Spent 45 minutes trying to dial in a new Ethiopian bean this morning

I grabbed a bag from a local roaster in Portland last week, and every single pour over I made tasted like grass clippings. I kept adjusting my grind setting by tiny steps, like 2 clicks at a time, and it just got worse. After 6 tries I finally said forget it and went way coarser than I ever would normally, like 18 clicks on my Encore. Turned out these beans need a much coarser grind and a hotter water temp than I thought. Has anyone else run into a bean that completely broke your normal routine?

2 comments

2 Comments

alice24220d agoMost Upvoted

That's interesting you went coarser while a lot of folks would probably keep grinding finer to fix a grassy taste. Did the roast level on the bag seem lighter than what you usually buy? I've had a few light roasts from Ethiopia that acted totally weird until I went way hotter with the water, like 210 or 212, and coarser than I'd ever go for a washed coffee. It's almost like they need a completely different approach than any other bean you've got on the shelf. Makes you wonder if the roaster just has a different style, or if the bean itself is just that picky.

johnthompson20d ago

Yeah I mean you hit the nail on the head there. It's wild how some beans just refuse to play nice with the normal rules. I actually felt like a total rookie second guessing myself when I went coarser on that Ethiopian light roast. But honestly, it was like the coffee finally woke up. The grassy taste faded and I got this bright lemon candy thing I couldn't find before. Makes me think maybe some roasters are pushing their light roasts way lighter than what we're used to on the shelf. Either way, it's nice to hear I'm not the only one who's had to completely flip the script on a bag.