Mike


Glad you decided to purchase one. When you start to use the Ottomatic, please share your experiences with us. It will be good to have more impressions then just mine. I would also suggest spending some time with the Chemex, brewing manually, so you could get a comparative frame of reference, while keeping grind and amount of water, constant between the both approaches.

Regarding you finding a quality roaster, perhaps you might raise that question in the Coffee Forum where participants can make recommendations? Either this site or Coffeegeek (not sure which) maintains a list of quality roasters, which can also be a good starting point.

Enjoy the brewer

Jay

Jay- what level of coarseness are you using for the Ottomatics? .....In general terms since even grinder is a bit different.

The jury is still out regarding coarseness. Some days I tend toward almost a FP grind. Then I use more coffee. Other days I am more inclined to something like medium, while using less coffee. On balance, I am tending toward the coarser end.

Jay

There are decided differences in the coffee bed as a result of grind changes. When tending toward FP grind (30 on my Vituoso), the coffee bed is relatively flat. When I use Baratza's recommended Chemex grind (20 on Virtuoso), the coffee bed is more deep V shaped, with deposits rising up the walls. Also, coarser grinds require significantly higher doses. With a grind of 20, I am about 58 to 60 grams of coffee per liter of water, give or take a bit. At a grind setting of 30, I am in the 15:1 or maybe 14.5:1 range.

These days I am tending toward a grind size of 20. Because of how the water is dispensed, the holy grail of a 4 minute brew time, start to finish, that is suggested for manual brewing, simply does not apply when brewing with the Ottomatic.

When I brew manually, I tend toward a coarser grind. Brews are nowhere as consistent, but the coffee is hotter.

The brewer includes a plastic Brew clip that attaches to the back of the cone and creates a second air channel. It is supposed to decrease brew time. I have not noticed a marked effect, when I use the ciip. I am undecided about its value.

That is all good information. Thanks!

But for those of us that don't have a Baratza, can you describe your preferred grind in common terms so we can try to duplicate?

Will be getting the Ottomatic this week but won't be able to try out out until mid next week.

Thanks!!

I am terrible at describing grind. A setting of 20 on the Virtuoso is the midpoint. That is signicantly coarser then Hario V60, somewhat coarser then Melita grind and not quite medium-coarse. Settings of 28-32 are what Baratza' recommends for FP. Baratza would consider 22 as the start of medium-coarse.

I would like to point out that when you speak to Chemex support staff the recommend medium to coarse. There written material says medium-coarse. Some may interpret medium-coarse in a different way then medium to coarse. Moreover, depending on who you speak to at Chemex, preferred grind is either dependent or independent of batch size. Conflicts regarding language and intent, is by no means unique to Chemex. I am not talking about differing approaches from one roaster or vendor to the next, but rather significant conflicts emanating from a single roaster or vendor. If we want to encourage those new in their specialty coffee journey, we need to develop more precision in our language.

Jay

Hey there....

I know it is tough to describe a grind, especially when everyone uses differing grinding and brewing methods. SO I attached a good visual for grind spectrum. Hope you can see it.

So what I am reading from you is that the grind needs to be more towards the Technivorm area based upon the chart below.



Thanks!

Mike

Great diagram. The chart puts Chemex in the medium range. My grinder has 40 settings. I am grinding at 20 for two large mugs. I would think that was medium, as per your chart. The inevitable issue is grinder variation. Assuming 3 people had the same Baratza's Vituoso grinder all set to 20, the grind may not be identical. Type of bean, type of roast, humidity, batch size, burr condition, and overall grinder condition may determine what grind you need. Start with medium and work from there.

Jay

New Ottomatic brewer
I received my Ottomatic yesterday and so far have been very impressed! Since my wife and I drink several large coffees each morning, I went with the 10 cup Chemex since multiple reveiws suggested that this larger size would work with the unit. My question is, using the amount of coffee suggested by Chemex to brew to the ten cup water level, the grounds/water are touching the "shower head" as it brews.... Is this adversely affecting the flavor? As a newbie I think it tastes great! I am using a medium grind.

Congrats!

I am also a new Ottomatic owner, but have not had time to set it up. Tonight!

I would be interested in seeing a pic of your 10 cup Chemex and see this issue that you described.

Enjoy!