Hi everyone, I recently received a Tricolate and have been trying to brew with it but have been producing poor results. The brews are coming out watery, low acidity, and mostly bitter (when compared using the same beans in a cupping or v60 brew instead).

I'm using a 15 click grind setting on the Comandante and using 99 C water with a light city roast Guatemala from S&W Roasting. I'm using Scott Rao's method featured here:

The brew finishes around 4 minutes and 55 seconds, which seems to be on par for the Tricolate if actually a bit on the quicker side. I'm considering of going to 18 clicks instead to see if that'll work, but I'm not sure what else I can try.

Anyone have any tips or have been experiencing the same problem?

I'd love to hear from the creators of the tricolate what they think the brews taste like, because the cups- when following the posted specs for high EY brews using very high-end equipment- don't taste like traditional filter coffee. Long story short I think you might be doing it "correctly"

I tend to do a slightly hybridised version between Rao and the original brew instructions: 15 g coffee, roughly 3:1 bloom for 1 min, and then pour up to a total of 330 g aiming for a draw down of 5:30 to 7:00 which I find gives some great results in the cup (i also swirl at about 10 seconds after the bloom water has finished getting to the coffee and again once all the brew water is in the main chamber).

Like Rao says in that video, you want to try to make sure the bed is as flat as possible before you start and to make sure you're using a normal kettle as goosenecks dont have enough flow for the shower screen to work properly.

The Tricolate is very much a hit or miss brewer: with the right coffee it can produce really good results, but when the results miss they miss badly.

I would make sure I use a coffee that I've brewed with conventional methods (i.e. in a V60 at a ratio of 1:16 or 1:17) so that you have a reference for what the coffee tastes like under normal circumstances. Let's say that's 21 clicks on the Comandante. Then go just a little finer than you normally would (say 19 clicks) and widen your ratio slightly to 1:17.5 or 1:18 and see how that tastes. Don't jump to 1:20 or 1:22 right away.

If you can, use a standard kettle capable of pouring the water more strongly, rather than a flow restricted kettle like the Stagg EKG. Pour a 3x bloom, then pour the rest aggressively after 45 seconds to a minute.

I like the Tricolate best with really light roasts, usually from Nordic roasters. I found that medium roasted coffees, or coffees with special processing or wild flavors like some naturals don't do so well.

I have only brewed about a dozen times with it, but my impression is a bit like Michael's. It tastes different, but fine in my opinion. Pretty cool for someone who doesn't want to invest in a fancy kettle or scale and get decent brews using less beans (1:20 has been a sweet spot for me).

V60 brews with the same beans at 1:17 tastes better in my experience. More vibrant and interesting, but it's not beginner friendly as far as I'm concerned.

Ive had one since early launch and havent been wowed by it vs. pour over. Honestly, its kind of a pain to clean up vs. a v60 or Kalita. In my opinion.

That AND, it takes a really long time.

I just got a Tricolate, and I'm curious how it's fairing for other people. Any tips or recipe recommendations? I'm starting out with the 20:1 recipe in ~6-7 minutes, but I'm curious if folks have had success with other ratios/recipes?

I got one about a month ago and use the Sang Ho Park recipe the most.

20:1 ratio

13g coffee

45g bloom

0:45 pour to 180g

1:45 pour to 260g

Grind size to reach ~5 minute draw down, no agitation. I haven't gotten great cups with the Rao or high ratio methods and have gotten watery or highly astringent brews with both. This method has given me really tasty, strong cups without dulling the acidity like some of the other methods that I have tried.

Does anyone know if there is something like a tamper/distribution tool that someone has 3D printed for the Tricolate. Leveling the filter and the bed have been the hardest thing, and a super light tamp that just leveled the bed I think would help my consistency with the fine grind high extraction recipes.

Here is an updated recipe. Instagram post from Scott Rao:

One thing that I didn't pay attention to before was how much of a difference the level of agitation can have on the draw down time for the tricolate.

I'd say my impressions is similar to RHPours'. Have had a few particularly nice brews with one or two Ethiopia Yirgachegge Aricha's. Different but maybe not better than other brewers.