Hello all!

I recently converted my EK43 into an EK43s. I took the occasion to also break down and clean and re calibrate my ek. (just a basic calibration not a Titus type realignment and so on). I found afterwards that my brewed coffees were just "different", so i decided to pull out the refractometer. Below is the recipe and results I'm getting

20g (light roasted ethiopia from madcap) ground at 9.5/20
360g water

small divot in center
bloom with 80g 30s
add water in gentle side to side pattern to 220g let rest 45s
add water to 360g still lightly once
let drain

total brew time apps 4:00
brix 1.85=1.55% TDS

This would suggest the coffee is way over extracted. would you suggest
1) increase grind size
2) remove stir
3) us pouring method with lower agitation?

thanks!

Do you know your final beverage weight? It has a major effect on your actual extraction percentage. Regardless of the output you're getting extraction numbers that some people are chasing after, so don't be afraid to enjoy it if it is better.

If your result is barely worse I'd keep the stir but reduce pouring agitation. If it tastes way off I would start by increasing grind size and then adjusting brew temp if it still isn't good. For me, your time is a bit long for a v60 brews so either the agitation or grind size is likely the problem.

The last Ethiopian I had from Madcap was pretty extractable, so this will probably all go out the window when you change coffee.

I missed your ratio the first time around, but I shouldn't have. You might seriously consider tightening that up to 1:17 before any other change if you're concerned about over extracted flavors.

With my EK43, ssp burrs, and light roasted coffee 20g in and 300-340g out typical overall times are around 2.20-2.30. Using either the Rao or Hoffman method. So i would try grinding coarser and see what effect that has. Make a big adjustment and it should give you a clearer idea of the effect.

In general refractometer isn't very useful for dialing in, since the numbers can vary greatly from bean to bean, so unless you've brewed with at least 10 different beans or so, they don't have much significance. Use your taste, does it taste silty and the brew bed look very muddy ? Then it might be a good idea to coarsen up the grind. In general with drip brews, the coarser the grind, the better because you get less fines and a cleaner up.

Entire point of a refractometer is for dialing in. Having said that, bev weight is the measurement you should use not brew weight.

culturesub wrote: Entire point of a refractometer is for dialing in. Having said that, bev weight is the measurement you should use not brew weight.

Well I disagree, as I said solubility between beans can be vastly different, so you can't really aim for a specific number using a refractometer.

Of course it can. That's the point of the Refrafrometer. It lets you dial in each coffee with both taste and science. If it's not to dial in coffee, what is the point of it?

If you're dialing in only with taste, what information could a refractometer give you after the fact to make sure things are consistent and working correctly? You use a refractometer to give you an objective measuring point as you're dialing in coffee to match with your subjective measuring point, your taste buds. A VST costs 900 dollars. You wouldn't see so many people with a 900 dollar item whose purpose was to be used periodically to see if your machine was working properly.