JeffD
Active member
Ain't that the truth.
I think part of the problem is that many a coffee guru on the youtubes gives the impression that you have to get everything right. Everything.
I think it is better to figure out what has the biggest bang - what aspects of your procedure have the most impact on the taste of the coffee, and so are most important to get right. I wish someone would do a video on this topic. Its great to get everything right, but if you don't get the ratio of water to grinds right, it really doesn't matter if what quality water you use, or the shape of your filter or basket.
My opinions on what is important (my opinions only):
Get a digital scale. Nothing else matters as much as getting the ratio right. And the improvement one experiences when you can get the ratio right is so gigantic, it motivates further obsession.
Once you have the ratio right, exactly right, the next bang for your buck is a good burr grinder. Dialing in your grind has a huge impact (not as important as getting the ratio right though), and is worth the investment.
So here is some controversy. If your ratio isn't right, and you don't grind your own, I don't think it matters what beans you buy. Or how fresh they are. What ever you are doing right with the bean selection and keeping the grounds fresh is totally hidden if the ratio is wrong.
So only after you have the scale, and you are grinding with a burr grinder, and have enough practice to get consistent results, does it make any sense to seek out the quality and type of beans you want and how you will keep them for use. Scale and grinder gets you into the triple riing of the target. Type of beans brings you to the outer bullseye. (For you darts fans)
The rest only gets you from the outer to the inner bullseye (again for dart players) and IMO is wayyyy down in the noise and IMO pointless to get obsessed about. Not worth it to me to chase the only tiny differences in coffee flavor worrying over the exact temperature, or the shape of the basket, or the pedigree of the filter paper.
But I am evolving along this journey too, and maybe someday I will obsess over all the details. It will take some more coffee to get there.
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