger Coffee which tastes a bit like peach tea. It has a great balance of sweetness and coffee flavor. I've also recently found some naturally processed beans I really enjoyed from Little Waves Coffee .
Similar to changing the brewer above, I've found that experimenting with grind size and water temperature really enhanced my enjoyment of naturally processed coffees. When using too fine a grind and too high temperature (both more suitable for lighter roasted, washed coffees), I was getting too much of the fermented/boozy flavors common to naturals. Using a courser grind and lower temperature water yields great fruit flavors with less of those fermented notes I don't like as much.
I tend to not prefer coffees with floral tasting notes. If a coffee comes highly recommended and has floral tasting notes that are supposed to be subtle, I'll try it. But if a coffee is dominated by floral notes, I tend to avoid them. The exception to this is a good Gesha. I don't get Gesha beans often because they are expensive, but I've had a couple that are very good, interesting and complex.
If you want to chat coffee, please reach out to me!