Brew time slowing down with frozen coffee beans

Coffee preparation techniques besides espresso like pourover.
patmaninator
Posts: 2
Joined: 2 years ago

#1: Post by patmaninator »

Hey guys,

Hoping you might be able to shed some light on something I've experienced several times using different coffees in my V60 brew setup.

Currently running with a plastic V60 + bleached Hario filters (Japan) + stovetop gooseneck kettle + Breville (or SAGE) Smart Grinder Pro.

I'm freezing my coffee beans at around 10 days after roast date, and only pulling the necessary dose out (18g usually for a 1:17 brew) every morning to grind and brew.

I've been finding that, over time (usually a week or two since my first cup with a particular coffee), my brew times begin to slow down drastically - sometimes up to 1 - 1.5mins slower.

I've been using Lance Hedrick's V60 'Easy and Effective' method to great results and between 3:00 - 3:30 TBT - until this week!
Now sitting closer to 4:30 - 4:45 TBT without changing a single variable (coffee, water temp, grind size, method). Coffees begin to taste over-extracted and 'bitter' after these brews.

Is this a normal process that I should begin to expect? Should I simply expect to coarsen my grind over time as the coffee gets further from its roast date (regardless of being frozen or not)?

Or is there something else at play here that I should pay attention to?

Ejquin
Posts: 155
Joined: 6 years ago

#2: Post by Ejquin »

It wasn't clear to me but are you grinding the beans when they are frozen? If so, I'd expect them to be more brittle and thus create more fines than when defrosted, so you'd need to coarsen the grind.

patmaninator (original poster)
Posts: 2
Joined: 2 years ago

#3: Post by patmaninator (original poster) »

You're absolutely right, Ejquin! I've been grinding the beans straight from the freezer in the morning - it didn't even occur to me that this would change the way the bean breaks up in the grinder (more brittle, more fines etc.).

Will begin removing an 18g dose from the freezer the night before and keeping in an airtight container.

I'll try and report back to see if this alters the TBT for the better significantly.

BruceWayne
Posts: 299
Joined: 3 years ago

#4: Post by BruceWayne »

There have been studies on grinding frozen beans.
https://www.nature.com/articles/srep24483

If you google grinding frozen coffee, you'll find discussions on the topic.

Ejquin
Posts: 155
Joined: 6 years ago

#5: Post by Ejquin »

Yeah, you don't necessarily have to let them thaw before you grind. Plenty of people grind them frozen. Some people think it could actually result in a tighter particle distribution. But, you'll just need to compensate with a coarser grind if you're going to do so. Personally, I let mine thaw just so I'm not having to dial in two different grind settings for the same bean.

PIXIllate
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Posts: 1331
Joined: 4 years ago

#6: Post by PIXIllate »

Grinding straight from frozen is a good thing as long as you are dialed in for it. They will always produce a finer overall grind with more even particle distribution.