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A scientific run-down of coffee blooming

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Re: A scientific run-down of coffee blooming

#31

Post by soneca »

I learned that I like without bloom phase. The CO2 getting in the way of extracting flavor might be a good thing, since (at least that is my understanding) the more acidity flavors are extracted later. I like the coffee with more sweetness and less acidity, so I just skip the bloom phase, pouring all at once, it extracts less of the coffee, only the good (for me) parts.

Gentle circular pouring can prevent dry coffee blocks and the creation of channels. I also do a little swirl with the filter to flatten the coffee bed. So it is possible to avoid those issues even without the bloom phase.

It works for me, even though I am not a hundred percent sure that I got the science of it right.

At least, some coffee specialists support my choice:

https://youtu.be/miuPSjazpyw?si=_UPZfh9O0YYZwmri

Re: A scientific run-down of coffee blooming

#32

Post by slumberlust »

decafninja wrote: post #18

I went through my coffee hipster phase. But I eventually came to the conclusion that my palate is just too unsophisticated to tell the difference between supposed “hints of blueberry and molasses” in third wave hipster coffee from a boutique roaster versus the cheap coffee that my local newsstand brews every morning. Now my only concession to coffee is brewing a cup on a Technivorm. Also Hawaiian coffee is super smoo…

Everyone's coffee journey is unique and that is awesome!

The palate is a bit like a muscle. Some people have bigger/better ones naturally, but everyone can improve what they have with training.

There's also value in having a mediocre cup of coffee on the regular. A little saline solution goes a long way in improving palatability.

Re: A scientific run-down of coffee blooming

#33

Post by comte7092 »

soneca wrote: post #31

I learned that I like without bloom phase. The CO2 getting in the way of extracting flavor might be a good thing, since (at least that is my understanding) the more acidity flavors are extracted later. I like the coffee with more sweetness and less acidity, so I just skip the bloom phase, pouring all at once, it extracts less of the coffee, only the good (for me) parts. Gentle circular pouring can prevent dry coffee…

Sounds like your grind might be too fine tbh

Re: A scientific run-down of coffee blooming

#34

Post by 2muchcoffeeman »

carabiner wrote: post #9
0xbadcafebee wrote: post #2

In my own attempt to bloom coffee in an Aeropress, the result is, strangely, that it takes much longer to extract the coffee to 'full strength' if I bloom it, compared to not blooming it. If I bloom the coffee, then fill up with water and stir, the result is under-extracted unless I brew for longer. If I just fill up the water immediately and then stir, it takes much less long to brew to the same 'strength'. This is…

I mean 90% of coffee brewing is meaningless rituals. Could you taste the difference between a burr grinder and a blade grinder in the resulting brew? Nope, but endless pages of debate exist on this, grain size distribution, quality of burrs. It has a strong resemblance to the audiophile community.

I mean this is pretty easy to test without making unsubstantiated claims. I’ve done this. We have a range of grinders from $700 to $5000 and did an informal blind tasting. No one had tasted coffee from all grinders.

Guesses were revealed simultaneously. 100 percent hit rate.

Re: A scientific run-down of coffee blooming

#35

Post by pivo »

brrrrrm wrote: post #30

It mentions immersion methods and then never revisits it :( I used to use a Chemex but found the whole process so fickle and involved. I've since switched to a Clever dripper (similar to the hario switch) and found that my coffee life has improved substantially. The basic idea is to let the coffee sit with the water for a bit and then flip a switch to drain it into your coffee. I prefer the consistency of the method…

I really enjoy the Clever dripper too. My big revelation (from a James Hoffman youtube video) was that putting the water in first, made the whole process so much faster and maybe even tastier.

Re: A scientific run-down of coffee blooming

#36

Post by soneca »

decafninja wrote: post #18

I went through my coffee hipster phase. But I eventually came to the conclusion that my palate is just too unsophisticated to tell the difference between supposed “hints of blueberry and molasses” in third wave hipster coffee from a boutique roaster versus the cheap coffee that my local newsstand brews every morning. Now my only concession to coffee is brewing a cup on a Technivorm. Also Hawaiian coffee is super smoo…

I learned enough to know what I like, what I don’t like, and what doesn’t matter to me.

I don’t like expensive coffee that use “fruit” descriptions to their flavors. I like the expensive ones that use “chocolate” or “nuts” descriptions.

I like anything from 1:12 to 1:16 ratio (in my routine, 9g to 12g of coffee to 150ml of water).

Grain should be fine, but I don’t need a precision grinder.

Precise water temperature doesn’t matter much.

I like pour over. Not so much french press, aeropress, espresso, or moka pot. I still drink it, just prefer pour over.

Re: A scientific run-down of coffee blooming

#37

Post by soneca »

comte7092 wrote: post #33
soneca wrote: post #31

I learned that I like without bloom phase. The CO2 getting in the way of extracting flavor might be a good thing, since (at least that is my understanding) the more acidity flavors are extracted later. I like the coffee with more sweetness and less acidity, so I just skip the bloom phase, pouring all at once, it extracts less of the coffee, only the good (for me) parts. Gentle circular pouring can prevent dry coffee…

Sounds like your grind might be too fine tbh

Idk. I have a cheap grinder that grinds unevenly, so at least it is not uniformly too fine.

The barista in the video does use fine grind for this no bloom method, though, so it makes sense. I like the result of the no bloom with my grinder though, so I am happy with it

Re: A scientific run-down of coffee blooming

#38

Post by jcdavis »

mikestew wrote: post #19
fellowniusmonk wrote: post #11

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Any type of immersion brew benefits from immediate agitation in my experience, aeropress and french press (which gets aggressively swirled under my hot water tank while it's filling.) You can aggressively stir aeropress as well, you just need to manage it dripping from the bottom using more filters, finer grind, invert method, etc.

Aeropress should make this acessory standard-issue with their coffee makers, so that we don’t have to rely on other methods to reduce drip-through: https://aeropress.com/products/aeropress-flow-control-filter...

The inverted method is an even easier way to achieve this :)

Re: A scientific run-down of coffee blooming

#39

Post by lfuller »

soneca wrote: post #31

I learned that I like without bloom phase. The CO2 getting in the way of extracting flavor might be a good thing, since (at least that is my understanding) the more acidity flavors are extracted later. I like the coffee with more sweetness and less acidity, so I just skip the bloom phase, pouring all at once, it extracts less of the coffee, only the good (for me) parts. Gentle circular pouring can prevent dry coffee…

> the more acidity flavors are extracted later

The first compounds to be extracted with coffee tend to taste sharply sour, shifting to sweet and then to bitter as the brew progresses - you can actually taste this directly by sampling a bit of the coffee that drips out at the start, middle, and end phases of your brew.

I found this guide to be helpful when I was first getting started: https://www.homegrounds.co/wp-content/uploads/2021/10/Coffee...

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