Katxena Senior Member Joined: 9 Nov 2012 Posts: 8 Location: USA Expertise: Just starting
Posted Sat Nov 10, 2012, 7:12am Subject: Help me troubleshoot my CCD coffee
I am new to coffee. I don't have a lot of experience drinking it or making it. I started drinking it regularly about a month ago, when someone gave me a Keurig machine. There were things I didn't like about the machine (those cups are so expensive!) so I looked for another method to make it. I decided on a Clever Coffee Dripper. I like that you can control so many variables with it, but I can't figure out what each variable does. I know it will take time to learn, but can you give me a bit of advice?
All the coffee I've made with the CCD so far is stronger (by which I mean bitter) than I want it, but if I use less coffee, it still tastes bitter but with less flavor. What do I need to tweak to make coffee that's less bitter, but still flavorful?
Here's what I'm doing. I'm brewing Muddy Dog Pepper Cask coffee from the most recent roasting (which I think was Nov 1). So far, this coffee tastes better to me in the Keurig (using an Ekobrew) than in the CCD. I am grinding it using a Hario hand mill (that I've modified with the Orphan Esspresso kit), to what I think is a "medium drip" grind (at least, it looks about the size of the stuff in the can of Maxwell House coffee my husband uses with the Ekobrew in the Keurig). The grind is very consistently sized. I put a Melitta filter in the CCD, then rinse it with boiling water and drain that water out. I put the just-ground coffee in the rinsed filter, then heat my water in an electric kettle to about 200 degrees. Next I start my timer for 4 minutes and pour a couple ounces of water over the coffee and watch it "bloom" -- as soon as the initial dome falls, I put in about half the remaining water, stir, then put in the rest of the water and cover. When my timer gets down to 2 minutes, I take the lid off and stir one more time, then put the lid back on. At 1 minute remaining, I start draining the CCD over a travel mug. That takes almost exactly 1 minute.
So which variable should I tweak to make the coffee less bitter? Do I need a coarser grind? Or a different temperature water? Or less time? I know the Keurig doesn't get as hot as the water in my kettle, so I'm going to try cooler water. What else should I do differently? As I mentioned, less coffee doesn't seem to be the answer -- then I just get weak bitter coffee. I'm completely willing to experiment, but I'm feeling very overwhelmed.
Posted Sat Nov 10, 2012, 10:25am Subject: Re: Help me troubleshoot my CCD coffee
I would first try a coarser grind if that doesn't work try stirring less or a shorter brew time. Are you using a scale to measure your coffee? If not I would suggest using one. Check out the link below from Prima Coffee on immersion brewing it might help.
Katxena Senior Member Joined: 9 Nov 2012 Posts: 8 Location: USA Expertise: Just starting
Posted Mon Nov 12, 2012, 5:25am Subject: Re: Help me troubleshoot my CCD coffee
Oh my. A coarser grind (much coarser) and less time (I'm not sure how much less, because I screwed up the timing -- I didn't hit start on my timer right away when I started pouring. Grrr....) really did the trick. My coffee this morning is *much* better. Thank you!
Posted Mon Nov 12, 2012, 5:58am Subject: Re: Help me troubleshoot my CCD coffee
Yep - coarser grind and/or shorter steep time.
One thing I try (see recipes thread in my sig) is watch the brew. When the grounds sink (they start floating when the bloom happens, I pour all my water in at once - differences in technique) which can be in 1 to 3 minutes depending on grind, I put the CCD on the cup. Finer grind I end up starting draindown sometimes as early as 45 seconds - but then it takes about 2 minutes to draindown. If I use a coarser grind, it might take a couple of minutes before the grounds sink - but then the draindown only takes a minute.
------------------------------------------ ----------------------------------------- Le café doit être noir comme le diable, chaud comme l'enfer, pur comme un ange, et doux comme l'amour.
"There is no right answer with coffee. There is only the elixir in your cup at the moment you partake."
"...I often say that when you can measure what you are speaking about, and express it in numbers, you know something about it; but when you cannot measure it, when you cannot express it in numbers, your knowledge is of a meagre and unsatisfactory kind;..." - Lord Kelvin RECIPES thread => http://www.coffeegeek.com/forums/coffee/machines/585708
Perked Senior Member Joined: 24 Sep 2012 Posts: 30 Location: Ohio Expertise: I live coffee
Posted Mon Nov 12, 2012, 10:43am Subject: Re: Help me troubleshoot my CCD coffee
For a coffee novice, you do certainly seem to be more advanced than I am, and I've been drinking coffee for over a decade. Of course, the majority of that time is going with what the mass population has been sold: buying ground, using a cheap coffee maker and you have coffee.
I have a keurig too - and yes the cups are very expensive. I have one of those single cup filters for using your own ground coffee. Not sure if this is what you have too, but I hated it. I felt like I was wasting the coffee as the keurig pushed the water through too quickly (it seems to me it did).
Someone here told me that kcups, if you do the math, cost about $20 / lb.
A few questions... what do you mean by "blooming" the coffee? From the context, I think it's when the ground coffee first swells up from the water absorption?
Posted Mon Nov 12, 2012, 10:53am Subject: Re: Help me troubleshoot my CCD coffee
Perked Said:
For a coffee novice, you do certainly seem to be more advanced than I am, and I've been drinking coffee for over a decade. Of course, the majority of that time is going with what the mass population has been sold: buying ground, using a cheap coffee maker and you have coffee.
I have a keurig too - and yes the cups are very expensive. I have one of those single cup filters for using your own ground coffee. Not sure if this is what you have too, but I hated it. I felt like I was wasting the coffee as the keurig pushed the water through too quickly (it seems to me it did).
Someone here told me that kcups, if you do the math, cost about $20 / lb.
A few questions... what do you mean by "blooming" the coffee? From the context, I think it's when the ground coffee first swells up from the water absorption?
If you stir while the bloom is happening, you can reduce this effect.
And I might be the one who worked the math out for the Keruigs:
454g/lb 9grams / k-cup $0.50 / k-cup
454/9 * $0.50 = ~$25/lb
------------------------------------------ ----------------------------------------- Le café doit être noir comme le diable, chaud comme l'enfer, pur comme un ange, et doux comme l'amour.
"There is no right answer with coffee. There is only the elixir in your cup at the moment you partake."
"...I often say that when you can measure what you are speaking about, and express it in numbers, you know something about it; but when you cannot measure it, when you cannot express it in numbers, your knowledge is of a meagre and unsatisfactory kind;..." - Lord Kelvin RECIPES thread => http://www.coffeegeek.com/forums/coffee/machines/585708
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