Somewhat new to home brewing. Most of the equipment I am using is fairly new to me. Purchased quality beans and have been grinding only enough (ceramic hand grind) for one brew. Have tried two different high-quality bean varieties using Chemex pour over (3 efforts) and Espro Press (4 efforts). Have followed instructions provided by manufacturers for grind, Chemex ("1 tblsp coffee for ea 5 oz cup") and Espro P7 ("8-14 tblsp for maximum fill line") and for how to pour water, (Chemex) and all other particulars, including temperature of water. I have tried the Chemex paper filters and their proprietary permanent filter, no difference. All results have been awful. Sometimes brews pale/weak yet bitter, others dark, bitter and no body. Have wondered if my problem is understanding types of grind. Have endlessly researched what "medium/coarse" is supposed to look like. Viewed dozens of youtube bits for all of the products I am using. I am attaching a picture of the detritus from my most recent Chemex disaster. Hoping image shows detail sufficient to analyze my grind. Can provide info re coffees used (Red Rooster). Keep fresh beans in freezer. Any suggestions from the experienced brewers here would be greatly appreciated. Have listed my available equipment in profile and included in photo attached to this post.

Do you have a scale that measures to 0.01g? I would try cupping the beans first to make sure they are high quality and to get a baseline of what the coffee roast profile is. Tim Wendleboe has a youtube video on how to perform a cupping at home and it's fairly easy. Your spent coffee looks like a darker roast and the grinds look a bit coarse. We'd need some more information to give any meaningful recommendations.

How quickly are your chemex pours drawing down? What temperature water are you using? What ratio of coffee:water are you using? I'm not accustomed to brewing on Chemex but it should be around a 4:00 brew. Perhaps this guide will help:

https://www.intelligentsiacoffee.com/chemex-brew-guide

On grind consistency, it's nearly impossible to go by just visual grind size. Maybe start with a kosher salt sized grinds (bit finer than what you have pictured) and adjust from there depending on drawdown times and taste. If it's taking longer than 4:00-5:00 for the water to draw down, grinder a tad coarser. If it's drawing down faster than 4:00, fine up the grind a little bit until you're within range. Taste the coffee each time to get a feel for how your brews are working with your grinder. I can grind much finer on my EK43 than a baratza for the same pour over so it's hard to recommend one grind size. It all depends on your grinder. Lastly, pour your kettle at the same height and same flow in concentric circles each time to limit your variables.

From the time you start pouring to the time the coffee bed is exposed without any pools of water remaining, aim to have that whole process be within 4:00-5:00 for 12-16 oz of brew coffee. Use a 1:16 ratio of coffee:water by mass.

okay, I see now about the scale and how it is used for cup tasting. (Watched T Wendelboe). Thanks.

Exactly what coffee are you using, and when was it ROASTED?

I have found that one of the easiest devices to use is the Clever Coffee Dripper, but the Espro should be just as easy. The Chemex is more sensitive to...everything!

Hard to tell from your photo, especially post-brewing, but the grounds look way coarser than what I use in an Espro press. So you might try grinding a bit finer. You should also be dosing by weight, not tablespoons. Looks like Espro recommends 45-60g of ground coffee in a liter of water (upper fill line) for the P7.

https://www.espro.com/brew-guide/french-press

It's also helpful to try brewing coffee you've actually tasted and enjoyed at a local shop. It's possible you just don't like the coffee you're using.

Posted reply to blkswn but it is MIA so re-trying. Will try the cupping today. I am brewing Red Rooster Old Crow Cuppa Joe (link below) roasted about one week before I brewed. I had this coffee at a restaurant, prepared in the Espro.

Chemex recommended water temp 195-205 so I have been using 200. I pour water as directed in circular pattern using small pitcher with appropriate spout. Draw down takes 6-7 min so that would suggest I need a more course grind?

I am attaching a pic of my grind pre-brew which I think gives better image. ( In the post-grind image I previously posted there was clumping.) I have struggled with assessing grind and have experimented alot to gain experience (incl taste testing). I may err on the side of too coarse, because when the grind seems uneven (about 50% of grind looks medium-fine with some coarse grind still visible) I go with that. Thanks for the kosher salt analogy, that is helpful.

I will jettison the 1 tblsp per 5 oz cup instructions that came with the Chemex and brew using the 1:16 ratio (water by mass) suggested, & for the Espro, will re-try using the dosing by weight suggested by dmw010 and using a finer grind.

https://redroostercoffee.com/shop/coffe ... -cuppa-joe

Thanks for the fresh ground picture. It's apparent the hand grinder you have has a lot of burr wobble as you see a large variance in particle size which does affect the drawdown time and taste. With that said, it should still be a drinkable and enjoyable cup. If it is taking 6-7 mins, yes, coarsen up the grind a bit to see how that fares.

Alternatively, you could ask the shop next time to grind a serving's worth of beans for you to compare at home. I would also try laying out the ground coffee on a paper towel and patting the grounds with another paper towel to capture some of the fines within the grooves. It's a little trick to improve grounds from a blade grinder and I wonder if your hand grinder is producing a lot of fines and choking your brew.

Thanks, will re-try coarse-er grind. I think I started out with a more coarse grind and it was actually worse (coffee water) - have to check my log.). I am going to hate it if it turns out I can't manage my grinder so it will deliver a grind I can work with.

Daisy, what exactly is your grinder? You mentioned a ceramic hand grinder. If it's not capable of producing consistent particle sizes and distribution, making small tweaks to your grind adjustment probably isn't going to make much difference. That being said, you should be able to get reasonably tasty results with an Espro press even with an inexpensive or inconsistent grinder.

I have a Mueller (Austria) Ultra Grind. Stainless steel chamber, 2 piece ceramic burr. Link below. Thank you for continuing to follow this post! I am very appreciative. http://www.muellerdirect.com/product/mu ... ess-steel/